Cuts and increases to services since 2019

[387star]

Bognor to London bridge peaks have been reinstated however nothing from Southampton or Portsmouth as was once the case

Hedge end and Botley will fall off the limited gwr map with the may timetable but that was always an oddity

 

[Parallel]

• Bristol Temple Meads to Salisbury increasing to 3tph (partly replacing irregular SWR Bristol services)
• Gloucester to Bristol increased from 1tph to 2tph
• Worcester to Bristol increased from 1tp2h to 1tph

There’s actually now 3tph most hours between Bristol and Westbury, whereas it was previously 2tph. Some of these continue onto Warminster/Salisbury/Frome or Weymouth. The Weymouth line has a more normalised timetable now too, having previously been an erratic mix of hourly, two-hourly or three-hourly gaps between services.

The Severn Beach line used to be 1 train every 45 minutes but is now 2tph, with Severn Beach itself being 1tph vice 1tp2h.

GWR have also extended their Redhill terminators onto Gatwick Airport, giving 2tph between Gatwick Airport and Guildford/Reading.

There is an extra summer relief train from London to Plymouth at 12:05, with stops removed from the 12:03 to Penzance. The first station you can alight at on the 12:03 in summer is now Plymouth.

Newquay will be one to add later in the year when the service goes to 1tph from 1tp2h.

 

[Brent Goose]

Absolutely. If only the direct Lowestoft train still ran! Don't think we'll ever see that again, though


That makes complete sense. It's the only time I tend to travel through Ipswich so I've only witnessed the odd 15:54 departures. The only real issue I have with the 17:17 is that it always displays "Ipswich" as the destination while sitting in the platform for 40 minutes. I understand that it's not necessarily the previous driver's job to change it, but combining the awkward placement of platform 1, the awkward placement of the only information screen (all the way down the buffer end), and the long turnaround, the result is people (usually elderly people) wandering around the train trying to figure out whether it is the one they want or not!

Back when I commuted people getting the Cambridge and Lowestoft services confused was not uncommon when they were both sat on Platform 1

 

[richardderby]

Derby to/from Skegness Summer Saturday extra trains not running this year for the first time due to lack of rolling stock, removing through service from Derby.

 

[saismee]

Back when I commuted that people getting the Cambridge and Lowestoft services confused was not uncommon when they were both sat on Platform 1

Thankfully there's little doubling up now, though it still happens on platform 4 (possibly platform 3, can't remember). It's much easier to figure out though, as it's usually a London stopper and a Peterborough/Cambridge service going in opposite directions. Norwich doesn't get the same luxury, though.

 

[HamworthyGoods]

Hedge end and Botley will fall off the limited gwr map with the may timetable but that was always an oddity

Will they? Still seems to be a limited service showing in June.

Realtime Trains | 1934 Bristol Temple Meads to Portsmouth Harbour | 01/06/2025

Real-time train running information for 1934 departure from Bristol Temple Meads to Portsmouth Harbour on 01/06/2025. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[MikeWM]

I think this is because of the 1822 Cambridge to Cambridge North service. There's also the 1922, and the 1919 from Cambridge to Ely doesn't stop at Cambridge North either

Probably so, though I don't see why that prevents the Ely portion from stopping at CMB, there's a decent gap for the terminating portion to get to CMB before the next train (at 1834).

That being said, this will probably all change in December with the ECML recast.

 

[dk1]

Thankfully there's little doubling up now, though it still happens on platform 4 (possibly platform 3, can't remember). It's much easier to figure out though, as it's usually a London stopper and a Peterborough/Cambridge service going in opposite directions. Norwich doesn't get the same luxury, though.

Happened in platform 2 today too. Cambridge on 2A, Felixstowe on 2B, closely followed by my Lowestoft on 2B.

Coupled 3 together on 4 the other week.

 

[saismee]

Happened in platform 2 today too. Cambridge on 2A, Felixstowe on 2B, closely followed by my Lowestoft on 2B.

Coupled 3 together on 4 the other week.

I know there's the 2A arrival somewhere in the middle of the day (can't remember much more about it), but I've never seen multiple in 2.

Was the triple traction on 4 due to some kind of fault? They're normally done at Crown Point right?

 

[dk1]

I know there's the 2A arrival somewhere in the middle of the day (can't remember much more about it), but I've never seen multiple in 2.

Was the triple traction on 4 due to some kind of fault? They're normally done at Crown Point right?

Platform 2 is often used for multiple departures on weekends especially with engineering works.

We are booked to take x3 to Crown Point weeknights on 5P84.

 

[saismee]

Platform 2 is often used for multiple departures on weekends especially with engineering works.

We are booked to take x3 to Crown Point weeknights on 5P84.

Ah I see. I rarely travel on weekends due to engineering so I haven't witnessed any of this. Thank you for the insight.

 

[Class 170101]

My ideal would be half-hourly peak Felixstowe services, as well as more in summer,

Not needed now that 3 carriages vice 1 carriage trains operate.

consistent hourly Lowestoft services

Happens at weekends but not possible due to Nuclear Flask traffic to / from Sizewell and Freight to / from Felixstowe

7-8 coach Cambridge and Peterborough peak services,

Platforms cannot take this

hourly Peterborough of course.

Yes maybe someday was in GA's bid when they won the franchise in 2016 but not exactly happened yet, covid not helped either

Peterborough, Cambridge,

No Platform changes needed for these

and Ipswich platforms would all need upgrades for this though. Could theoretically replace the carriage sidings with two more bay platforms, though I doubt we will ever see that happening unless the government stumbles upon an extra trillion pounds...

Hopefully won't cost that but it may help that Freightliner seem to have vacated their sidings on that side so everything may be able to move across and hopefully reduce platform sharing at Ipswich.

