Caledonian Sleeper

[zwk500]

Point of pedantry: the Stechford line does have at least one "parliamentary " timetabled service a week; I think it used to be late evening on weekdays years ago but the time changes across timetables. Weely apparently counts as 'regular'.

I should have guessed there'd be a Parly.

 

[Bald Rick]

Point of pedantry: the Stechford line does have at least one "parliamentary " timetabled service a week; I think it used to be late evening on weekdays years ago but the time changes across timetables. Weely apparently counts as 'regular'.

I’ve never known this to be the case. And I’ve lived in Aston and Stechford (briefly in the latter case). There’s nothing showing in the next week. What train is it?

 

[Kite159]

I’ve never known this to be the case. And I’ve lived in Aston and Stechford (briefly in the latter case). There’s nothing showing in the next week. What train is it?

10 or so years ago it used to be a late night Reading - Birmingham New Street XC service, pretty sure it used to be the one which reversed beyond Didcot to take the west curve as well.

I suspect that particular service got axed during the C word era

 

[jfollows]

Agreed, the late XC service was my recollection also.
https://www.branchline.uk/rail_chronology/PSUL/2025.pdf says:

Aston South Junction - Stechford South Junction (065,220) CC04

¶ Diversionary use only: for work on Trent Valley line between Stafford and Rugby or between Birmingham New Street and Stechford:

Sunday nights / Mondays mornings (except when diverted via East Coast route - see Camden Road Central Junction - Copenhagen Junction entry):

1M11 2315 Glasgow Central - Euston (carries portion from Edinburgh)

1S26 2330 Euston - Glasgow Central (carries portion for Edinburgh)

Wednesday 1 January, Sunday 24 and Monday 25 August 2025:

Trains Birmingham New Street to/from Birmingham International (on 1 January, only until midday)

Saturdays and Sundays 26 January, 8, 9 February, 18 May, 27 July, also Saturday 24 May to Sunday 1 June 2025:

Avanti West Coast trains Euston to/from Stafford or beyond if not booked to call at Birmingham New Street.

I have long ago lost count of the number of times I’ve been over the line. WCML disruption in the Trent Valley will often cause trains to be diverted.

 

[Zomboid]

Presumably the sleepers being routed that way fulfil the legal obligation?

 

[jfollows]

Presumably the sleepers being routed that way fulfil the legal obligation?

What legal obligation?

I don’t believe there is one.

The former XC service was for route retention only I think.

 

[Zomboid]

The parliamentary train thing, or does that line not require one?

 

[norbitonflyer]

PSUL has the details

https://www.branchline.uk/rail_chronology/PSUL/2025.pdf

The only regular services are the Lowlander sleepers (both directions) on Sunday nights. There were also a number of scheduled diversions for Avanti and XC services earlier this year when the Trent Valley line was closed

 

[LowLevel]

Going back 20 years or so to when I used to do my West Midlands daytrippers my brain is telling me there used to be something like a Walsall to Birmingham International once a week in one direction only for a bit but that is very foggy and might not be accurate!

 

[Bald Rick]

The parliamentary train thing, or does that line not require one?

I have a theory that a true parliamentary service is based on serving stations i.e. a specific station pairing, rather than the specific line or routes used. There are other services that run between Aston and Stechford (via New Street), and the former XC services mentioned above also do not serve any unique specific station pairings.

 

[sh24]

I have a theory that a true parliamentary service is based on serving stations i.e. a specific station pairing, rather than the specific line or routes used. There are other services that run between Aston and Stechford (via New Street), and the former XC services mentioned above also do not serve any unique specific station pairings.

I believe that's correct. It is the service between stations and routes that counts, not the specific bit of track. This is how Paddington-High Wycombe become a W Ruislip-Greenford daily shuttle without incurring legal issues.

 

[zwk500]

I believe that's correct. It is the service between stations and routes that counts, not the specific bit of track. This is how Paddington-High Wycombe become a W Ruislip-Greenford daily shuttle without incurring legal issues.

IIRC from previous threads, it's not even necessarily the service between pairs of stations, but simply whether a service (not necessarily rail!) is offered to the station. Obviously for a railway operating a train tends to be the easiest way to offer the service, but there have been buses and taxis when the route itself is not available (and, of course, the long-running saga of Newhaven Marine that was physically inaccessible and you could nominally get a taxi but it couldn't get you much further than the bottom of the platform ramp at Newhaven Harbour)

There's a couple of threads where people have checked the Railways Act 2005 and agreed there is no specific definition of a minimum level of service to prevent closure. Most TOCs have a separate contractual obligation to fulfill in their service specifications, which tend to be on a per-week basis, hence the majority of Parliamentary trains being 1 per week. But this is rather off-topic.

 

[DelW]

I have a theory that a true parliamentary service is based on serving stations i.e. a specific station pairing, rather than the specific line or routes used. There are other services that run between Aston and Stechford (via New Street), and the former XC services mentioned above also do not serve any unique specific station pairings.

