Campaign to restore passenger services on the Middlewich Link Line

[northwichcat]

I think he was referring to a gap between the train and the platform.

 

[LOL The Irony]

A few yeas ago, they were calling for a station at Rudheath! I can't see the benifits outweighing the cost with that one considering it's close proximity to Northwich station.

 

[LOL The Irony]

I think he was referring to a gap between the train and the platform.

I was refering to the gap between the track & platform not platform and train

 

[northwichcat]

A few yeas ago, they were calling for a station at Rudheath! I can't see the benifits outweighing the cost with that one considering it's close proximity to Northwich station.

The Hut Group were saying they could move from Gadbrook Park due to infrastructure constraints, which would have a very negative effect on the local economy.

 

[northwichcat]

I was refering to the gap between the track & platform not platform and train

It's the gap between the train and the platform which matters both for clearance and ease of passenger boarding.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

You can always quit and find a job in Stockport. Nobody is forcing you to spend 5 hours waiting for a train.

I was unaware that the jobs situation was so easy, did you have your fingers crossed behind your back when this thought came upon you. Long gone are those halcyon employment days when it was said you could leave a good job on Friday and find an even better one on the following Monday.

 

[Confused147]

I was unaware that the jobs situation was so easy, did you have your fingers crossed behind your back when this thought came upon you. Long gone are those halcyon employment days when it was said you could leave a good job on Friday and find an even better one on the following Monday.

I'd have thought most people look for jobs in advance before handing in their final notice then there wont be a problem leaving that job on friday to start your new job on monday. Very correct, long gone are those days when common sense existed.

 

[northwichcat]

^ Most jobs require at least 4 weeks notice to leave, so even if you don't have a new job when you resign you'd have a month or more to look between handing in your notice and actually leaving. However, today the reality is it could take 2 years or more to secure a suitable job if you restrict your search to the town you live in, as you were suggesting earlier. So yes you've already proved with your earlier post that you have no common sense when it comes to job hunting.

 

[no commute yet]

I thought people might be interested in this article from the Northwich Guardian today about a station for Gadbrook Park: http://www.northwichguardian.co.uk/...dbrook_Park_railway_station_is_ultimate_goal/

 

[LOL The Irony]

So give Northwich a 5th station...

 

[no commute yet]

Middlewich station will be used by lots of Manchester commuters but at 2,500 passengers a day will Gadbrook be the busiest Mid Cheshire Line/Link Line station?

 

[northwichcat]

So give Northwich a 5th station...

How do you get 4? Lostock Gralam and Hartford are villages near Northwich, not part of Northwich. Greenbank is just within the town boundary as is Northwich station itself - Rudheath is 2 minutes walk from the station.

 

[northwichcat]

Middlewich station will be used by lots of Manchester commuters but at 2,500 passengers a day will Gadbrook be the busiest Mid Cheshire Line/Link Line station?

Where does that number come from? The Hut Group and The Morrisons warehouse are open 24 hours a day so not everyone who works there will be starting/finishing during rail operational hours.

If Trafford Park station gets 60,000 journeys per annum - expect usage at Gadbrook Park to be more like the level of usage currently seen at Lostock Gralam overall for at least the first few years.

Middlewich should eventually be able to get up the same level of usage as Knutsford but remember Knutsford's usage has doubled over the last 10 years so it will be difficult for Middlewich to get up to that level quickly.

 

[LOL The Irony]

How do you get 4? Lostock Gralam and Hartford are villages near Northwich, not part of Northwich. Greenbank is just within the town boundary as is Northwich station itself - Rudheath is 2 minutes walk from the station.

I mean the Northwich ward area

 

[Altfish]

Knutsford's official figures are over half a million passengers per year, I think it will take a while for Middlewich to reach those sort of numbers, especially with two trains an hour for Knutsford from May.

 

[northwichcat]

Knutsford's official figures are over half a million passengers per year, I think it will take a while for Middlewich to reach those sort of numbers, especially with two trains an hour for Knutsford from May.

Indeed. I was meaning Middlewich should eventually be able to get up to the same level of usage which Knutsford currently gets, not that Middlewich will be able to match Knutsford's future level of usage.

 

[Holly]

Middlewich station will be used by lots of Manchester commuters but at 2,500 passengers a day will Gadbrook be the busiest Mid Cheshire Line/Link Line station?

Such commuters would not go via Northwich and the abysmally slow Mid-Cheshire line though would they?
Instead changing at Sandbach or Crewe - whichever was quicker.

 

[Altfish]

Such commuters would not go via Northwich and the abysmally slow Mid-Cheshire line though would they?
Instead changing at Sandbach or Crewe - whichever was quicker.

From May 2018 it is expected that there will be a semi-fast train each hour on the Mid Cheshire Line. This will call at Greenbank, Northwich, Knutsford, Hale(?), Altrincham and Stockport only. Not exactly high speed but certainly faster. It may be that this train could be the one that is extended down the Middlewich line if sufficient paths can't be found for a third passenger train per hour

 

[northwichcat]

From May 2018 it is expected that there will be a semi-fast train each hour on the Mid Cheshire Line. This will call at Greenbank, Northwich, Knutsford, Hale(?), Altrincham and Stockport only. Not exactly high speed but certainly faster. It may be that this train could be the one that is extended down the Middlewich line if sufficient paths can't be found for a third passenger train per hour

The new service will be a Greenbank-Manchester service calling at all stations between Greenbank and Navigation Road. The existing service will be revised to skip Lostock Gralam, Plumley, Mobberley, Ashley and Navigation Road except at peak times (including school finishing times.) That proposal hasn't gone down well with a certain RUA chairman who lives in Mobberley but if the same sized trains are used on both services it makes sense that the Chester train skips stations north-west of Greenbank, otherwise one service could be rammed while the other could be half empty.

