Airdrie-Bathgate service

[CarterUSM]

Airdrie and Shotts MSP. Six months after being elected, I think she spoke once in the house and asked two written questions. I understand they don't all speak a lot: my MSP isn't all that involved in debates. But they're usually a lot more involved when it comes to written questions; getting answers for their constituents and probing the government (if, like Ms Nash, you are in opposition). I haven't seen her in the local rag mag since her election either. If she is doing anything, she's keeping a low profile. I doubt anyone in Airdrie even knows who she is, which is pretty poor. Compare that to Tom Clarke MP (in Coatbridge, Chryston & Bellshill) who's active in debates, asking plenty of questions, and is very very good at communicating with the community as a whole.

I'm not opposed to her being invited; I just reckon she won't be. I doubt the SNP lot would be keen to be seen alongside a Labour MP.

That's what i thought, pamela whom! I'd expect her to at least have a reasonable profile in her home constituency though, regardless of what duties she carries out at holyrood, local surgery etc. I know a bit about Tom Clarke, quite an active (and vociferous ) MSP.

 

[me123]

Apologies, she's an MP not an MSP. As is Tom Clarke. Both work in Westminster. That was my mistake

Airdrie and Shotts is; Pamela Nash MP, Karen Whitefield MSP
Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill is; Tom Clarke MP, Elaine Smith MSP (I'm sure you'll know who she is!)
(obviously plus regional MSPs for Holyrood)

 

[rail-britain]

There was no funding from Westminster, so I wouldn't expect any MPs to make an appearance
There was some funding from the Regional Transport Partnerships, from the local authorities, but I wouldn't expect any local councillors to make an appearance

Stewart Stephenson already appeared for the opening of the new Bathgate station
No mention of this on the news section of the scotland.gov.uk website though!
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/This-Week/Media-Briefings/101018

The next two Minister events are the launch of the Class 380 and opening of Shields Depot; no mention of any ministers to attend the opening of the A2B route, neither of any further events either

 

[CarterUSM]

Apologies, she's an MP not an MSP. As is Tom Clarke. Both work in Westminster. That was my mistake

Airdrie and Shotts is; Pamela Nash MP, Karen Whitefield MSP
Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill is; Tom Clarke MP, Elaine Smith MSP (I'm sure you'll know who she is!)
(obviously plus regional MSPs for Holyrood)

I think we both got crossed wires there mate!!

 

[PaulLothian]

I would also expect to see political representation from West Lothian, given that half the new line is in that area! Mary Mulligan (MSP) has been a strong supporter of the line.

 

[Domeyhead]

So are the Ballochs going to Springburn ?

My Ballochs are staying right where they are, thank you very much.

 

[me123]

Balloch services are to remain as they are just now; Balloch-Airdrie all stops via Singer throughout the day, Balloch-Springburn via Singer in the evenings.

 

[Damien1986]

Will anybody be taking photographs of the new route on opening day?

 

[rail-britain]

It's a Sunday, I might (if I can get my car out from under the seven feet of snow)

 

[me123]

Seven feet is a bit of an exaggeration methinks...

What's happening on Friday? Or at least, what is expected to happen on Friday. I believe Mr. Salmond will be travelling on the new line to open it (all going well), but other than the special train for the occasion, will there be other services at all between then and the Sunday opening?

 

[rail-britain]

Seven feet is a bit of an exaggeration methinks...

Sadly not, took photographs and sent them to North Lanarkshire Council
They contacted me the following day, they were unaware the road was that badly affected, and so made arrangements for an excavator to remove all the snow to allow access to the vehicles
The excavator arrived on Saturday morning and spent two hours removing all the snow
However the operator wasn't sure where vehicles or structures were under all the snow so had to get an assistant with a snow probe so there was a slight delay until he had arrived
A small van then arrived, a team of four then hacked away at all the ice so the vehicles could use the road
Another van arrived and grit was laid

 

[Bittern]

If I'm off work I might get myself down to travel on the new line.

 

[rob-of-the-roc]

Even though it has begun thawing, is anyone taking bets on a successful re-opening day?

 

[MCR247]

It has nothing to do with snow, it is to do with whether there is enough units

 

[me123]

The snow is only a minor issue. It's the introduction of Class 380 units to Ayrshire that's the real barrier to opening.

Besides, any thaw today will refreeze tonight.

 

[Failed Unit]

Even though it has begun thawing, is anyone taking bets on a successful re-opening day?

