The Royal Mail operates to a form of working timetable where traffic has connections that need to be made.
At the start of the 2000s, there was a huge amount of rail performance micromanagement of certain postals, monitoring possessions or managing other trains known to impact postals. Special instructions (pre-briefings) were also created to avoid ‘stop & caution’ for emergency speed restrictions that otherwise required it.
Even today Royal Mail’s road operation is hugely inefficient, running cross empty wagons to counter lateness on some out-and-back runs, sending empty wagons to collect loads that have already gone, or sending wagons to locations that have ceased RM despatches but RM internal bureaucracy hasn’t caught up. Little wonder letter post is an over-priced basket case.