Another fantastic day with Avanti

[Huntergreed]

On the 15:38 from Glasgow Central to Euston.
Cannot believe how empty it's been (albeit in Coach A). No more than 10-12 of us if that throughout.
Perhaps they have lost so much passenger confidence (both because of tbeir performance and the strikes) people just aren't bothering.

Indeed, I’ve ended up on the 18:40, but having to get a lift back home! (if I get off, the next train to Lockerbie isn’t until 21:53 thanks to TPE canceling the earlier one).

It seems pretty empty, I have half a coach to myself. The TM whilst doing the ticket check said this was a “busier than usual” service, which shocked me!

 

[Leisurefirst]

Indeed, I’ve ended up on the 18:40, but having to get a lift back home! (if I get off, the next train to Lockerbie isn’t until 21:49 thanks to TPE canceling the earlier one).

It seems pretty empty, I have half a coach to myself. The TM whilst doing the ticket check said this was a “busier than usual” service, which shocked me!

Good luck!
This is by far the most comfortable & relaxing journey I have ever had on AWC in Standard!

 

[ChiefPlanner]

On the 15:38 from Glasgow Central to Euston.
Cannot believe how empty it's been (albeit in Coach A).
No more than 10 or 12 of us if that throughout.
Perhaps they have lost so much passenger confidence (both because of their performance and the strikes) people just aren't bothering.

We had planned a pre Xmas visit to family at Liverpool - but regarded it as too much hassle / risk - so we did not go. Last time for a graduation in Chester we drove. I suspect there are many others ......

 

[Bald Rick]

There were 52 Avanti Cancellations, or Partial Cancellations when I checked their website BEFORE 08:30 this morning.

So I left a little feedback about their webpage:

'I would like to suggest changing 'when it'll arrive' to 'if it'll arrive.' Its not even 08:30 and you are already showing 52 cancellations or partial cancellations'

I genuinely don’t understand people who do this sort of thing. What’s the point? How is it going to help matters?

I just can’t fathom it. Surely alarm bells are amplifying by the day in the Avanti planning office, why isn’t anything being done?

Let’s just say the plan was absolutely fine, until a very late intervention from a source that Avanti have no control over.

 

[JamieL]

Its better than doing nothing. Avanti are rubbish and should be called out at every opportunity.

 

[Bald Rick]

It’s better than doing nothing.

Is it? How does it make things better?

 

[VideozVideoz]

First North Western: Manchester-London

What was this service exactly. FNW never had any really fast stock so I'd have to presume they either did it the LM way and just let it take longer than VT or was this service a stopper?

www.railforums.co.uk

North Western Trains - London Euston - Manchester Airport

Hi, just wondering about the North Western Trains services to London Euston from Manchester Airport. Does anyone have a photo of one of the timetables or maybe a link to a PDF copy of the timetable they can share on here? As I was wondering how long did these services take from one end to the...

www.railforums.co.uk

Ahh thanks, that was an interesting read

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

Avanti have until April (well, probably earlier than that) to show they can run a stable and reliable service, or have the contract revoked.
The DfT knows quite well the problems are intractable until the industrial action is resolved and more drivers deployed

They had a 100 drivers in training ready for dec TT change we were told!! The WCML TT should have been subjected to an independent assessment as it was a wholesale change but yet again like 2018 assurance of readiness has failed.

 

[Boodiggy]

Extended from when? The number of delay minutes caused must have been staggering.

The actual possession was extended to a 9hr possession although went back early in the end.
As the Planner has said nearly 5000mins this month and over 10000 in total. With all of the other TSR/ESR at the south end of the WCML plenty of delays!

 

[Bald Rick]

They had a 100 drivers in training ready for dec TT change we were told!! The WCML TT should have been subjected to an independent assessment as it was a wholesale change but yet again like 2018 assurance of readiness has failed.

I can assure you that this timetable change has been assured more than any other, ever. I’ll PM you.

 

[JamieL]

Is it? How does it make things better?

It illuminates the shortfalls - and that is the only way things will change.

 

[Leisurefirst]

We had planned a pre Xmas visit to family at Liverpool - but regarded it as too much hassle / risk - so we did not go. Last time for a graduation in Chester we drove. I suspect there are many others ......

Yes, totally this, isn't it.

 

[Bald Rick]

It illuminates the shortfalls - and that is the only way things will change.

It doesn’t though. The ‘shortfalls’ are well understood, at the very highest levels in industry and Government. A random facetious comment on Avanti’s website is going to do absolutely nothing in that respect.

 

[Bertie the bus]

I can assure you that this timetable change has been assured more than any other, ever. I’ll PM you.

Give us a hint then. I'm sure there are a lot more people than just Mr Lewis who are interested.

 

[LOL The Irony]

Well I arrived into Wilmslow over an hour a 20 late. Nice delay repay incoming, considering both my trains were late.

Give us a hint then. I'm sure there are a lot more people than just Mr Lewis who are interested.

I would guess that @Bald Rick can't publicly divulge the information, hence why he isn't posting it.

