Trivia:Services that are yet to return to pre-coivd levels

[Ex-controller]

Ayr is a particularly good (or rather, bad) example; With the withdrawal of most of the fast (non stop between Glasgow and Kilwinning) services, the remaining Ayr trains are the every lamp post stoppers between Paisley and Ayr, giving stations between Kilwinning and Ayr their worst service since before electrification!

More Scottish examples;
Glasgow Central/Kilmarnock; Half of these trains now double up as Central/Barrhead all stations stoppers, meaning that they are a) slow, and b) departures from Central are at xx13 and xx27, not every half hour as before.
Glasgow Queen St High Level/Anniesland, still only hourly outside the peaks.

Despite this new services running all day have been introduced between

Glasgow Queen Street and Dundee semi fast
Dundee to Arbroath
Montrose - Aberdeen - Inverurie
Inverness to Elgin supplementary

These have all been at the behest of Transport Scotland. Seems launching services before the demand is there is okay the further north you go, but not in the Glasgow area. Some real double standards at play here.

 

[busestrains]

Most of the Southeastern services to and from Ore have not returned. It is only one train a day in one direction only now. It used to be a couple of trains a day in each direction during the morning and evening peaks.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Most of the Southeastern services to and from Ore have not returned. It is only one train a day in one direction only now. It used to be a couple of trains a day in each direction during the morning and evening peaks.

I’m surprised they’ve even got that.

 

[busestrains]

I’m surprised they’ve even got that.

Yes they could easily withdraw this remaining service. I am surprised too they have not gotten rid of it considering that all these other infrequent odd services (eg Southern to Guildford and SWR to Bristol and GWR to Brighton etc) have gone recently. When i used it a few months ago i was the only person onboard other than the Driver and Guard from Ore to Hastings so it is certainly very little used. It seems pointless to keep it.

 

[Man_with_beard]

The overnights from London Victoria to Gatwick Airport/Three Bridges.

 

[PGAT]

London Bridge to Sutton loop services (peak only - non existent)
London Victoria to Sutton via Norbury (4tph off peak - 2tph off peak)
London Bridge to Guildford (peak only - non existent)

 

[Bletchleyite]

Morecambe to Lancaster (some gaps that didn't previously exist)

That service is a right mess. Like Snorbens*, I wonder if hourly clockface would be better than the present odd 45ish minute frequency.

* St Albans

 

[xotGD]

Trans Pennine.

And perhaps it never will.

Actually, with WFH and hybrid working, the need to reinstate peak extras on many routes is questionable.

 

[JonathanH]

The overnights from London Victoria to Gatwick Airport/Three Bridges.

They were withdrawn well before March 2020. Overnight journeys between London and Gatwick Airport are concentrated on the Thameslink route.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Around Chester, TfW is almost normal (when they can be bothered to run Mk4 services), but Chester-Liverpool is still 2-hourly.
Avanti has got more London-Chester/Holyhead services in the timetable, but there are still gaps and terminations short at Chester.
It will be a complicated year for both TOCs, with 197s and 805s coming into service, and 175s and 221s being phased out.
Merseyrail is pretty normal, but with 777s expected "soon".
In 12 months' time things could look very different round here.
Who knows what will be running on the Wrexham-Bidston line...

 

[sammyg901]

Chiltern Railways- not a simple answer as the service pattern varied almost by hour but fewer trains and those that remain stopping additionally.








Biggest loss for me is the 0735 68 hauled Bicester Village service to Marylebone in 45mins. It's now t1he 800

Not sure if it's just me but I'm having real trouble posting from my Samsung phone recently?!

To complete my sentence... It's now the 0800 165 operated service which takes 1hr 6 mins (or get up for the 0717 which takes 1hr 11!) . Bicester North has faster services and I'm hoping the changes they've made in the mornings will make getting a seat more of a certainty otherwise I'll be sticking with Aylesbury and saving money at least.

Off-peak it's a similar story, fast services with extra stops instead of seperate services

 

[SE%Traveller]

Thameslink Catford Loop missing 2tph off peak/evenings (Kentish Town - Orpington)

from my experience (mainly elephant and castle routes) Peak Urban Trains in London are very busy right now, particularly Tuesday to Thursday

 

[tbtc]

Despite this new services running all day have been introduced between

Glasgow Queen Street and Dundee semi fast
Dundee to Arbroath
Montrose - Aberdeen - Inverurie
Inverness to Elgin supplementary

These have all been at the behest of Transport Scotland. Seems launching services before the demand is there is okay the further north you go, but not in the Glasgow area. Some real double standards at play here.

The additional services you’re referring to are presumably at least partly resourced by the reduction on Fife services?

I don’t know why Fife and Ayrshire have to pay the price for improvements on the Glasgow to Aberdeen corridor, but I agree that it seems a little “off”…

 

[greyman42]

Sheffield to York via Pontefract.

I thought these had started again or are they not as frequent?

 

[RJ]

The 2207 London Bridge to Uckfield came and went several times since COVID started and now seems to have gone for good.

