GN Semi-Fast Not Overtaking Late-Running Stopper?

[wnr1990]

A few days ago I was on a late evening Great Northern service travelling from Finsbury Park to Welwyn North, and when we got to Alexandra Palace we got stuck behind a very delayed Moorgate-WGC service.

What confused me is that, instead of "overtaking" this service by using the fast northbound line, we stayed behind the Moorgate stopper at a snail's pace all the way to WGC. This was especially frustrating given that just 1 intercity service passed us northbound the whole time, meaning we had ample oppurtunity to overtake.

Now granted I am not a signaller but this seemed like a ridiculous waste of time. What was going on here?

 

[JonathanH]

It might equally be noted that in the late evening, there could be an issue if services run out of course for anyone hoping to connect from the slower service to the faster one.

 

[RJ]

It might equally be noted that in the late evening, there could be an issue if services run out of course for anyone hoping to connect from the slower service to the faster one.

This is true - it happens on the MML where if the Thameslink is a few minutes late, the EMR service which is booked to run behind it is allowed out in front and causes further delay to the Thameslink service while pottering along, as well as breaking booked connections. I think it is a prudent decision to have the trains run in course at this time of day.

 

[bramling]

A few days ago I was on a late evening Great Northern service travelling from Finsbury Park to Welwyn North, and when we got to Alexandra Palace we got stuck behind a very delayed Moorgate-WGC service.

What confused me is that, instead of "overtaking" this service by using the fast northbound line, we stayed behind the Moorgate stopper at a snail's pace all the way to WGC. This was especially frustrating given that just 1 intercity service passed us northbound the whole time, meaning we had ample oppurtunity to overtake.

Now granted I am not a signaller but this seemed like a ridiculous waste of time. What was going on here?

This is been fairly common since May 18, with the 2Cxx services booked on the slow lines. Adding the Alexandra Palace stop has made this rather worse, not sure that was the best thing really. Also this current timetable cuts out most of the padding that had existed since May 18, it may be the case that signallers are still subconsciously working on the basis that these services will naturally make up a bit of time, since May they won’t.

The change of stopping patterns between Hitchin and Royston hasn’t really helped either, it just means that if a 2Cxx ends up right behind a 9Sxx then it gets messy as the Thameslink calls at Ashwell but the GN doesn’t.

The same thing happened to me in the up direction a few weeks ago. Lost a few minutes around Stevenage, then followed a 717 from Welwyn all the way to Finsbury Park end ended up well late. Infuriating.

 

[GN Boy]

This is been fairly common since May 18, with the 2Cxx services booked on the slow lines. Adding the Alexandra Palace stop has made this rather worse, not sure that was the best thing really. Also this current timetable cuts out most of the padding that had existed since May 18, it may be the case that signallers are still subconsciously working on the basis that these services will naturally make up a bit of time, since May they won’t.

The change of stopping patterns between Hitchin and Royston hasn’t really helped either, it just means that if a 2Cxx ends up right behind a 9Sxx then it gets messy as the Thameslink calls at Ashwell but the GN doesn’t.

The same thing happened to me in the up direction a few weeks ago. Lost a few minutes around Stevenage, then followed a 717 from Welwyn all the way to Finsbury Park end ended up well late. Infuriating.

Adding the Ally Pally stop appears to have sadly severed any chances of going fast lines from Potters to Finsbury, which was pretty common when your 2Cxx/2Rxx was running late. Sigh!

 

[bramling]

Adding the Ally Pally stop appears to have sadly severed any chances of going fast lines from Potters to Finsbury, which was pretty common when your 2Cxx/2Rxx was running late. Sigh!

Yes infuriating, especially as they seem to be justifying this extra stop on the basis of events traffic. It seems more of a sop because the Moorgate service at Alexandra Palace has reduced from 8tph to 4tph thus screwing up connectivity.