Alsager EMR

[Deafdoggie]

Does anyone know the reason why EMR are reducing their Alsager stops from hourly to two a day from 7th September?
Alsager appears to be the only affected station.

 

[bunnahabhain]

Does anyone know the reason why EMR are reducing their Alsager stops from hourly to two a day from 7th September?
Alsager appears to be the only affected station.

Performance related to try to keep the service reliable is the company line. See also Langwith-Whaley Thorns and Whitwell going 1 train per 2 hours, and Norwich to Liverpool services departing Norwich 2 minutes earlier than normal.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

I can understand Alsager being chosen as it has an alternative hourly service. Departing from Crewe there is minimal impact as the LNR service departs just five minutes earlier than the EMR service. Travelling from Alsager to Kidsgrove (and beyond) you can do a simple same platform change there and still get to Longport - although I'm not sure how many Alsager to Longport passengers there would be in a typical day. Otherwise a same platform change at Stoke-on-Trent, where staff are available to assist those requiring assistance. The gap between trains is greater in the opposite direction of course. Choosing to omit Kidsgrove instead of Alsager would remove connection opportunities to/from the Manchester line.

I did wonder whether 'socially distanced capacity' had any bearing on it - the LNR service being 4 coaches and the EMR 2. By 'forcing' passengers on the LNR between Crewe and Stoke-on-Trent you are freeing up capacity.

 

[thenorthern]

In addition, EMR is also determined to continue the high levels of punctuality delivered in recent months. As a result, the majority of EMR services will no longer call at Alsager, with the exception of the first and last trains of the day and any services which are relied upon by those travelling to school or college. https://www.eastmidlandsrailway.co....-increases-services-from-derby-to-crewe-by-33

Punctuality as others have said given Alsager has an hourly service already it's the best one to cut.

 

[Deafdoggie]

I can understand Alsager being chosen as it has an alternative hourly service. Departing from Crewe there is minimal impact as the LNR service departs just five minutes earlier than the EMR service. Travelling from Alsager to Kidsgrove (and beyond) you can do a simple same platform change there and still get to Longport - although I'm not sure how many Alsager to Longport passengers there would be in a typical day. Otherwise a same platform change at Stoke-on-Trent, where staff are available to assist those requiring assistance. The gap between trains is greater in the opposite direction of course. Choosing to omit Kidsgrove instead of Alsager would remove connection opportunities to/from the Manchester line.

I did wonder whether 'socially distanced capacity' had any bearing on it - the LNR service being 4 coaches and the EMR 2. By 'forcing' passengers on the LNR between Crewe and Stoke-on-Trent you are freeing up capacity.

Are LNR calling at Longport? Admittedly the passengers from Alsager to Longport must, at best, be in single figures. Northern don’t call there either. With only Alsager, Kidsgrove & Stoke as the duplicate stations for EMR & LNR, Alsager does make the most sense if one had to be omitted. It’s the reason one has to be omitted that is the real question.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 Aug 2020 ==

It’s people connecting at Crewe is the other issue. It’s sometimes a longer wait now! Equally as LNR departs first, miss it only 5 mins to next, now it’s an hour

 

[Trainfan2019]

The Derby to Crewe train quite often gets delayed even before reaching Stoke and I've seen plenty of times when it gets terminated at Stoke to make up lost time before going back to Derby. Uttoxeter/Blythe Bridge areas tend to be delay hotspots (flooding, animals, trespassers) but it sometimes make up lost time by the time it reaches Alsager so can't see the point in missing Alsager out.

Before lockdown, LNWR services were quite prone to cancellation morning or evening (lack of staff - Stafford or Crewe), often diverting at Stafford to get to Crewe if problems are present on the regular route so if EMR stop serving Alsager, the place could end up with a quite unreliable service. This is especially true when the LNWR route is restored in full i.e London/Birmingham to Crewe.

 

[Starmill]

Performance related to try to keep the service reliable is the company line. See also Langwith-Whaley Thorns and Whitwell going 1 train per 2 hours, and Norwich to Liverpool services departing Norwich 2 minutes earlier than normal.

Is this performance with regards to something specific which has changed recently, or just in general? Or is the idea to make "proper" performance-led permement changes, once that can be done at the timetable change, and this is a temporary measure?

 

[martinsh]

EMR timekeeping has been much better since they got rid of the dreadful 153s. 156s generally don't have trouble keeping to time, and 158s frequently have to waiting a minute or two at a lot of stations.

 

[Bow Fell]

Is this performance with regards to something specific which has changed recently, or just in general? Or is the idea to make "proper" performance-led permement changes, once that can be done at the timetable change, and this is a temporary measure?

The TOC line (along with lot of other TOC’ introducing changes) is this ‘new normal’ has to be even more reliability/performance focussed.

TOC’s want passengers to come back and have confidence in the railway again and a reliable, on time, clean service is how the TOC's going forward plan to deliver it. (Not that COVID-19 should have been the excuse, it should happen anyway!) Multiple cancellations, overcrowding isn’t going to bring back passengers in their droves! I think many can agree that the gradual ramp-up of services but still having fewer trains but more capacity is the way forward.