I don’t know if the 3 and 4 carriage trains out of London Bridge and Victoria towards the end of service are a recent thing but typical loadings see people packed in from cab to cab. Some of these trains come empty from Selhurst to form these services.

 

[Peterthegreat]

I thought these had started again or are they not as frequent?

Started up with the pre Covid timetable on Monday.

 

[class397tpe]

SWR Hounslow loop Waterloo - Waterloo trains have only been reinstated during the morning and evening peaks - used to run all day. Curiously stations on the Hounslow loop get a better service on strike days of 4tph to Waterloo!

 

[route101]

The TPE Glasgow to Liverpool service. Has never really got off the ground.

 

[WizCastro197]

They were withdrawn well before March 2020. Overnight journeys between London and Gatwick Airport are concentrated on the Thameslink route.

There is only 1 left that departs at Midnight or around that time, via Redhill.

 

[Revilo]

Crosscountry trains still aren’t calling at Weston-super-Mare. But they still go through the loop twice a day, presumably for route-learning purposes, so we live in hope.

 

[DelW]

On SWR, to/from Portsmouth via the Direct is 2tph off-peak instead of 3 (one semi-fast per hour instead of two).
New Line services to/from Guildford via Effingham Junction are half their previous frequency (mentioned in post #17).

 

[306024]

To be fair, the route has been hanging on by a thread for years. I’ve often thought over the years that the paths would be better used by trains from Kings Cross which had far heavier loadings to those from Liverpool St. It can only be a matter of time now to tidy things up concession wise.

For many years the Fen Line Users Association were keen to keep the Liverpool St services as some of their members commuted to the City. Presumably today they are either retired, or just turn on a laptop.

In the GE electrics area there are a few pre-Covid commuter trains missing, probably never to return given the increased capacity of the 720s and the reduction in commuting. The Harwich branch has lost its half hourly SX peak service. Just hourly now plus the extra student train in the morning.

What passes as the down ‘Hook Continental’ Monday to Friday is now a five car 720 that leaves Liverpool St too early at 18.45, and has the indignity of being looped at Witham. How the mighty have fallen

 

[dk1]

For many years the Fen Line Users Association were keen to keep the Liverpool St services as some of their members commuted to the City. Presumably today they are either retired, or just turn on a laptop.

In the GE electrics area there are a few pre-Covid commuter trains missing, probably never to return given the increased capacity of the 720s and the reduction in commuting. The Harwich branch has lost its half hourly SX peak service. Just hourly now plus the extra student train in the morning.

What passes as the down ‘Hook Continental’ Monday to Friday is now a five car 720 that leaves Liverpool St too early at 18.45, and has the indignity of being looped at Witham. How the mighty have fallen

Yes the ‘boat’ trains are very different to when I drove them with an 86/MK2s. Often race past the 18:45 when working 1P58.

 

[Some guy]

The full Euston-Birmingham-Glasgow hasn’t fully returned 2 still terminating at Blackpool Monday to Saturday but pretty much back to normal on Sundays

 

[greaterwest]

In SWR land:
London Waterloo to Southampton remains at 2 trains per hour for most of the day (used to be three, with the Poole stopping service, but that now starts at Winchester).
London Waterloo to Haslemere / Portsmouth used to be 4 trains per hour to Haslemere, 3 of which continued to Portsmouth (2 fast, 1 calling at all stations). Now 3 trains per hour: 1 fast, 1 slow, 1 Haslemere stopper.
London Waterloo to Salisbury remains at 1 train per hour direct (continues to Exeter), with the Salisbury stopper starting from Basingstoke except for Saturdays where the frequency has returned to pre-COVID levels.

 

[WizCastro197]

In SWR land:
London Waterloo to Southampton remains at 2 trains per hour for most of the day (used to be three, with the Poole stopping service, but that now starts at Winchester).
London Waterloo to Haslemere / Portsmouth used to be 4 trains per hour to Haslemere, 3 of which continued to Portsmouth (2 fast, 1 calling at all stations). Now 3 trains per hour: 1 fast, 1 slow, 1 Haslemere stopper.
London Waterloo to Salisbury remains at 1 train per hour direct (continues to Exeter), with the Salisbury stopper starting from Basingstoke except for Saturdays where the frequency has returned to pre-COVID levels.

What is the Poole-Winchester stopper? There is only the Bournemouth one?

 

[greaterwest]

What is the Poole-Winchester stopper? There is only the Bournemouth one?

My apologies, you are correct. It only went to Poole on a Saturday (another reduction of service! Branksome and Parkstone were only 1 train per hour off peak!)

In the December (current) timetable, it has now been split into a Winchester to Southampton stopper and Southampton to Bournemouth stopper in that direction only, but is still a through working (Bournemouth to Winchester) in the other direction.

Branksome and Parkstone will be served by a portion splitting from the xx05 Weymouth service from Waterloo (1W, dividing to a 2W at Bournemouth).