Services Suspended between Nuneaton and Leamington Spa from 27/12/21.

[james60059]

From the West Midlands Railway website:
https://www.westmidlandsrailway.co....s-leamington-spa-nuneaton-services-mon-27-dec

Changes to Leamington Spa - Nuneaton services (from Mon 27 Dec)​

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The Coronavirus pandemic (and more recently the Omicron variant) has had a significant impact our workforce meaning more of our colleagues are having to self-isolate. Whilst we make every effort to run the planned train service, we need to let you know that in December, we will be making changes to services between Leamington Spa – Nuneaton via Coventry.

• From Monday 27th December, the Leamington Spa – Nuneaton via Coventry line will be served by rail replacement bus until further notice
• We are keeping the situation under close review and it remains our intention to reinstate the full timetable on this line as soon as possible

Funnily enough, there's been no reports in local press (Coventry Live, Nuneaton News etc).

 

[Nova1]

Is there a specific reason that these WMR services appear to be the least important? Lower passenger numbers? Uses too many resources.

Either way, disappointing to see. Good that there is a strong local bus service between Leamington Spa and Coventry…

 

[james60059]

Either way, disappointing to see. Good that there is a strong local bus service between Leamington Spa and Coventry…

Same with Nuneaton and Coventry too, especially since NatEx extended the Route 20 from Bedworth to Nuneaton not that long ago.

 

[The Planner]

Is there a specific reason that these WMR services appear to be the least important? Lower passenger numbers? Uses too many resources.

Either way, disappointing to see. Good that there is a strong local bus service between Leamington Spa and Coventry…

Likely one of the reasons they can it. I bet a lot of people wanting Birmingham or London still drive to Tile Hill as they did before it opened.

 

[Nova1]

I guess temporarily suspending service on this route is not terrible when you think about it.

The main local-ish journeys (Leamington Spa <-> Kenilworth <-> Coventry, Coventry <-> Nuneaton) already has strong bus links that will be backed up by rail replacement buses.

Further journeys (Leamington Spa <-> Coventry) is already served hourly by CrossCountry and going via Birmingham isn't a terrible option.

Feels bad for Kenilworth and Coventry Arena really. Station has never really had a good service since it opened. Especially Coventry Arena, where on match days, WMR advises against using the station!

 

[Spaceship323]

Is there a specific reason that these WMR services appear to be the least important? Lower passenger numbers?

They were running a limited service even before covid, For the last 2 years now trains have been cancelled at short notice leaving passengers with a 2 hour wait for the next train. The RRB service is a lot more reliable but for travelling from Coventry to Nuneaton it's easier to just catch a service bus in the town centre. I now drive into Nuneaton as the WMT service has been useless recently.

 

[HLE]

Add onto Covid that Leamington have had a few retirees since the pandemic started, then couple it with the backlog in training and it gets you the answer.

It's the easiest route to bustitute.

 

[Adam Williams]

It's been incredibly poor for Kenilworth. The independently run retail outlet has gone - Tony has given up.. and the replacement run by WMT is a poor imitation of what used to be there.

The local residents rightly don't rely on it due to the frequency of services that are (and were) cancelled (often at short notice) or bustituted.

The existence of the 11 is a poor argument for not providing a service, particularly when the traffic in Leamington (and around the uni/Cov city centre) can get as bad as it does, extending journey times.

It's been 9 months since WMT came along to the local Kenilworth Forum event and said they were committed to the line and station, the service was partially reinstated after that ... now it's canned again. It doesn't feel like much progress has been made whatsoever, and if it has it hasn't been communicated properly at all.

And all this after a poorly handled construction programme which was marred by delays and screw-ups from multiple parties.

 

[SCDR_WMR]

Don't forget also that LMS crew work the Snow Hill lines which have been severely affected over the last 2 years.

Using LMS crew to help on what is the main lines for that section of routes and not running the LMS-NUN services does free up a number of guards/drivers especially as there are numerous jobcards that are solely on the LMS-NUN line.

