ORCATS is still used to distribute revenue - not all operators are franchised and not all franchised operators fall under the DfT.
Which is why two of the Thameslink Bedford bound services should be curtailed to Luton. Would save two units and two lots of drivers for the day
Wouldn't you then have to curtail the service that currently terminates at Luton somewhere else, perhaps Kentish Town?
Yes probably but wouldn't take much work to get a platform face on the loop line that leads into the depot or maybe turnaround the Sutton services with a mixture of St Albans and Kentish Town terminators.
The longer journey time of the 09 means that the gap at Basingstoke is fairly negligible. Basingstoke is far enough out that having an 05-20 gap isn't a disaster. Passengers just know they have to arrive at Waterloo in the first part of the hour. I'm sure they can plan around that. There is also still a 42 slow if they don't want to wait (although I recognise it arrives after the 05).
Is that the case though? I'd have said somewhere like Basingstoke, i.e. a large town within an hour from London, should expect a reasonably evenly-spaced (doesn't have to be exact clockface, but should be reasonable spacing) 2tph. At worst, two trains 20 mins apart, with the second train not caught up by the first.
Until 769s are operating in the LTV area there isn't any rolling stock to increase services in the West. 769s aren't happening until driver training happens. Driver training isn't happening until the pay dispute ends. The pay dispute isn't going to end as there is no feasible compromise.
Why do you suggest that driver training is dependent on the pay dispute? There is still plenty of training happening at other TOCs that are in dispute.
It has been suggested by other posters and elsewhere that that is the case.
Info from an insider indicates it's exactly that and any claim that it's been brought into the current completely separate dispute is total nonsense.
I don't think anyone thinks it is 'inside the pay dispute' but industrial action clearly gets in the way of finding time to train drivers on new traction when it disrupts the rosters of the people training and the drivers needing training.
That's much more along the lines of what I was expecting. I note that the withdrawal of RDW at some TOCs has excluded training.
That's because the units aren't fit for any training to take place!
Agree that’s a better journey between Bristol and Gloucester. The fast services in the other half of the hour also provide connections to Worcester at Cheltenham, in that you can leave Bristol later than the Worcester (which goes via Gloucester) and change to it at Cheltenham.
The issue will simply be around committing to stopping at Preston and Crewe on Friday night / Saturday morning without confirmation that there is no engineering work forcing diversions away from the WCML. It won't be because of a timetable change.
That's progress, the Up platform has no stepping height issues so there is no reason for TPE not to call there. Network Rail need to get a move on to sort the Down platform before December, Northern and local councils are really pushing for it to be completed by the timetable change.
Yes, local rail user group MCRUA say they have highlighted this to LNR.
