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Why should Stansted Airport pay for it? Did they pay when it used to be 4tph?
Presumably the reduction was due to covid, and as Stansted is now pretty much back to pre covid levels this is a sensible service to return to pre covid levels.
No. In summer 2022 Stansted did 90% of pre covid traffic:
https://mediacentre.stanstedairport.com/strong-recovery-continues/#:~:text=London%20Stansted%27s%20strong%20recovery%20from,%25%20of%20pre-Covid%20traffic.
It should have gone back to 4tph from this summer in an ideal world. I was...
They're really not, the mk3's were clapped out junk that failed constantly when they came from Virgin. The minor spruce up they got made do for the next decade and a bit but they were long overdue for their visit to the razorblade factory. The 745's and 755's are a dream to travel in from a...
Even with 1 unit out there should be enough to run the Norwich and StanEx full timetable shouldn't there? The whole situation is getting a bit ridiculous now, particularly that StanEx timetable sin't going back to pre covid frequency when the number of airport users is.
Is StanEx still operating at only half the frequency it used to too? If Stansted is recovering to normal passenger numbers you'd hope it would go back to pre covid timetable sooner rather than later.
How are they so short of 745's with reduced timetable on the StanEx? Are loads out of service, and if so what's the delay getting them working again?
I know it's better than nothing but even when coupled up 755's aren't ideal on the mainline.
It's been months since first introduced their temporary timetable, no update on if they're sorting out their recruitment issues or not (I know it's a national problem too). I doubt passenger levels will ever be what they were pre pandemic but some of the services are so infrequent I just walk or...
Something broke last night, and then the rescue operation seems to have failed too:
https://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news/traffic/passengers-wait-four-hours-after-train-breaks-down-8537016
Presumably a 745 - Mods can you reopen the thread if so please?
I dont think Stansted is in trouble at all. If anything the market that it serves will recover quicker than business and more premium travel. On a busy summer day (pre covid) it can be hell.
The XC service was always very busy with people travelling well beyond Ely from Stansted.
I was actually thinking the other day I haven't seen a Skoda Octavia minicab in years, whilst 15 years ago they were the most dominant minicab vehicle in my city.
A real mix now of Toyota / Lexus / Hyundai and anything else thrown in.
This is fitted on all NS trains now, with the old dot matrix displays switched off. I agree it's great - easy to read blue/white screens that show calling points, arrival times that are adjusted for delays, connections at stations with their platform number a couple of minutes before you arrive.
I'm quite surprised they're running the extra buses, considering they cancelled a significant number of services indefinitely from yesterday due to driver shortages:
https://www.firstbus.co.uk/norfolk-suffolk/news-and-service-updates/news/temporary-journey-cancellations-network-norwich-excel
The GEML is pretty awful in places, those saying the mk3's handled it better are looking back with rose tinted specs - those heaps or life expired junk used to squeal and screech all over the place as well as rock from side to side.
The 745's on local routes seem to glide.
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