I think no chance at all, as others have stated scotrail have loads of failed units to fix. I don't know if losing 2 weeks has delayed drivers getting route knowledge. At the moment many core routes have no service and no idea when they will get it back again.

As I said on the "Scotfail" thread, don't expect to find out for certain until Sunday morning. Scotrail are really bad at keeping customers informed at the moment, for example right no they have services running between Stirling and Edinburgh, although unless you happen to see them for yourself they don't exist!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

The snow is only a minor issue. It's the introduction of Class 380 units to Ayrshire that's the real barrier to opening.

Besides, any thaw today will refreeze tonight.

Depends which forecast you listen to, some think the max tonight in the central belt will be 1oC and it will not freeze again until next week. (watch it hit -12oC tonight)

 

[rail-britain]

Even though it has begun thawing, is anyone taking bets on a successful re-opening day?

The service will commence on Sunday
The question is, what will actually commence?!?

As things stand it will operate, much as the rest of the Network Rail in Scotland, through an emergency timetable which is likely to apply for a further week

Ironically, on the plus side, no unit cascade would be essential to operate this timetable
The main issue will be strengthening these services, and for that part of the cascade has to take place (six units from Ayrshire diagrams)
More likely will be a compromise, leaving both routes short of units

However, then main issue arises when the temporary timetable is implemented
This requires the first stage of the cascade to be implemented
However, if there are no Class 380 units entering service, then this leaves a shortfall of eight units
This is fine during the day, but will become a serious issue at peak hours

 

[MidnightFlyer]

As many of you local to the line may have suspected, this week's official opening of the A2B has been cancelled due to the snow.

http://www.acadvertiser.co.uk/lanar...ny-for-railway-line-cancelled-65864-27783353/

 

[me123]

I'm rather disappointed that there's been no news yet. The service starts in three days time, with a weekday service starting in four days time. Surely they have a pretty good idea of what's available and what kind of service they will be able to run on the new line and communicate this to us. I'm sure some people have already planned to start travelling on the new line on Monday morning, and I'm sure they'll be most unimpressed if they turn up to an hourly service with severe overcrowding. (And I'm sure the regular North Clyde commuters won't be impressed either, as rush hours have been a farce over the last two weeks with the snow).

What's this I hear about the new stations not opening because the risk assessment hasn't been carried out? Is this true? If so, I think they should just concede defeat and run a contingency timetable with no service between Airdrie and Bathgate (until they can open the line with the emergency timetable, upgrade to the temporary timetable and finally progress onto the full timetable sometime in the next 10 years )
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Found this news article from the local rag mag.

It's about the cancellation of today's official event, but claims that the line will open as expected on Monday (ie, implying that the full temporary service will be in operation).

 

[Damien1986]

The service will commence on Sunday
The question is, what will actually commence?!?

As things stand it will operate, much as the rest of the Network Rail in Scotland, through an emergency timetable which is likely to apply for a further week

Ironically, on the plus side, no unit cascade would be essential to operate this timetable
The main issue will be strengthening these services, and for that part of the cascade has to take place (six units from Ayrshire diagrams)
More likely will be a compromise, leaving both routes short of units

However, then main issue arises when the temporary timetable is implemented
This requires the first stage of the cascade to be implemented
However, if there are no Class 380 units entering service, then this leaves a shortfall of eight units
This is fine during the day, but will become a serious issue at peak hours

If you look on the flikr website you will see acgthoms has uploaded at least 2 photos of class 380 units having offically operating passenger services from Glasgow to Ayr.Hope this helps!

 

[Failed Unit]

Found this news article from the local rag mag.

It's about the cancellation of today's official event, but claims that the line will open as expected on Monday (ie, implying that the full temporary service will be in operation).

I guess like every Scotrail traveller at the moment we will need to wait until the day to find out as Scotrail don't seem to do advanced information at the moment! I don't see any reason why it won't but the Bathgate line is still shut today and no indication about when it will open. Even the lines on the east that are open are on seriously reduced services.

 

[PaulLothian]

It will be interesting to see the inter-station fares for the new length of line. The new stations' existence isn't acknowedged yet by First ScotRail's ticket facility.

Having said that, the level of fares may not be too significant in encouraging the shift from bus to train on some trips. For example, Armadale Station is far enough out of the old town centre that many people would need a bus journey to get to it, thereby reducing any financial or time advantages for train over bus.