Off-topic so I apologise; But I recently travelled on the train for the first time since the beginning of March, which is some feat for me, it was different, I’m used to 4tph and now have 2tph, but a 6 car Northern 331 rolled in, the train was spotless, majority wearing masks, plenty of room (it was 2000 though!) that’s the sort of thing that gives me and I hope others the confidence to use the railway again for leisure and commuting (despite working on the railway for my sins!)

 

[185]

Bit of a shame now they're using 156/8s.

Not stopping when they had 153s would have been a good thing, given.. well, they tended not to start again.

 

[Starmill]

The TOC line (along with lot of other TOC’ introducing changes) is this ‘new normal’ has to be even more reliability/performance focussed.

Quite, but wholesale cuts from 2tph to 1tph would have achieved that anyway regardless of Covid-19 effects. Permanent reductions of this type imposed at a moment's notice without any form of consultation whatsoever obviously wouldn't be sensible hence my asking if it's intended to be a temporary solution.

 

[43074]

Quite, but wholesale cuts from 2tph to 1tph would have achieved that anyway regardless of Covid-19 effects. Permanent reductions of this type imposed at a moment's notice without any form of consultation whatsoever obviously wouldn't be sensible hence my asking if it's intended to be a temporary solution.

I understand there will be further interventions of this sort for similar reasons on other TOCs in both September and December which will likely be permanent. I would be surprised if the stop returns in this instance given the LNW alternative.

 

[Starmill]

I understand there will be further interventions of this sort for similar reasons on other TOCs in both September and December which will likely be permanent. I would be surprised if the stop returns in this instance given the LNW alternative.

Indeed, and reducing the overall quantum in many particular places is something that has been talked about for a very long time. However, this type intervention doesn't do that, and making cuts from 2 to 1 service per hour after removing almost all of the regular user base is almost as good as just closing the station for the effect it will have on the recovery. Of course, Alsager was a bit under-used anyway because of it's perennially poor eastbound spacing so it probably won't matter as much.

 

[43074]

Indeed, and reducing the overall quantum in many particular places is something that has been talked about for a very long time. However, this type intervention doesn't do that, and making cuts from 2 to 1 service per hour after removing almost all of the regular user base is almost as good as just closing the station for the effect it will have on the recovery. Of course, Alsager was a bit under-used anyway because of it's perennially poor eastbound spacing so it probably won't matter as much.

I agree, it's a bit self defeating really in the context of trying to attract customers back post-coronavirus.

 

[Deafdoggie]

It all seems designed to detract people from travelling. Particularly given the time saving is so small anyway.
the delays generally, in the up direction, are caused as the train has to wait outside the station for the barriers to be lowered. Unless Crewe improve at this the delay remains! If they get better the train might as well stop anyway

 

[Class 170101]

Indeed, and reducing the overall quantum in many particular places is something that has been talked about for a very long time. However, this type intervention doesn't do that, and making cuts from 2 to 1 service per hour after removing almost all of the regular user base is almost as good as just closing the station for the effect it will have on the recovery. Of course, Alsager was a bit under-used anyway because of it's perennially poor eastbound spacing so it probably won't matter as much.

Also eastbound they go to two different destinations. Ideally though the WMR and EMR services should be around 30 minutes apart but you can be sure if you did that there will be an impact elsewhere in either train's journey.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Travelling in the direction of Crewe, the removal of the stop at Alsager will reduce the risk of late entry into the single track section, and late arrival at Crewe, thus reducing any impact on the closely timed LNR service heading in the opposite direction. So I can see a theoretical performance improvement there. However, that assumes continued use of pedal powered 153's. As better units are now in use I am not convinced that this theoretical performance improvement is necessary because the train is more likely to present itself on time anyway. As has been mentioned, the 158's running to 153 timings often have to wait a couple of minutes at various stations en-route due to their superior performance (not difficult).

In the opposite direction the EMR service follows the LNR service so there is no performance improvement to be achieved except perhaps joining the mainline at Kidsgrove. It would be daft however to cancel the station call in one direction only.

 

[Starmill]

The only benefit eastbound would come if it were possible for the train to be retimed to depart 2 min later. This would assist with the maintainence of connections for arriving passengers at Crewe.

 

[Trainfan2019]

In relation to the Alsager services, does anyone know about the overgrown sidings there? Did Alsager ever have high usage?

 

[Andy Pacer]

I would agree that in my use of the service punctuality has improved since the wider usage of 156/158 units.

 

[martinsh]

Noticed a westnound train arriving at Crewe 4 mins early yesterday. Meaning it would be quicker to travel to Crewe and connect into the LNR back to Alsager ! [ Not allowed of course]

 

[Deafdoggie]

In relation to the Alsager services, does anyone know about the overgrown sidings there? Did Alsager ever have high usage?

Alsager had seen considerable growth in passenger numbers in recent years, despite no ticketing facilities and very few LNR guards doing fares.
My uncle was signaller at Alsager East Junction box, right up till it closed in the Crewe resignalling in 1985(?) There isn’t much that uses the siding now, but there was once a thriving goods yard and goods shed. On the opposite side, roughly where the allotments are now, was the goods shed. Where the ‘new’ houses are (virtually hidden by trees) was the junction itself leading to the Audley line. This is now a walkway.

 

[Trainfan2019]

Ah fascinating info there, thank you!