 

[Altfish]

The new service will be a Greenbank-Manchester service calling at all stations between Greenbank and Navigation Road. The existing service will be revised to skip Lostock Gralam, Plumley, Mobberley, Ashley and Navigation Road except at peak times (including school finishing times.) That proposal hasn't gone down well with a certain RUA chairman who lives in Mobberley but if the same sized trains are used on both services it makes sense that the Chester train skips stations north-west of Greenbank, otherwise one service could be rammed while the other could be half empty.

That has been superseded. That was Northern's first proposal, things have moved on since then, expected announcement later this month.
The original proposal went down badly with everyone (not just MCRUA's Chair) it was shown to, hence the revised one.

 

[northwichcat]

That has been superseded. That was Northern's first proposal, things have moved on since then, expected announcement later this month.
The original proposal went down badly with everyone (not just MCRUA's Chair) it was shown to, hence the revised one.

There aren't many people from Lostock Gralam, Plumley, Mobberley, Ashley and Navigation Road to stations beyond Greenbank on weekdays at off-peak times. It's not uncommon for services to have 0 passengers from those stations to stations beyond Northwich. Saturday is different though.

I thought the biggest criticism was the fact in the Manchester direction one service would be around 17 minutes after the previous one, rather than around half an hour.

 

[Holly]

From May 2018 it is expected that there will be a semi-fast train each hour on the Mid Cheshire Line. This will call at Greenbank, Northwich, Knutsford, Hale(?), Altrincham and Stockport only. Not exactly high speed but certainly faster. It may be that this train could be the one that is extended down the Middlewich line if sufficient paths can't be found for a third passenger train per hour

Even if that happens, Middlewich to Manchester will still be faster via Sandbach than via Northwich, wouldn't it?

 

[Altfish]

Even if that happens, Middlewich to Manchester will still be faster via Sandbach than via Northwich, wouldn't it?

If the connection at Sandbach is short. But if it is longer than a 10minute wait, probably not.

 

[Altfish]

There aren't many people from Lostock Gralam, Plumley, Mobberley, Ashley and Navigation Road to stations beyond Greenbank on weekdays at off-peak times. It's not uncommon for services to have 0 passengers from those stations to stations beyond Northwich. Saturday is different though.

I thought the biggest criticism was the fact in the Manchester direction one service would be around 17 minutes after the previous one, rather than around half an hour.

No the biggest criticism was that if you boarded at one of the lesser stations you had a much worse service to/from Chester.

The problem with getting an 'even' gap between trains is getting paths between Stockport and Piccadilly. So a free path works it way backwards into less than 30 minutes at (say) Northwich

 

[northwichcat]

^ The combined usage of all the stations which won't get 2tph is less than some of the individual stations which will get 2tph, especially with Arriva deciding to provide 2tph at Greenbank and Hale.

I heard there's been one complaint about Mobberley potentially losing it's off-peak service to Chester but there's been thousands of complaints about Knutsford not getting 2tph from next month and uneven intervals when it does eventually happen.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

May I ask if there has been any recent official statements made about any rail service that will serve a newly reopened Middlewich railway station.

 

[Altfish]

^ The combined usage of all the stations which won't get 2tph is less than some of the individual stations which will get 2tph, especially with Arriva deciding to provide 2tph at Greenbank and Hale.

I heard there's been one complaint about Mobberley potentially losing it's off-peak service to Chester but there's been thousands of complaints about Knutsford not getting 2tph from next month and uneven intervals when it does eventually happen.

You're not listening to what I'm saying. In the latest proposals no station loses the direct service to Chester.
I don't know where you are hearing that from, yes, it is disappointing that it isn't starting in the December timetable but that is not unique to the mid-Cheshire line. I explained the 'uneven' trains in post #324. Suffice to say if you've got a fast train, it catches the slow train so the gaps between the trains cannot stay at 30 minutes all along the line.

 

[northwichcat]

I am listening. You're not understanding that if what you say is true complaints from something like 0.001% of Mid Cheshire passengers have caused the franchise spec to be rewritten. It specifically stated the Chester service must be the semi-fast.

Given it's 2 stations skipped before Knutsford and 3 afterwards the simple answer is a 30 minute frequency at Knutsford then it'll be something like 27 at Altrincham and 33 at Northwich or vice versa.

 

[Altfish]

I am listening. You're not understanding that if what you say is true complaints from something like 0.001% of Mid Cheshire passengers have caused the franchise spec to be rewritten. It specifically stated the Chester service must be the semi-fast.

Given it's 2 stations skipped before Knutsford and 3 afterwards the simple answer is a 30 minute frequency at Knutsford then it'll be something like 27 at Altrincham and 33 at Northwich or vice versa.

I don't know about number of complaints but it was just not individuals but organisations that complained.
As I said in#324 the defining factor is paths on the Stockport to Piccadilly section; so if you had this magical 30-minute gap the train would have to wait at Stockport for a path.

 

[LOL The Irony]

What you do is, Terminate all Manchester trains at Greenbank and do Crewe-Middlewich-Northwich-Chester. Problem solved