Have had a look at some of the new fares. Usual lack of consistency in pricing structure. For example Edinburgh to Bathgate (approx 18 miles) £4.10 single, Edinburgh to Armadale (approx 20.5 miles) £5.90 single.

The inter-station rate on the new line is also not competitive with bus services - Bathgate to Armadale £1.90 is almost double.

Bathgate-Blackridge (£3.00) seems out of kilter with equivalent distance on Edinburgh Glasgow mainline - Linlithgow-Polmont (£2.20)

 

[Failed Unit]

Bathgate is running with an hourly service now - so I could be eating my words and this may open on time!

 

[First ScotRail]

Hourly service between Helensburgh and Edinburgh commences this sunday at 0755.

http://www.scotrail.co.uk/a-b

 

[rail-britain]

I'm rather disappointed that there's been no news yet. The service starts in three days time, with a weekday service starting in four days time. Surely they have a pretty good idea of what's available and what kind of service they will be able to run on the new line and communicate this to us

Details are already available, it depends on weather conditions
If there is severe weather (unlikely now), then it will operate with the emergnecy timetable
The temporary (replacement) timetable will be in effect

The events for Bathgate, Armadale, Blackridge, and Caldercruix have been suspended, but will take place

Strangely, the press release advises a Sunday service will commence on Sunday (like doh!)
I think what they really mean is that in the run up to Christmas the Sunday service will run, thereafter the replacement timetable will apply

 

[me123]

OK, at least they're telling us now (although they're not being very upfront about the severely reduced weekday service!).

Am I right in saying that Blackridge station will be opening on Sunday (unlike the others)? It says on the website:

Consequently, the new stations at Armadale, Caldercruix and Drumgelloch will not be brought into use right away but will be opened as soon as possible once the weather improves.

All going well, I wouldn't think it would be too long until they open. Indeed, they only need to get 10 380s in to get a half-hourly service, so I don't think that would be too long either (although the full 4tph may be a bit further away; perhaps as late as the May timetable change?)

PS: has anyone had a look at the "wonderful" quality of the Saturday timetable on the Scotrail website? (I can't link directly because of the service disruption page). It's incomprehensible!

 

[rail-britain]

Am I right in saying that Blackridge station will be opening on Sunday (unlike the others)?

Indeed, they only need to get 10 380s in to get a half-hourly service

Details are that all stations between Airdrie and Bathgate will be open this Sunday, with 1 train per hour only (calling at all stations)

Class 380 units will not be used on this route, presume you mean Class 334 units but there will not be enough until the second week of January to implement the full timetable

 

[PaulLothian]

Has anyone had a look at the "wonderful" quality of the Saturday timetable on the Scotrail website? (I can't link directly because of the service disruption page). It's incomprehensible!

Here's the link http://www.scotrail.co.uk/sites/default/files/documents/A2B_TT_Sat.pdf This is rather dire - how good do they think our eyesight is?

 

[rail-britain]

has anyone had a look at the "wonderful" quality of the Saturday timetable on the Scotrail website? It's incomprehensible!

Are you refering to the quality of the service, the website, or the timetable as it appears in a browser?

There are two ways to view the timetable in a browser, but they don't make that very clear or obvious
I tend to use the full screen view option, never have any problems

If it's the actual service provision, what is different?

 

[me123]

Details are that all stations between Airdrie and Bathgate will be open this Sunday, with 1 train per hour only (calling at all stations)

Class 380 units will not be used on this route, presume you mean Class 334 units but there will not be enough until the second week of January to implement the full timetable

No, I meant class 380s. Don't they need 10 Class 380s in operation in Ayrshire/Inverclyde to release 334s to operate the new service. But, if you're saying that the temporary (half-hourly all week) timetable will be in place for the 2nd week of January, then that's good.

And Scotrail say themselves that the intermediate stations will not be opening tomorrow:

Consequently, the new stations at Armadale, Caldercruix and Drumgelloch will not be brought into use right away but will be opened as soon as possible once the weather improves.

Good news for Scotrail - very few disruptions today

• Motherwell-Cumbernauld suspended
• Inverness-Wick suspended
• Edinburgh-North Berwick will start and terminate at Prestonpans due to flooding (presumably from the thaw)
• Glasgow Queen Street-Anniesland via Maryhill will operate hourly, leaving Queen Street at xx:26 and Anniesland at xx:52
• Inverness-Aberdeen services will run, but with potential disruption due to flooding