But that wouldn't have necessitated the (in)famous once a week bus between (IIRC) Ealing and somewhere in Battersea, after XC withdrew their services to Brighton via Reading. There are numerous public transport options in that area, but crucially no train services ran over a specific section of line in West London.

 

[MrJeeves]

But that wouldn't have necessitated the (in)famous once a week bus between (IIRC) Ealing and somewhere in Battersea, after XC withdrew their services to Brighton via Reading. There are numerous public transport options in that area, but crucially no train services ran over a specific section of line in West London.

Presumably that would be because XC were required to serve those stations, so that was the solution, rather than the stations needing to be served by anyone?

 

[prasa]

Very impressed that CS was able to run -and arrive broadly on time both Lowlander services last night. Most other operators I suspect would have given up - Well done Team CS

 

[DelW]

Presumably that would be because XC were required to serve those stations, so that was the solution, rather than the stations needing to be served by anyone?

I don't think so, as far as I know XC had never stopped at those stations. They ran non-stop from Reading onto the Southern Region.

We're drifting away from the sleeper rerouting though!

 

[norbitonflyer]

I don't think so, as far as I know XC had never stopped at those stations. They ran non-stop from Reading onto the Southern Region.

They called Reading - Olympia - Bromley South. This included the sections of line between wealing broadway and Shepherds Buch, and between Imperial Wharf and Wandsworth Road, that see no other passenger services (alrthough they called at none of those four statoins)

 

[GordonT]

They called Reading - Olympia - Bromley South. This included the sections of line between wealing broadway and Shepherds Buch, and between Imperial Wharf and Wandsworth Road, that see no other passenger services (alrthough they called at none of those four statoins)

Did someone eventually recognise that the replacement bus provision was insane and managed to get it stopped?

 

[Davester50]

Looking back to the RTT I screenshotted and pictured below from the last Northbound Lowlander Sleeper I did back in 2023 it went Stetchford to Aston and then Bescot Stadium.



Real Time Trains Screenshot extract of Birmingham International to Bescot from the Lowlander sleeper from 2023

 

[InOban]

They have managed to reopen the WHL in time for tonight's sleeper

 

[ABB125]

This AI generated image appeared on Instagram today, illustrating the extra Birmingham stop. Very interesting-looking train! And the background looks rather like a popular photography spot on the line to Kyle of Lochalsh (though I'm happy to be corrected on this).

 

[Cross City]

Going back 20 years or so to when I used to do my West Midlands daytrippers my brain is telling me there used to be something like a Walsall to Birmingham International once a week in one direction only for a bit but that is very foggy and might not be accurate!

95% sure from my time living near Marston Green in the 2000s that there used to be a regular (hourly) service along that route for a very short time, maybe even less than a year. I remember changing at Stechford on a couple of occasions.

 

[Mike395]

This AI generated image appeared on Instagram today, illustrating the extra Birmingham stop. Very interesting-looking train! And the background looks rather like a popular photography spot on the line to Kyle of Lochalsh (though I'm happy to be corrected on this).
View attachment 189756

Doesn't surprise me - that's not an official account, it's run by a hotel booking company that uses a fair amount of AI generated rubbish.

 

[matchmaker]

37403 on the Aberdeen portion last night/this morning.

 

[Oxfordblues]

From Oxford there's a 21:39 XC due International 22:37 giving just a 5-minute connection into the 22:42 Highlander. Potential passengers from Oxford will no doubt be directed to the 20:40 departure to spend an hour in the sub-optimal waiting area at BHI.

 

[Steddenm]

From Oxford there's a 21:39 XC due International 22:37 giving just a 5-minute connection into the 22:42 Highlander. Potential passengers from Oxford will no doubt be directed to the 20:40 departure to spend an hour in the sub-optimal waiting area at BHI.

I would assume CS passengers can use the AWC First Class lounge at BHI?

 

[JamesT]

I would assume CS passengers can use the AWC First Class lounge at BHI?

Based on the existing lounge provision, only if you have the appropriate class of ticket - https://www.sleeper.scot/sleeper-experience/guest-lounges/

 

[Zomboid]

From Oxford there's a 21:39 XC due International 22:37 giving just a 5-minute connection into the 22:42 Highlander. Potential passengers from Oxford will no doubt be directed to the 20:40 departure to spend an hour in the sub-optimal waiting area at BHI.

I wouldn't want to try it on a 5 minute connection into a once a day sleeper. Would be OK to take the risk if it's into something where there's a later option...

You can't have a perfect connection into everything, and the last northbound XC into the sleeper is one that doesn't work.

 

[31160]

Yes going for a 5 min connection onto effectively your bed, is at best foolhardy but I'm sure I could think of other words

 

[LowLevel]

You could always bash the People Mover to the Airport and back twice to get both vehicles in for haulage, that would kill time