Essentially it's the quietest route, and not running it has a positive impact on the main lines

 

[Adam Williams]

Essentially it's the quietest route

This is a vicious cycle though, it's a quiet route because it's been poor for a long time and local residents know this. If you lived in Kenilworth last year and e.g. worked in COV/LMS there's no chance in hell you'd rely on the rail service to get to and from work. People have been burnt far too often by trying; I've been stranded before due to the unreliability of the service.

not running it has a positive impact on the main lines

Fine.. and I'm sympathetic - but it needs to be temporary. Just announcing an "indefinite" service suspension "until further notice" is poor. Surely WMT should know how many trainees they have today.. and I'm sure they've modelled how long on average training will take (with reasonable allowances for e.g. further delays due to govt guidance changes, new variants). I know they're trying to recruit qualified drivers now, too. It sounds to me like the age-profile of drivers has been stacked towards those close to retirement for a few years now and this should've been a concern pre-pandemic really.

I don't think it's fair to blame WMT for this either, Govt/DfT needs to invest more too IMO - ideally that'd be in the form of financial incentives to aid with hiring qualified staff & retaining existing staff. At present it feels like £11m of public money has just been thrown down the drain when it comes to Kenilworth, really.

 

[SCDR_WMR]

This is a vicious cycle though, it's a quiet route because it's been poor for a long time and local residents know this. If you lived in Kenilworth last year and e.g. worked in COV/LMS there's no chance in hell you'd rely on the rail service to get to and from work. People have been burnt far too often by trying; I've been stranded before due to the unreliability of the service.



Fine.. and I'm sympathetic - but it needs to be temporary. Just announcing an "indefinite" service suspension "until further notice" is poor. Surely WMT should know how many trainees they have today.. and I'm sure they've modelled how long on average training will take (with reasonable allowances for e.g. further delays due to govt guidance changes, new variants). I know they're trying to recruit qualified drivers now, too. It sounds to me like the age-profile of drivers has been stacked towards those close to retirement for a few years now and this should've been a concern pre-pandemic really.

I don't think it's fair to blame WMT for this either, Govt/DfT needs to invest more too IMO - ideally that'd be in the form of financial incentives to aid with hiring qualified staff & retaining existing staff. At present it feels like £11m of public money has just been thrown down the drain when it comes to Kenilworth, really.

Its not a vicious cycle though, the other routes WMT run are commuter routes in/out of Birmingham and will always be far busier than any LMS route - similar in that the SAV route often gets shortened to WTE in emergency planning. This will never change as the hit to PPM is far less due to less trains per day.

I think a lot of the blame will lie with WMT however as they set out their stall to DfT when bidding for the franchise, making many promises that they simply haven't cared to keep.

Training has been non-stop for 4 years at all depots until COVID hit and now it's the perfect storm of crew taking extended leave, people taking earlier than expected retirement including instructors, unable to train for a long period (blame lies with ASLEF there), larger diagrams with limited padding meaning impact of next shifts etc and then there's the company being unwilling to promote from within also hitting moral and motivation within depots too.

 

[Watershed]

Its not a vicious cycle though, the other routes WMT run are commuter routes in/out of Birmingham and will always be far busier than any LMS route - similar in that the SAV route often gets shortened to WTE in emergency planning. This will never change as the hit to PPM is far less due to less trains per day.

I think a lot of the blame will lie with WMT however as they set out their stall to DfT when bidding for the franchise, making many promises that they simply haven't cared to keep.

Training has been non-stop for 4 years at all depots until COVID hit and now it's the perfect storm of crew taking extended leave, people taking earlier than expected retirement including instructors, unable to train for a long period (blame lies with ASLEF there), larger diagrams with limited padding meaning impact of next shifts etc and then there's the company being unwilling to promote from within also hitting moral and motivation within depots too.

There is a difference between reducing services and entirely bustituting a line.

Even a basic two-hourly ("one train in steam") timetable would be better than nothing.

 

[SCDR_WMR]

There is a difference between reducing services and entirely bustituting a line.

