Journey from Salisbury to Winchester

[RedPostJunc]

Yesterday evening I made a journey from Salisbury to Winchester. Two things happened, that I wonder if anyone who understands railway operations can explain.

Train 1F25 1627 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour arrived at Westbury one minute late (due 1803 actual 1804).
However, it was held at Westbury, allowing the late running 6O31 1730 Westbury Down T.C. to Eastleigh East Yard CE train to run ahead of it. By the time 1F23 arrived at Salisbury, it was 12 minutes late and after a succession of red and yellow signals arrived at Southampton Central 22 minutes late. Can anyone explain why 6O31 was sent ahead of 1F23?

At Southampton Central, the 1930 train to London Waterloo was scheduled to depart from platform 2. As the train pulled into the station, an announcement was made that the train would depart from platform 1. All passengers waiting for the 1930 had to cross via the footbridge to platform 1. Some of those passengers had suitcases and other luggage, and the 1930 was delayed while the passengers crossed over. Can anyone explain why the announcement was not made until the train was actually arriving into platform 1? Why was it not made when the decision was taken to replatform it? That would have given intending passengers a bit more time to cross over. This is by no means the first time that I have been waiting for a train in Southampton Central, which has been replatformed and the announcement has not been made until the train was arriving in the other platform.

 

[Surreytraveller]

Maybe the station staff weren't aware the train was going to be replatformed at Southampton. Maybe it was a last minute decision. Maybe the screens were wrong in the first place and the train was always booked to go from platform 1.
As for the freight train, if you stop one, they take a long time to get going again. They also work across different regions, so by delaying it may have had a bigger effect on more trains rather than just your one train. Perhaps 6O31 was time critical and had to be somewhere before a block went on.
I'm only guessing, but there's loads of reasons why these things happen

 

[skyhigh]

Train 1F25 1627 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour arrived at Westbury one minute late (due 1803 actual 1804).
However, it was held at Westbury, allowing the late running 6O31 1730 Westbury Down T.C. to Eastleigh East Yard CE train to run ahead of it. By the time 1F23 arrived at Salisbury, it was 12 minutes late and after a succession of red and yellow signals arrived at Southampton Central 22 minutes late. Can anyone explain why 6O31 was sent ahead of 1F23?

6O31 was 29 late at Salisbury. There are many reasons why a late freight might be put out ahead of even a class 1 passenger service.

 

[swt_passenger]

Maybe the station staff weren't aware the train was going to be replatformed at Southampton. Maybe it was a last minute decision. Maybe the screens were wrong in the first place and the train was always booked to go from platform 1.

RTT suggests the 1930 Waterloo is booked P2 in the WTT, presumably because there’s a Brighton departure from P1 at 1928. But why the SN train is in P1 for that service is another question... I bet the signallers are tempted to switch them back to normal, and maybe often do so.

I remember a few years ago there was a Romsey to Salisbury service mid afternoon that was unusually booked into P3, and every time I was at the station a platform change would be announced just as the 158 came off the branch, ie within 100 yards of the platform.

 

[louis97]

RTT suggests the 1930 Waterloo is booked P2 in the WTT, presumably because there’s a Brighton departure from P1 at 1928. But why the SN train is in P1 for that service is another question... I bet the signallers are tempted to switch them back to normal, and maybe often do so.

I remember a few years ago there was a Romsey to Salisbury service mid afternoon that was unusually booked into P3, and every time I was at the station a platform change would be announced just as the 158 came off the branch, ie within 100 yards of the platform.

The Southern is booked 1 because of a WTT freight booked through 4 at 1924. The Weymouth uses 3 at a result and the ex Waterloo stopper (which is a 12-car) uses platform 2.

There was a similar issue at East Croydon in the May 23 timetable change, a random down service was booked 2 instead of 3 as across the rest of the day. This was because of a Q move booked through 3 which most of the time didn't run. I think it has been changed now, but only after some delays caused by it always being announced so late.

Sounds like a highlighter on the simplifier would do the trick, even if just to remind the signaller to speak to the station if they intend to route the train via the regular platform.

 

[The exile]

This is by no means the first time that I have been waiting for a train in Southampton Central, which has been replatformed and the announcement has not been made until the train was arriving in the other platform.

Automatic route setting? Whatever the cause, there seem to be far too many last minute announcements these days when any experienced human looking at the situation would know that the public information screens are wrong. The number of times I’ve seen the PIS showing an order of trains at a platform that can only be achieved by the second train leapfrogging the first - yet the correction is only made when the first train has already arrived.