Someone mentioned about 06:56 ex Ipswich to Cambridge. Note it arrives at Cambridge around 08:20, so an idea time to arrive for an 09:00 start at work in Cambridge.

 

[saismee]

Platforms cannot take this
No Platform changes needed for these

You've contradicted yourself!

Hopefully won't cost that but it may help that Freightliner seem to have vacated their sidings on that side so everything may be able to move across and hopefully reduce platform sharing at Ipswich.

Freightliner don't use the sidings at all anymore as far as I can tell, it's just used for stabling 755s (and the occasional test train). The biggest and likely most expensive part of adding a platform 5 and 6 would be upgrading the signalling. Building the new platforms themselves wouldn't be a huge cost, but I imagine extending the footbridges (mainly the lifts) would be pretty expensive, especially as there's no level crossing alternative for step-free access.

 

[Class15]

Freightliner were using the sidings at Christmas last year and there was a rake of around 7 Class 90s in there. This was long after the VMF was opened and Freightliner ‘vacated’ the station sidings.

 

[Brent Goose]

I bet the residents of the nearby homes are happy not listening to that ‘ying ying’ noise all night.

As I recall before the lifts were built there was a foot crossing at the tunnel end of the platforms.

 

[Class 170101]

You've contradicted yourself!

Nope Peterborough and Cambridge can, as well as Stowmarket and Ely, the remaining stations can't take longer than 4 carriages so its pointless.

Freightliner don't use the sidings at all anymore as far as I can tell, it's just used for stabling 755s (and the occasional test train). The biggest and likely most expensive part of adding a platform 5 and 6 would be upgrading the signalling. Building the new platforms themselves wouldn't be a huge cost, but I imagine extending the footbridges (mainly the lifts) would be pretty expensive, especially as there's no level crossing alternative for step-free access.

Yes that would be a cost and probably only needs one lift as an island platform but probably only the newer footbridge would be extended as I cannot see how you would extend the older footbridge given the way it is constructed.

 

[saismee]

Nope Peterborough and Cambridge can, as well as Stowmarket and Ely, the remaining stations can't take longer than 4 carriages so its pointless.

Cambridge platform 5 can't support longer trains and it would disrupt other services if it didn't use platform 5. I've heard something similar about Peterborough, but I don't know the station layout so I can't give any more details. Stopping with front X coaches at some stations, and rear Y coaches should suffice to fix capacity at the smaller stations, though it would always be best if at least one coach is available from each unit.

Yes that would be a cost and probably only needs one lift as an island platform but probably only the newer footbridge would be extended as I cannot see how you would extend the older footbridge given the way it is constructed.

I can also see only the newer bridge being extended. The only problem is that it would require closing the new footbridge during works, cutting off lift access.

As I recall before the lifts were built there was a foot crossing at the tunnel end of the platforms.

That is correct and the crossing is still there, but I highly doubt it will ever be used outside of an emergency. I'm not even sure if it is allowed to be used in emergencies.

 

[quartile]

The hourly x39 Waterloo to Southampton semis (at times further SW) - providing the second fast service to Farnborough are still cut.
This cuts Southampton from 3 to 2tph and Farnborough from 4 to 3tph.

You can see the gaps in the peaks too. There's no Woking fast service between 1730 and 1750 which leave the 1750 very full - and a 30 minute gap in the Farnborough to Basingstoke local stations.

 

[nw1]

The hourly x39 Waterloo to Southampton semis (at times further SW) - providing the second fast service to Farnborough are still cut.
This cuts Southampton from 3 to 2tph and Farnborough from 4 to 3tph.

You can see the gaps in the peaks too. There's no Woking fast service between 1730 and 1750 which leave the 1750 very full - and a 30 minute gap in the Farnborough to Basingstoke local stations.

Indeed, the South Western timetable is basically still a COVID-cuts timetable with just about no restorations of pre-Covid services.

As well as the xx39 gone (even in the peaks, there isn't even a 1739) one of the 4tph on the Portsmouth Direct is gone so you have a timetable with holes. Farncombe, IIRC, has 2 trains within 15 mins then nothing, almost its worst service in decades (though the 1977, 1993 and 1994 timetables had just 1tph).

Most peak extras out of Waterloo are gone, I think the only peak extras now are one extra per hour on the Direct (so still 4tph in the peak) and 2tph extra Woking/Guildford stoppers, but spaced poorly with the all-day Woking terminators (i.e. as they depart at xx02 and xx32, and run fast to Surbiton, they partly catch up the Woking stoppers at xx20 and xx50, so presumably few commuters pick the latter).

Gone for example are the 2tph extra Basingstokes, the 1748 Southampton fast and even the 1739 which used to be part of an all-day service.

A depressing state of affairs, the peak service is probably the most infrequent since WWII, looking at old timetables of the 50s, 60s and 70s, and the off-peak timetable is full of holes.

I certainly think it would make sense for the xx39 to come back, all-day. It would give medium-sized towns like Farnborough and Eastleigh an all-day half-hourly semi-fast, as you say. Also I think they could do something a bit more imaginative with the Direct, even if they can't bring back the 4tph all-day service.

 

[Brent Goose]

I recall there was a proposed overhaul of the Portsmouth Direct timetable (and possibly wider) around 2018 which wasn’t implemented.

This was around the time Southern were having a torrid time with their new timetable so I wondered if they are decided not to risk a repeat. This did lead to some awkward timing where lines were shared with Southern.

Journey times seem to have progressively increased over the years

 

[norbitonflyer]

Has anyone mentioned South Ruislip to West Ealing? reduced from 1 train per week to nothing at all - last ran in December 2022

 

[A S Leib]

Has anyone mentioned South Ruislip to West Ealing? reduced from 1 train per week to nothing at all - last ran in December 2022

Post 59.