Cross Country Cancellations - Emergency Timetable

[basfordlad]

Cant work out how many of the Newcastle - Reading trains they are removing,
Can anyone help?

 

[ajp999]

As well as the removal of the advertised Newcastle to Reading services a number of services have also been withdrawn on the Nottingham to Birmingham / Cardiff route leading to increased journey times of a hour.

 

[30907]

Cant work out how many of the Newcastle - Reading trains they are removing,
Can anyone help?

All but one, with one extra BHM-RDG, if I've got it right.

 

[basfordlad]

All but one, with one extra BHM-RDG, if I've got it right.

Yes I think they are keeping the 830ish from Newcastle

 

[Peterthegreat]

Yes I think they are keeping the 830ish from Newcastle

And 17.45 back from Reading.

 

[Class 170101]

Unbelievable is so true. Some of us never stopped training drivers not letting a pandemic get in the way and even passing out a record number of new drivers during 2021/2022.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Jul 2024 ==

To use this old chestnut now is absolutely laughable.

Would be interesting to know how GA got passed but other TOCs didn't to be honest.

 

[dk1]

Would be interesting to know how GA got passed but other TOCs didn't to be honest.

We just got on with it with full backing from ASLEF. I often wonder the same.

 

[yorkie]

Yes I think they are keeping the 830ish from Newcastle

That's a relief, as that is one I catch every few weeks.

 

[MasterPhillips]

Perhaps a reason why XC seem to suffer more than most operators is the spread out nature of their depots. For example on the Reading route drivers are based at either Bournemouth of Birmingham. Meaning if there is a shortage at one end half the service is cancelled. I can understand it must be a difficult situation for their planners on the day.

 

[Martin_1981]

The fact that XC have only given the timetable for the first week starting 10th August, leads me to think that it will probably change from week to week, with the potential for further service reductions.

 

[Parallel]

Very frustrating. Cross country seem rammed on every axis and yet we are cutting services and blaming COVID. Not sure about others in the industry but I can no longer recommend the train to family and friends and look them in the eye on many routes.

Quite. I took the Aberdeen - Penzance service fairly recently between Kirkcaldy and Edinburgh and it was full and standing for that too.

 

[td97]

Midweek Manchester - Bristol extensions to Paignton seem to be curtailed to Birmingham New St.

 

[Mitchell Hurd]

So with the removal of the Newcastle to Reading services will this mean none going via Doncaster as these usually do or are Cross Country going to divert the Edinburgh to Plymouth service via Plymouth.

I caught one today from Doncaster to Sheffield, was a 4 car & with people stood up through the train.

On weekdays from August 12th to the 16th, the Newcastle - Reading diagrams are...

08:35 Newcastle to Reading.
14:45 Reading to York.

15:33 Birmingham New Street to Reading.
17:45 Reading to Newcastle.

 

[mangyiscute]

How straightforward is it to get from Oxford to Birmingham (with a change at Banbury) using GWR and Chiltern?

Often this will be overtaken by the XC train, so it doesn't show up in any journey planners anyway. Plus for people changing in Birmingham it is most likely they'll need to go to New Street.

 

[fishwomp]

cOften this will be overtaken by the XC train, so it doesn't show up in any journey planners anyway. Plus for people changing in Birmingham it is most likely they'll need to go to New Street.

Ah, but.. Curzon St, New Street, Moor Street, it's really really close - ask any HS2 supporter!! (New St - Moor St isn't _so_ bad but it's still over 10 mins you need to plan for, platform to platform)

I wonder what happens to revenue allocation for Brum-Reading section on flexible tickets now - and whether GWR could do an emergency timetable with an extra service to do some ORCATS raiding north of Oxford. The fewer XC services run, the more revenue ORCATS will allocate to existing GWR, and additional ones will get more share than they would were XC running the fully service! Chiltern presumably have access rights too for whole Oxford to Moor St section.

 

[LowLevel]

Oh goodie, I'll look forward to another summer of our knackered old but generally present trains and long suffering staff being hammered by another operator lacking basic competence. Northern, TPE, Cross Country - just spin the bottle as to which will collapse this month.

Who'd have thought a driver recruitment strategy based on poaching older types already qualified and inevitably going to retire and only introducing in house training when it's too late would turn into a farce at some point?

 

[mangyiscute]

Ah, but.. Curzon St, New Street, Moor Street, it's really really close - ask any HS2 supporter!! (New St - Moor St isn't _so_ bad but it's still over 10 mins you need to plan for, platform to platform)

I wonder what happens to revenue allocation for Brum-Reading section on flexible tickets now - and whether GWR could do an emergency timetable with an extra service to do some ORCATS raiding north of Oxford. The fewer XC services run, the more revenue ORCATS will allocate to existing GWR, and additional ones will get more share than they would were XC running the fully service! Chiltern presumably have access rights too for whole Oxford to Moor St section.

I mean GWR don't exactly have any diesel trains going spare right now, and they'd also have to train crew if they wanted to go any further north than Banbury (which certainly isn't the biggest pull, and before anyone suggests it making the Oxford - Banbury services hourly is not the answer, these trains are almost always very quiet outside of peaks).

