Connections at Preston

[Jack Hay]

Hello, I've been planning a day out which includes a journey from Ormskirk to Lytham. There appears to be either a 2 minute connection (likely to be impossible) or a 62 minute connection at Preston, which is pretty awkward. But I notice that the Ormskirk train arrives in P2 at Preston and the Blackpool South train leaves from the same platform 2 minutes later. Is it an unadvertised through working?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Hello, I've been planning a day out which includes a journey from Ormskirk to Lytham. There appears to be either a 2 minute connection (likely to be impossible) or a 62 minute connection at Preston, which is pretty awkward. But I notice that the Ormskirk train arrives in P2 at Preston and the Blackpool South train leaves from the same platform 2 minutes later. Is it an unadvertised through working?

It is, yes.

 

[Watershed]

Hello, I've been planning a day out which includes a journey from Ormskirk to Lytham. There appears to be either a 2 minute connection (likely to be impossible) or a 62 minute connection at Preston, which is pretty awkward. But I notice that the Ormskirk train arrives in P2 at Preston and the Blackpool South train leaves from the same platform 2 minutes later. Is it an unadvertised through working?

Yes - it's long been part of a series of through workings between the Blackpool South, Colne and Ormskirk lines. Quite why it's not an advertised through service, I don't know.

However, you need to watch out as some Blackpool South services are no longer through workings, and instead 'legitimately' start at Preston (the unit comes from a siding).

Unfortunately, your entitlement to Delay Repay is also based on the advertised connection, and so you wouldn't be entitled to anything if the train from Ormskirk or to Blackpool South is cancelled.

 

[splashoutradio]

Quite why it's not an advertised through service, I don't know.

A number of years ago, Northern issued a press release stating there were x thousand more trains a week in the new timetable. One of the ways they were able to achieve this number, was by advertising through journeys as two separate services. I believe there's also benefits when it comes to delay statistics, when journeys are split like this.

 

[Bletchleyite]

A number of years ago, Northern issued a press release stating there were x thousand more trains a week in the new timetable. One of the ways they were able to achieve this number, was by advertising through journeys as two separate services. I believe there's also benefits when it comes to delay statistics, when journeys are split like this.

Ormskirk to Blackpool South has not been a through service for a very long time (if ever) until the most recent few timetables. It was latterly a single unit shuttle on a not-quite-hourly frequency, before that in the 1990s it was hourly clockface but with two dedicated units passing at Rufford.

Ormskirk to Blackpool North did briefly operate as a Sunday service in the 1990s when engineering works prevented the operation of the usual hourly Liverpool Lime St-Blackpool North through service.

Allegedly the reason for not advertising it is it being a through service in one direction only, but I think that's a weak argument.

As mentioned not all services work through but it should be reasonably easy to work out which do by looking at Realtime Trains.

 

[Jack Hay]

Thanks everyone! I am on the through train now. I trust this forum and RTT!

 

[Bald Rick]

Hello, I've been planning a day out which includes a journey from Ormskirk to Lytham. There appears to be either a 2 minute connection (likely to be impossible) or a 62 minute connection at Preston, which is pretty awkward. But I notice that the Ormskirk train arrives in P2 at Preston and the Blackpool South train leaves from the same platform 2 minutes later. Is it an unadvertised through working?

It is now, but not from the December timetable change, at which point the Blackpool South services are usually formed from the inbound working (which shunts off to the Shunt Line for half an hour). The Ormskirk to Blackpool South connection is also about half an hour. Time for a pint at the Old Vic.

 

[Ant158]

For a long time the Blackpool South Service was linked to the Colne service and Preston to Ormskirk was separate. When did they start doing the services on a triangle style service?

 

[scrapy]

For a long time the Blackpool South Service was linked to the Colne service and Preston to Ormskirk was separate. When did they start doing the services on a triangle style service?

It was May 2018 as a way of giving Ormskirk an hourly service instead of every 90 minutes as previously and supposedly made the Colne and Blackpool South services more reliable, without the need for extra units.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It was May 2018 as a way of giving Ormskirk an hourly service instead of every 90 minutes as previously and supposedly made the Colne and Blackpool South services more reliable, without the need for extra units.

And didn't work, so they had to put an extra unit in, which meant they could have just put two on Ormskirk instead, as it was in the early 90s.