 

[The Planner]

Give us a hint then. I'm sure there are a lot more people than just Mr Lewis who are interested.

A fair chunk was done via the event steering group (ESG) and the readiness reviews which had a myriad of roles from across the TOCs and NR attending.

 

[Peregrine 4903]

The actual possession was extended to a 9hr possession although went back early in the end.
As the Planner has said nearly 5000mins this month and over 10000 in total. With all of the other TSR/ESR at the south end of the WCML plenty of delays!

Another TSR near Willesden as well.

 

[JamieL]

It doesn’t though. The ‘shortfalls’ are well understood, at the very highest levels in industry and Government. A random facetious comment on Avanti’s website is going to do absolutely nothing in that respect.

Comments spread information- passengers need to know and understand that Avanti is rubbish - that way they will start to influence their MPs and the issue will gain traction in the media.

 

[Bald Rick]

Comments spread information- passengers need to know and understand that Avanti is rubbish - that way they will start to influence their MPs and the issue will gain traction in the media.

sensible comments might do.

it’s rather far fetched to think a comment like that will make an MP or the media think ‘Oh yes, there must be an issue, we hadn’t cottoned on’.

you might have missed Avanti being in the media for months, or in front if the transport select committee last week.

 

[Boodiggy]

Another TSR near Willesden as well.

90 TSR UF, 20 ESR DF.. plus the 50s on slows at Willesden and South Hampstead.
Lots of restrictions about…

 

[All Line Rover]

Cancelled the last train from London to Manchester tonight. And that's on top of the last train being brought forward in the new timetable from 11pm to 10pm.

They can't hold the 9.30pm train for just half an hour, really?

It was cancelled last night, too. I wonder if it'll be cancelled again tomorrow... (The 23.30 to Birmingham/Wolverhampton has already been cancelled. That's a start, I suppose)

 

[Sheridan]

Cancelled the last train from London to Manchester tonight. And that's on top of the last train being brought forward in the new timetable from 11pm to 10pm.

They can't hold the 9.30pm train for just half an hour, really?

It was cancelled last night, too. I wonder if it'll be cancelled again tomorrow... (The 23.30 to Birmingham/Wolverhampton has already been cancelled. That's a start, I suppose)

If they could hold the 21.30, then they would probably cancel that and run the 22.00 instead.

 

[800001]

Cancelled the last train from London to Manchester tonight. And that's on top of the last train being brought forward in the new timetable from 11pm to 10pm.

They can't hold the 9.30pm train for just half an hour, really?

It was cancelled last night, too. I wonder if it'll be cancelled again tomorrow... (The 23.30 to Birmingham/Wolverhampton has already been cancelled. That's a start, I suppose)

By holding the 2130 by 30 minutes that becomes enforced overtime for the train crew, as there diagram is the 2130 that’s why that runs and not the 2200.

 

[Horizon22]

90 TSR UF, 20 ESR DF.. plus the 50s on slows at Willesden and South Hampstead.
Lots of restrictions about…

Won't be getting any better either. Restrictions had been getting steadily worse across much of the network and that was before strikes and overtime bans.

 

[387star]

Never known the railway to be in this state

There used to be standards

 

[Bertie the bus]

A fair chunk was done via the event steering group (ESG) and the readiness reviews which had a myriad of roles from across the TOCs and NR attending.

And yet it all went pear shaped. That's the intriguing bit - how and why it went so badly after it went through readiness reviews.

 

[Carlisle]

Won't be getting any better either. Restrictions had been getting steadily worse across much of the network and that was before strikes and overtime bans.

However the northern section of the WCML seems remarkably free of speed restrictions compared to some previous years .

 

[mike57]

And yet it all went pear shaped. That's the intriguing bit - how and why it went so badly after it went through readiness reviews.

I think that highlights a problem which isnt confined to the rail industry. Any review is only as good as the input information, and unless there is someone genuinely independent to ask awkward questions it will end up being a rubber stamping exercise.

The industry I work in has had some major safety challenges in the past, and one of the internal findings was that a fully independant person(s) should always be part of any review (in this case when plant changes were being considered), and that the independant person(s) should have good experience of the principles under discussion and be confident (translation 'an awkward old...') as this was the only way that errors and sometimes fundemental flaws in any proposals will be uncovered.

OK so timetable changes probably do not carry direct safety risks, but getting them wrong has a huge impact, so independant review would be needed. Going back to the May 2018 meltdown there were 'schoolboy errors' in the proposals which everyone could see, but somehow they got through. A local example: 2 trains, from opposite directions calling at the single platform at Malton with in 3 minutes of each other.

 

[Horizon22]

Isn’t there a fundamental problem here though? In that Avanti prepared a plan for Dec 22 but could they have envisaged the RMT / TSSA overtime ban several months ago? That is surely playing havoc with something that might have been half decent? Still some distance away from good performance though!

 

[Clarence Yard]

The problem is that the Long Term (Timetable) Plan is like a supertanker. It’s very hard to turn it round once a course has been set, especially when you have to take other users into account.

Effectively the go-no go decision has to be taken months in advance unless you just rip trains out of the timetable and leave all others as is.