Nuneaton to Leamington - direct from May 2019

[HLE]

Single 153, then, I assume?

Haha, hopefully a thing of the past by May.
Hilarious if it's still a 153 trundling to Leamington and back by then

Trust me, before long a 2 car 172 will be full in the peaks. A lot of people live in Nuneaton but work in Leamington - much quicker to drive at the minute but the parking is awful, when they realise it's 40 minutes on a train expect numbers to rocket upwards.

Good job 3 car 172's will be able to work the route too, they may come in handy!

 

[pt_mad]

Haha, hopefully a thing of the past by May.
Hilarious if it's still a 153 trundling to Leamington and back by then

Trust me, before long a 2 car 172 will be full in the peaks. A lot of people live in Nuneaton but work in Leamington - much quicker to drive at the minute but the parking is awful, when they realise it's 40 minutes on a train expect numbers to rocket upwards.

Good job 3 car 172's will be able to work the route too, they may come in handy!

Do you think they'll use a 3 car on that route occasionally? Or will diagrams or operating constraints (possible 75mph on the ex overground 172s?) mean the 2 car units are fixed there all the time?

 

[sufian123]

Do you think they'll use a 3 car on that route occasionally? Or will diagrams or operating constraints (possible 75mph on the ex overground 172s?) mean the 2 car units are fixed there all the time?

Original plan is to use class 172/0 with 2 cars. Never say never a 172/3s might pop up. Even 172/2s.

 

[HLE]

Do you think they'll use a 3 car on that route occasionally? Or will diagrams or operating constraints (possible 75mph on the ex overground 172s?) mean the 2 car units are fixed there all the time?

Possibly. Word on the street is initially gangwayed units to start, with the /0's pencilled in to work the route once they're all overhauled and the conversion courses are done.

Doesn't really matter on the second point as the linespeed for most of the route is less than 75mph. A lot less on the Nuneaton branch @45mph although the route is signalled for 60mph should NR want to raise it in the coming years.

Unsure on the other routes the 172's work so I can't say whether a /0 would be limited @
75mph

 

[HLE]

Original plan is to use class 172/0 with 2 cars. Never say never a 172/3s might pop up. Even 172/2s.

Possibly matchdays at the Ricoh and Godiva may see the /3's make an appearance

 

[Amy Worrall]

Now extend it to Leicester too, and we have a winner!

 

[Ianno87]

Now extend it to Leicester too, and we have a winner!

Lacking the physical connection or track capacity to do so, I'm afraid...

 

[Amy Worrall]

I know, alas. I wish they'd fix that.

I've tried to get creative with my crayons and work out if there was a way to reverse across the flyover to the north of the station. But if only they'd built the underpass they originally planned!

 

[cle]

Other than being neat on the map, could someone describe why these services are to be linked?

Are there people from Nuneaton who travel to Leamington a lot, or vv - or Uni traffic?

Or would it be for connections that can't be made at Coventry itself?
Off the top of my head - from Nuneaton: Trent Valley places and the odd Virgin train further north especially North Wales and Leicester to Stansted places
and from Leamington: Bicester and Chiltern stops, Stratford upon Avon, a higher XC frequency to Oxford/Reading)

?

 

[Jurg]

Other than being neat on the map, could someone describe why these services are to be linked?

Are there people from Nuneaton who travel to Leamington a lot, or vv - or Uni traffic?

Or would it be for connections that can't be made at Coventry itself?
Off the top of my head - from Nuneaton: Trent Valley places and the odd Virgin train further north especially North Wales and Leicester to Stansted places
and from Leamington: Bicester and Chiltern stops, Stratford upon Avon, a higher XC frequency to Oxford/Reading)

?

The A444/A46 corridor is generally pretty congested at peak times, and there is a fair amount of commuting from north Warwickshire to Leamington and Warwick that contributes to this traffic. The current single carriage gets rammed enough at peak times, even with rubbish connection times at Coventry. The joined up service will definitely be greater than the sum of its parts.

