Change of train mid-route?

[Krokodil]

A Manchester - Cardiff 150 was swapped for another 150 at Shrewsbury yesterday. Why would this be? Needless to say it was cosy!

To get one due for an exam down to Canton, rather than being outstabled.

 

[800301]

A Manchester - Cardiff 150 was swapped for another 150 at Shrewsbury yesterday. Why would this be? Needless to say it was cosy!

Unit fault, unit needed for something else, the list could be endless but they don’t do it for the sake of it

 

[gabrielhj07]

Thank you both

 

[mlambeuk]

Seems to happen to me every time I travel on a service that calls at Leeds, They swap the units at Leeds station.

 

[Trainguy34]

Seems to happen to me every time I travel on a service that calls at Leeds, They swap the units at Leeds station.

Or on some TPE 802s at York

 

[JonathanH]

Northampton on the 2106 Birmingham New Street to London Euston last night. Think the unit spends the night at Euston, so if there is any need to get a unit back to a depot, it will be swapped.

 

[Royston Vasey]

Norwich to Liverpool 1R62 swapping from 1x158 to 2x170 at Nottingham this morning, PIS still displaying destination Liverpool Lime St. 158783 in need of maintenance at Eastcroft.

I had wondered if they would do this on every service from the new timetable today, as if to split the route by stealth, but RTT says the rest are all worked through by 158, joining and splitting at Nottingham as normal.

 

[Horizon22]

As others have said it's not common but also not unheard of.

Normally these things are resolved at terminals as required, but on long distance journeys the issue might flag up en route and/or a unit can be replaced & sourced from the nearest convenient depot.

 

[CannonBall]

I was waiting for the 2100 Bristol Temple Meads to Paddington this evening. The booked train, from Exeter was running about 8 late when a train came into the platform, empty, and announced it was the 2100 about 5 minutes early.

There was a garbled announcement about being a 'couple of minutes late, awaiting a driver' followed by another announcement saying about 5 late whilst the original inbound train arrived and driver/passengers transferred. The new train then left, about 8 late, with the original train headcode.

Is this common practice? I don't see why they would bring in a new unit only a few minutes before and transfer passengers/driver to it.

Happens all the time, often due to units being taken out for maintenance schedules or needing refueling.

 

[gabrielhj07]

Some very sensible swapping took place today:

1S47 Penzance - Edinburgh was hopelessly late following some signal failures in Devon, so it was cancelled at Temple Meads.

Meanwhile, XC found 221124 lying around and sent it from Temple Meads to Edinburgh as 1Z47, in what would have been S47’s path.

Saved a lot of hassle for me!

 

[Krokodil]

That's not a set swap, that's a restart. A set swap allows through passengers to continue their journey on the onward unit whereas a restart is done as a last resort (usually when something is so irrecoverably delayed it's almost in the path of the next train) because through passengers will have to board a later service or be provided road transport if there isn't one.

 

[gabrielhj07]

Whatever it may be called, I was impressed to see it.