Beating the timetable?

[30mog]

Today I travelled from Sheffield to Hull. I began on the 11:11 TPE service to Doncaster. I should have connected with the 11:42 NR service and arrived in Hull at 12:45. However, a delayed First Hull service came along at about 11:37 and I arrived in Hull at 12:34. Thus, I beat the timetable by 11 minutes owing to being able to connect with a service I wasn't supposed to.

Another possibility for beating the timetable is if you can cross a big station faster than the system allows for you. For example, the system allows 6 minutes (i think) to change trains at Nottingham. So will not consider less between an arriving and a departing train as a possible connection. Though I personally think 4 minutes is enough at Nottingham if I arrive on time. Opening up journey times that aren't advertised as possible.

Do you have a timetable beating feat worth sharing?

 

[Hyphen]

I was once on a work-related journey Sheffield to Swansea. I did my usual trick of boarding the Nottingham-Cardiff 170 at Derby (to reduce the amount of time spent on a Voyager).

Arriving at Newport I was supposed to have a 25 minute connection. The boards were telling me that FGW services were experiencing 90-odd minute delays due to earlier issues. Yet minutes later a Swansea service turned up (the one timetabled 2 hours before the one I was after) and I got on it. The service then having made up time between Newport and Swansea I arrived almost half an hour earlier than expected!

 

[yorkie]

On most trips involving LU, you expect to beat the timetable, it's only if there's a problem that you don't.

Most memorable for me has to be being held outside Manchester Piccadilly, frustrated that the Holyhead train I wanted to get must be in the platform. So I stayed on to Warrington Central, legged it across to Bank Quay, dashed up the stairs, and saw the train I had missed approaching in the distance

 

[Yew]

I once made a connection to the EMT London to Lincoln service on a -15 connection at Nottingham due to trouble on the MML

 

[Trainfan344]

Birmingham New Street is one where you can easily beat the minimum connection time, comming from an XC voyager to a LM Cross City service, I ended up on the service 10 minutes before the one I was due to get.

 

[David Barrett]

I've never regarded it as beating the timetable, just a bonus if a little deft footwork and a fair prevailing wind makes for a 5 miniute connection instead of a 35 miniute or one hour five miniute etc. wait. Leeds is a case for me when changing into Aire Valley Stopping Services. Lincoln is another case where the 09.20 from Grimsby Town should arrive at 10.14 but if the Gods are smiling and Market Rasen does not prove too much of a challenge for the Station Working Allowance (not often), a slightly early arrival at Lincoln in P3 and positioning myself for swift exit might just enable a sharp walk to P2 for the 10.15 Peterborough instead of the 11.10.

 

[ValleyLines142]

City Line services from Radyr arrive at Cardiff Central at xx:50 and xx:20 minutes past the hour. A London service comes five minutes after but I always make the connection easily, even though the planner will tell you to catch the service half an hour later.

So for example, if I caught the 0808 Danescourt to Cardiff service, which arrives at 0820, any journey planner will tell you to get the 0855 to London. However, I always make it on the 0825!

I wouldn't take the risk if I was on an Advance booking though!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I once departed from Waterloo ( main ) 12 minutes after arriving at Liverpool Street, having had "train in the platform" situations at both Liverpool Street and Bank, then just getting on the one at Waterloo as the departure procedure was starting.

 

[causton]

On my ALR I managed to catch the LM Coventry - Nuneaton shuttle, then dashed over to the opposite side of the station for a late running XC train which I wasn't supposed to catch, then at Leicester had a 2 minute connection onto a EMT train to London, landing me in St Pancras over an hour before I had actually planned to!

 

[Welshman]

An example of "beating the public timetable" which can be done without having to run, is to board the 2023 ATW Blaenau Ffestiniog to Llandudno, arriving at 2146, and then proceed on the 2145 from Llandudno to Crewe.

You don't even have to get up from your seat, as it's the same train, which, according to the WTT, arrives Llandudno at 2141.

 

[martinsh]

An example of "beating the public timetable" which can be done without having to run, is to board the 2023 ATW Blaenau Ffestiniog to Llandudno, arriving at 2146, and then proceed on the 2145 from Llandudno to Crewe.