As you've suggested, there will also be benefits in terms of east-west travel such as reduced journey times for Leamington to destinations via Leicester to the east mids and via Peterborough to East Anglia without changing in Birmingham or London etc.

 

[The Planner]

Other than being neat on the map, could someone describe why these services are to be linked?

Are there people from Nuneaton who travel to Leamington a lot, or vv - or Uni traffic?

Or would it be for connections that can't be made at Coventry itself?
Off the top of my head - from Nuneaton: Trent Valley places and the odd Virgin train further north especially North Wales and Leicester to Stansted places
and from Leamington: Bicester and Chiltern stops, Stratford upon Avon, a higher XC frequency to Oxford/Reading)

?

Do a Google on NUCKLE phase 1.

 

[nuneatonmark]

It’s very good news, all we need now is the bay at Cov and a second tran per hour between Nun and Cov and we’d finally have what was originally promised! A speed increase to 75mph would be welcome too.

 

[The Planner]

A speed increase to 75mph would be welcome too.

Not sure that would give you a lot now Bermuda Park and the Arena are open. 60mph probably would make sense.

 

[HLE]

It’s very good news, all we need now is the bay at Cov and a second tran per hour between Nun and Cov and we’d finally have what was originally promised! A speed increase to 75mph would be welcome too.

Therein lies the problem. For a second train per hour between Coventry and Nuneaton on the May timetable at least you'd need 2 units just for the shuttle .

Because under the May timetable, the service to Nuneaton leaves Coventry on or around :15 past the hour, the same time as the Leamington service leaves Nuneaton. So to provide a second service per hour at :45 (any other time is just daft) then you'd need 2 units just for the shuttle by my reckoning. And lengthy turnarounds at Nuneaton and Coventry!

 

[Ianno87]

You could have the 1038 arrival (otherwise forming the 1117 back) at Nuneaton depart back to Coventry at say 1043. That would arrive Coventry about 1103.

It would then work back at 1151 to arrive Nuneaton at 1212 forming the 1217 back.

About a 25/35 pattern in both directions, and only one extra unit (by being clever with the long layover on the hourly service at Nuneaton). With a 45 minute layover in the bay at Coventry.

 

[HLE]

You could have the 1038 arrival (otherwise forming the 1117 back) at Nuneaton depart back to Coventry at say 1043. That would arrive Coventry about 1103.

It would then work back at 1151 to arrive Nuneaton at 1212 forming the 1217 back.

About a 25/35 pattern in both directions, and only one extra unit (by being clever with the long layover on the hourly service at Nuneaton). With a 45 minute layover in the bay at Coventry.

You could have the 1038 arrival (otherwise forming the 1117 back) at Nuneaton depart back to Coventry at say 1043. That would arrive Coventry about 1103.

It would then work back at 1151 to arrive Nuneaton at 1212 forming the 1217 back.

About a 25/35 pattern in both directions, and only one extra unit (by being clever with the long layover on the hourly service at Nuneaton). With a 45 minute layover in the bay at Coventry.

Interesting analysis. It would be interesting to see those diagrams.....possibly enough time for a PNB at Coventry too.

 

[Energy]

It has recently happened in the May 2019 timetable change, on weekdays it is a class 172/0 however I believe it is a 172/3 on Sunday as it comes from Birmingham to Leamington on the Saturday night and stays at Leamington overnight. Apparently its more fuel efficient doing this than using the 172/0 on the Sunday. It seems strange considering the old Coventry to Leamington train didn't even have a Sunday service. Although I'm not sure about Saturday.

 

[DavidGrain]

I saw 172007 at Coventry yesterday although another thread has said that 172002 and 172003 were operating the service at the start of the week. This is suggesting that the units are not being rotated on a weekly basis

 

[sufian123]

It has recently happened in the May 2019 timetable change, on weekdays it is a class 172/0 however I believe it is a 172/3 on Sunday as it comes from Birmingham to Leamington on the Saturday night and stays at Leamington overnight. Apparently its more fuel efficient doing this than using the 172/0 on the Sunday. It seems strange considering the old Coventry to Leamington train didn't even have a Sunday service. Although I'm not sure about Saturday.

