East Coast track access

[Donny Dave]

As I've said before elsewhere on here, there isn't really the spare capacity at Doncaster for joining and splitting trains.

Currently on the Northbound platforms (4 and 8) there is 3 or 4 NXEC and Hull Train services an hour, 1 XC service each way an hour, 3 Northern Services and 1 TPE an hour. You get something stood in 1 of the platforms for 10 minutes or so, and it will disrupt things rather badly.

Retford how ever would be a much better place to have services joining and splitting, due to the 1tph each hour in the platforms, although I'm not sure if there is permissive signalling in place to permit such moves.

 

[Pumbaa]

As far as I am aware an order was never made?

GC's website (old) seems to think there was. And I'm sure there's maybe something about it in their latest onboard magazine?

 

[MCR247]

:???::???::???: I'm not sure, it was on their old website, but normally if you a TOC orders trains, its in all of the rail magazines, but I only heard they were confirmed on GC website. A rail magazine said they were considering it!

 

[Failed Unit]

As I've said before elsewhere on here, there isn't really the spare capacity at Doncaster for joining and splitting trains.

Currently on the Northbound platforms (4 and 8) there is 3 or 4 NXEC and Hull Train services an hour, 1 XC service each way an hour, 3 Northern Services and 1 TPE an hour. You get something stood in 1 of the platforms for 10 minutes or so, and it will disrupt things rather badly.

Retford how ever would be a much better place to have services joining and splitting, due to the 1tph each hour in the platforms, although I'm not sure if there is permissive signalling in place to permit such moves.

I often here this mentioned by people, including network rail but I personally don't see why it should be a problem. As stated on many other areas it happens daily at Faversham and Haywards Heath. Both stations with 4 platforms but they manage to split 2 trains per hour.

The trains are only in the platform for about 5 minutes, arrive, 2 minutes to split and train 1 goes about 3 minutes later train 2 goes. Yes you sometimes get delays but I have only had one delay on SouthEast at Faversham waiting for the Dover Portion out of about 20 journeys. Splitting / Joining trains occupy platforms a lot less than terminating trains and these appear at Doncaster from time to time on both platforms 1 and 8. XC also occupy platforms at Doncaster for longer than 5 minutes due to the slack timetable.

As I have said on the EMT forum when the Lincoln - Leicester service was split it resulted in an extra terminating service at Leicester which took up more platform capacity than the proposed London - Nottingham / Derby splitter would have done but was rejected.

To me the SouthEast shows splitting and joining can be done on small stations with no problems, on the ECML there would be no corridor connections to open / close making the whole process quicker. I think when Network rail say it wastes platform capacity they are just taking the easy option, but I have yet to see anyone able to back up the claim about why the station can't cope. I you look at if HT and GU shared the path to Doncaster, a platform would be occupied for 5 minutes, if they run in different paths the platform would be occupied for the same length of time, just by 2 "different" trains.

 

[222001]

From todays Railway Herald about the new Grand Central paths.
'"Now the hard work begins in getting the processes and resources in place to enable this new daily return service between Sunderland and London to operate, we anticipate from June of this year”.
Grand Central also confirmed that it has agreed a lease with Angel Trains for two Class 180 units for the additional services.'

I wonder what they will look like in Grand Central black!

 

[Sir_Clagalot]

they look quite nice in GC black!! Keep an eye on the GC website for the latest mag (Angelina Jolie on the cover), there is a photo in there...