Even a basic two-hourly ("one train in steam") timetable would be better than nothing.

Well hopefully once the next few training schools are finished the shortage of drivers will end and they reintroduce the service proposition that was agreed at the start of the franchise.

There are a lot of trainee drivers sat on their bums getting paid whilst they wait for instructors

 

[RT4038]

This is a vicious cycle though, it's a quiet route because it's been poor for a long time and local residents know this. If you lived in Kenilworth last year and e.g. worked in COV/LMS there's no chance in hell you'd rely on the rail service to get to and from work. People have been burnt far too often by trying; I've been stranded before due to the unreliability of the service.



Fine.. and I'm sympathetic - but it needs to be temporary. Just announcing an "indefinite" service suspension "until further notice" is poor. Surely WMT should know how many trainees they have today.. and I'm sure they've modelled how long on average training will take (with reasonable allowances for e.g. further delays due to govt guidance changes, new variants). I know they're trying to recruit qualified drivers now, too. It sounds to me like the age-profile of drivers has been stacked towards those close to retirement for a few years now and this should've been a concern pre-pandemic really.

I don't think it's fair to blame WMT for this either, Govt/DfT needs to invest more too IMO - ideally that'd be in the form of financial incentives to aid with hiring qualified staff & retaining existing staff. At present it feels like £11m of public money has just been thrown down the drain when it comes to Kenilworth, really.

A vicious cycle? It is a quiet route because the line doesn't really go to where the people want to go to (Leamington and Coventry stations are not really convenient for their business districts, Kenilworth and Bedworth stations only conveniently serve a small part of the town, and there are no through trains to Birmingham or London. As for Arena or Bermuda Park.....) and the area is well served by more frequent motorbuses generally going closer to people's homes and to the business districts. Only short distances are involved and the 'buses are simply more convenient. Probably the main reason for the line closing in 1964.

Surely if resources are not available it makes sense to substitute buses for the services that carry few people, rather than inconveniencing the many.

Yes it was £11m down the drain. And the rest, to subsidise a loss making service that is never going to do well. A bit of a vanity project, like Soham, not very well thought through, a victim of local lobbying - 'The line is there so why can't we have passenger trains on it, like the good old days'.

 

[Adam Williams]

Its not a vicious cycle though, the other routes WMT run are commuter routes in/out of Birmingham and will always be far busier than any LMS route - similar in that the SAV route often gets shortened to WTE in emergency planning. This will never change as the hit to PPM is far less due to less trains per day

I don't disagree it'll always be quieter than the Brum routes, but what I was trying to say was that the demand has been dampened due to the state of the services and there's potential for it to be a lot busier than it is now/has been lately.

A vicious cycle?

Yes, that's what I said :P

It is a quiet route because the line doesn't really go to where the people want to go to

Kenilworth and Bedworth stations only conveniently serve a small part of the town

I'd disagree - Kenilworth isn't that big (I've spent a while living there :P). The station is a short walk away from the high street, most of the rest of the town and pretty much everywhere else the 11 stops. If the station "doesn't serve the town" then the Waitrose doesn't either. Hell, they culled the station link bus service because the rail station was accessible to basically everyone on foot and that was the clear preference for people travelling to the station.

I'll agree Leamington's station is a bit out of the way but it's still what, 12 minutes tops to get to the parade .. and it's not like the 11 goes anywhere else exciting when it serves Leam from Kenilworth. Which areas are you talking about for businesses?

 

[RT4038]

I'd disagree - Kenilworth isn't that big (I've spent a while living there :P). The station is a short walk away from the high street, most of the rest of the town and pretty much everywhere else the 11 stops. If the station "doesn't serve the town" then the Waitrose doesn't either. Hell, they culled the station link bus service because the rail station was accessible to basically everyone on foot and that was the clear preference for people travelling to the station.

I'll agree Leamington's station is a bit out of the way but it's still what, 12 minutes tops to get to the parade .. and it's not like the 11 goes anywhere else exciting when it serves Leam from Kenilworth. Which areas are you talking about for businesses?