Lots more info here

https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...now-hill-capacity.167168/page-18#post-4021885

 

[DavidGrain]

It has recently happened in the May 2019 timetable change, on weekdays it is a class 172/0 however I believe it is a 172/3 on Sunday as it comes from Birmingham to Leamington on the Saturday night and stays at Leamington overnight. Apparently its more fuel efficient doing this than using the 172/0 on the Sunday. It seems strange considering the old Coventry to Leamington train didn't even have a Sunday service. Although I'm not sure about Saturday.

Interesting, but my question would be why would a 172/3 be sent out from Birmingham? Does Leamington not have spare units on Sundays?

 

[sufian123]

Interesting, but my question would be why would a 172/3 be sent out from Birmingham? Does Leamington not have spare units on Sundays?

Leamington has lots of 172s parked as WMR don’t use them on Sunday’s at the sidings. After arriving Saturday night. Last one to arrive is from Shrub Hill to LMS which is booked as three car. Saves fuel and time. As 172s already there then getting it from Tyseley.

 

[HLE]

1 of the 2 units is rotated daily with a unit fetched off tyseley and ran ECS to Leamington to form the 615 to Nuneaton

 

[sufian123]

1 of the 2 units is rotated daily with a unit fetched off tyseley and ran ECS to Leamington to form the 615 to Nuneaton

That’s weekdays I believe

 

[II]

I had a trip on the new through service on Tuesday, as provided by nice and shiny 172002 and 004. Very pleasant interiors perfect for such a route, just lacking rubbish bins from their legacy on London Overground.

I took several trips from mid-afternoon until mid-evening. A fatality at Milton Keynes meant London passengers from Nuneaton and Coventry were being directed onto the Leamington service to change for Marylebone, and the extra carriage came in very useful then. Otherwise loadings were very reasonable, you could see a Class 153 would struggle at peak times, and there were definitely some who made the trip through Coventry, though as you would expect that was where most passengers joined and left.

Very positive conversations overheard from both passengers and crew about the new service, which seems to be proving reasonably reliable so far. Room for passenger growth which I am sure will develop nicely over the coming months. A linespeed increase on the Coventry to Nuneaton section to at least 60mph would help, as it is a bit of a trundle.

Here's 172002 at Kenilworth and Bedworth.

 

[sufian123]

Interesting, but my question would be why would a 172/3 be sent out from Birmingham? Does Leamington not have spare units on Sundays?

More 3 cars then 2 cars stays at leamington.

 

[HLE]

That’s weekdays I believe

Yep just weekdays. Was replying to the chap upthread who said something about units not being the same for the whole week.

 

[HLE]

I had a trip on the new through service on Tuesday, as provided by nice and shiny 172002 and 004. Very pleasant interiors perfect for such a route, just lacking rubbish bins from their legacy on London Overground.

I took several trips from mid-afternoon until mid-evening. A fatality at Milton Keynes meant London passengers from Nuneaton and Coventry were being directed onto the Leamington service to change for Marylebone, and the extra carriage came in very useful then. Otherwise loadings were very reasonable, you could see a Class 153 would struggle at peak times, and there were definitely some who made the trip through Coventry, though as you would expect that was where most passengers joined and left.

Very positive conversations overheard from both passengers and crew about the new service, which seems to be proving reasonably reliable so far. Room for passenger growth which I am sure will develop nicely over the coming months. A linespeed increase on the Coventry to Nuneaton section to at least 60mph would help, as it is a bit of a trundle.

Here's 172002 at Kenilworth and Bedworth.

View attachment 63501 View attachment 63502

Haha, reasonably reliable. The old shuttles were damn near 100% reliable, and for most months was the most reliable service in the region. The dogbox used to be rammed at the peaks , worse than the London tubes.

Still a huge improvement passenger-wise on the traction.