You don't even have to get up from your seat, as it's the same train, which, according to the WTT, arrives Llandudno at 2141.

But even if it wasn't the same train, surely there would be a perfectly acceptable (to journey planners) connection at Llandudno Junction ?

 

[Chapeltom]

One I have done quite a few times to beat the timetable, well beat the minimum connection time is this:

:35 service off Mossley Hill to Manchester Oxford Road arriving at :36. Catch the :39 to Manchester Picc (which you can't miss as it follows the stopper into MCO). Run up the stairs from Platform 13 and get to the station end of Platform 1 for a Sheffield service (going to Chinley) which leaves at :45. Sometimes made it by seconds, never actually ran it and missed it but very tight indeed!

 

[hairyhandedfool]

....Do you have a timetable beating feat worth sharing?

Entirely unitentional, but during my English Coast and Borders trip, 18 months or so ago, I had planned trains for each day. On day seven I reached Exmouth and decided to head back early on the 1725 to Exeter St, Davids, instead of the 1758 to Paignton that I had planned, incase I had another option from there. As it happened a Cross Country service was late and called at Newton Abbot, where a local service was held for people going to Paignton (just me on this occasion). That night I got to Plymouth, for my over night stop, 85 minutes earlier than planned.

 

[Crossover]

I do this fairly regular as a matter of course at the likes of Leeds and Huddersfield, just by knowing the stations and knowing what is actually physically possible.

I confused one of my colleagues who I was to meet in Huddersfield for onward travel to Manchester, as I came in to Huddersfield on a local all shacks ex either Leeds or Wakefield Westgate (can't recall which) - it being a +4 at Huddersfield so unadvertised. Naturally, once out towards Deighton, anything will be held at least a block away so there was no issue making the TPE

Just, whatever you do, don't rely on such connections for last trains of the night!!!

 

[Muzer]

I've done similar things (not sure if I've ever actually got an unadvertised connection, but I expect I probably have - I tend to use RTT as a journey planner if I already know the route so never get to see these ) at Southampton Airport (Parkway). If I'm coming from London on a long-distance service, I can change onto the "Salisbury 6" local one stop to Swaythling. Even if the long-distance service is 5, 10, even 15 minutes late, they'll usually hold the local so it doesn't further delay the long-distance one. Since there are only two platforms at Southampton Airport (Parkway), this means that I just stay on the same platform and very rarely miss it.

 

[Lrd]

I've done similar things (not sure if I've ever actually got an unadvertised connection, but I expect I probably have - I tend to use RTT as a journey planner if I already know the route so never get to see these ) at Southampton Airport (Parkway). If I'm coming from London on a long-distance service, I can change onto the "Salisbury 6" local one stop to Swaythling. Even if the long-distance service is 5, 10, even 15 minutes late, they'll usually hold the local so it doesn't further delay the long-distance one. Since there are only two platforms at Southampton Airport (Parkway), this means that I just stay on the same platform and very rarely miss it.

I've never known the Salisbury 6 to be held for such a long time, a couple of minutes occasionally but not 10/15 mins as by the time it gets to St Denys, it'll be out of the way and can normally get to Central before the London train catches up and takes over on platform 4 or at Millbrook.

 

[Muzer]

Pretty sure I was on it once when it was that delayed. It was quite recently, let me dig out my times to check my memory wasn't exaggerating...
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Yep, I'm not exaggerating.

2nd November this year:

Caught the 2105 from Waterloo arriving at 2220½ (WTT) at Airport (Parkway). Left around 5 down due to a missing driver IIRC, by the time it got to Airport (Parkway) it was 14 down - arrived 2234.

The 2226 "Salisbury 6" from Southampton Airport (Parkway) towards Southampton (actually it might have been a Romsey to Romsey, thinking about it) departed SOA 12 down at 2238, arrived Swaythling 2240. I can only assume it was held (if my memory serves me in the double track section of the Chandler's Ford branch, due to our train stopping at Eastleigh), unless of course it was already late so it naturally ended up behind ours...