 

[fishwomp]

I mean GWR don't exactly have any diesel trains going spare right now, and they'd also have to train crew if they wanted to go any further north than Banbury (which certainly isn't the biggest pull, and before anyone suggests it making the Oxford - Banbury services hourly is not the answer, these trains are almost always very quiet outside of peaks).

It's not about being useful, it's about making money.. - through being allocated more by the system that shares the money out. Running an extra train at a time when XC are running 20% fewer,.. is worth more than running an extra train when XC are at full service.

I'd happily use the GWR if it connected with Chiltern _and_ wasn't running just 14 mins after the XC that is still running..

 

[Doctor Fegg]

Can’t see an ORCATS raid happening in the brave new world of “DfT specifies everything”.

 

[basfordlad]

Is there much scope for strengthening the existing Edinburgh - Birmingham trains?

 

[fishwomp]

Is there much scope for strengthening the existing Edinburgh - Birmingham trains?

Might as well strengthen Ryde to Shanklin for the benefit that would bring... The crush load bit is Oxford to Birmingham, and Birmingham to Yorkshire

 

[basfordlad]

Might as well strengthen Ryde to Shanklin for the benefit that would bring... The crush load bit is Oxford to Birmingham, and Birmingham to Yorkshire

But there is much option for lengthening these trains

 

[Clarence Yard]

Ah, but.. Curzon St, New Street, Moor Street, it's really really close - ask any HS2 supporter!! (New St - Moor St isn't _so_ bad but it's still over 10 mins you need to plan for, platform to platform)

I wonder what happens to revenue allocation for Brum-Reading section on flexible tickets now - and whether GWR could do an emergency timetable with an extra service to do some ORCATS raiding north of Oxford. The fewer XC services run, the more revenue ORCATS will allocate to existing GWR, and additional ones will get more share than they would were XC running the fully service! Chiltern presumably have access rights too for whole Oxford to Moor St section.

Depends how much money there is in the inter-available pot. If there is next to none compared to the cost, then GWR won’t consider it. In any event, they could only operate with the DfT’s say so - they can’t alter their timetable without their blessing.

Of course, doing it mid timetable means ORCATS doesn’t alter so disputes would have to raised to manually alter the allocation - that isn’t a five minute job.

 

[RPI]

Midweek Manchester - Bristol extensions to Paignton seem to be curtailed to Birmingham New St.

The XC Paignton services seem to be cancelled more than they run anyway.

 

[Zerothebrake!]

..due to the short-sightedness of taking the work away from Plymouth Depot!

 

[class 9]

Unbelievable is so true. Some of us never stopped training drivers not letting a pandemic get in the way and even passing out a record number of new drivers during 2021/2022.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Jul 2024 ==

To use this old chestnut now is absolutely laughable.

A lot of the problems stem back to a couple of years back under Tom Joyners reign, 20 months with no RD working agreement and the company didn't even seek one,HST binned despite widespread overcrowding, route knowledge scaled back eg Leeds Drivers having Newcastle - Edinburgh taken off, now regular cancellations north of Newcastle at the same time Leeds Drivrrs are sat spare.

 

[dk1]

A lot of the problems stem back to a couple of years back under Tom Joyners reign, 20 months with no RD working agreement and the company didn't even seek one,HST binned despite widespread overcrowding, route knowledge scaled back eg Leeds Drivers having Newcastle - Edinburgh taken off, now regular cancellations north of Newcastle at the same time Leeds Drivrrs are sat spare.

Such a deplorable and sad way to run a company. Only serves to alienate the very staff members the operator relies on the most and why they exist in the first place.

 

[peter166]

Very frustrating. Cross country seem rammed on every axis and yet we are cutting services and blaming COVID. Not sure about others in the industry but I can no longer recommend the train to family and friends and look them in the eye on many routes.

Completely agree. My sister and her family used to regularly travel between Brisol and Stafford on XC but due to overcrowding, delays and the high fares its now easier, cheaper & more comfortable by car.

 

[800301]

It’s a real shame that the problem has been allowed to get this far with what seems like no intervention, the reliability of services has been dire for sometime but nothing seems to be done about it, and their answer is to cut more services during one of the busiest times of the year for rail travel, Management/DfT/someone should really have been looking at this to prevent it happening.

 

[Clarence Yard]

A lot of the problems stem back to a couple of years back under Tom Joyners reign, 20 months with no RD working agreement and the company didn't even seek one,HST binned despite widespread overcrowding, route knowledge scaled back eg Leeds Drivers having Newcastle - Edinburgh taken off, now regular cancellations north of Newcastle at the same time Leeds Drivrrs are sat spare.

I am not exactly a fan of Mr Joyner but every one of the above you can put down to the DfT and the way they have forced their will on the TOC. For instance, the scaling back of route knowledge and not allowing rest day agreements is something that has been imposed elsewhere.

You can add recruitment bans or restrictions on recruitment numbers (irrespective of how many long term sicks you have) and trying to curtail training costs generally. A few years down the line and it all starts to fall apart - I wonder why?!