You could walk to Kenilworth Station from anywhere in Kenilworth, but for a great part of the town (Albion Street/Leyes Lane/Malthouse Lane/Dudley Road/High Street) why would you when would be walking further and /or past closer more frequent bus services, going to the business centres of Coventry and Leamington? Yes, some people will, but this feature is always going to seriously depress the number of passengers using the train. It is hardly surprising that the station link bus service was culled - how could it ever have been an economic proposition?

If Kenilworth was on the direct line of route between London and Birmingham its station would do very well (and never have been closed). However, it is on a branch line with the main stations (Leamington and Coventry) not particularly well sited and without services to places that the people want to go to which are far enough away that bus services with their superior stop coverage are not a practicable competitor.

 

[DarloRich]

Marston Vale services suspended until 29th january. It isnt only Leamington services up the spout

 

[SteveT]

...For the last 2 years now trains have been cancelled at short notice leaving passengers with a 2 hour wait for the next train...

There was a mix of rail and bus services when I used the line in October and November. These were advertised on the NR website journey planner a week or more in advance.

This weekend (29/30 Jan), the line is closed for engineering works with all services replaced by buses. Does anyone know what's being done?

 

[barbette165]

WMR have provided an update to say that the full rail service will be running again from 27th February, A news item appeared on Friday and they published the timetable today.

 

[SCDR_WMR]

WMR have provided an update to say that the full rail service will be running again from 27th February, A news item appeared on Friday and they published the timetable today.

Good to hear, fingers crossed it lasts!

 

[DarloRich]

A partial Marston Vale service will restart on 14th February

 

[87015]

A partial Marston Vale service will restart on 14th February

Meanwhile the Euston reductions have been put in until 1 April. Combined with the Southern withdrawl until May it leaves some poor gaps for journeys.

 

[Jimini]

*Bump*

From my vantage point on the sofa in the lounge in not so sunny Coventry, these seem to have restarted this week.

 

[cambran]

Although the trains are back to normal at least one replacement bus was seen at Kenilworth this afternoon. I could understand keeping one on standby but why waste money duplicating the trains?

 

[Spaceship323]

Although the trains are back to normal at least one replacement bus was seen at Kenilworth this afternoon. I could understand keeping one on standby but why waste money duplicating the trains?

Replacement bus at Bedworth this morning even though trains showing as running to timetable

 

[james60059]

I noticed a Ridleys Coach with "Rail Replacement" on the destination display whilst driving to work on Bermuda Park on Friday. Ridleys have done a fair bit of RR for the service over the last few months. Likewise, both diagrams were running

 

[OscarH]

I saw the same at Coventry earlier this week, as I left the station coming off a Leamington to Nuneaton service an RRB arrived for Nuneaton, so it's not even like they're at useful times to supplement the service

 

[Mark J]

The Kenilworth line isn't helped by it being a single track route also heavily used by XR services to and from Birmingham.

It really needs to be redoubled (or at the very least, an extended passing loop at Kenilworth) for any hope of a decent service provided to the residents of Kenilworth.

I've wanted to visit Kenilworth on a Sunday in the past, only to discover there were no Sunday services to the station.

 

[Jimini]

The Kenilworth line isn't helped by it being a single track route also heavily used by XR services to and from Birmingham.

It really needs to be redoubled (or at the very least, an extended passing loop at Kenilworth) for any hope of a decent service provided to the residents of Kenilworth.

I've wanted to visit Kenilworth on a Sunday in the past, only to discover there were no Sunday services to the station.

Not that heavily surely -- there's only one per hour each way (that's a different discussion!), and timed to pass at Cov so it's pretty much clear for at least half an hour when you take the XC (not XR by the way ) services out of the equation.

 

[geoffk]

Not that heavily surely -- there's only one per hour each way (that's a different discussion!), and timed to pass at Cov so it's pretty much clear for at least half an hour when you take the XC (not XR by the way ) services out of the equation.

Also freights to/from Southampton.