East Midlands cancellations

[trainophile]

A bit shocked to just find out via a related tweet to TPE that EMR are also cancelling various trains with the same "due to a short notice change to the timetable" excuse. This is worrying as I'm finally booked to do the Lime Street to Norwich and return thing in a couple of weeks, time critical as my friend is coming up from London and we're only having one night in Norwich to catch up (haven't met up since Jan 2020). Also have booked non-refundable Travelodge rooms.

How bad is the problem, and is it likely to be ongoing as per TPE's disgraceful operations? I thought EMR were fairly reliable, but it seems currently they are having the same problems. Maybe the aftermath of the cancelled strike days?

 

[Failed Unit]

A bit shocked to just find out via a related tweet to TPE that EMR are also cancelling various trains with the same "due to a short notice change to the timetable" excuse. This is worrying as I'm finally booked to do the Lime Street to Norwich and return thing in a couple of weeks, time critical as my friend is coming up from London and we're only having one night in Norwich to catch up (haven't met up since Jan 2020). Also have booked non-refundable Travelodge rooms.

How bad is the problem, and is it likely to be ongoing as per TPE's disgraceful operations? I thought EMR were fairly reliable, but it seems currently they are having the same problems. Maybe the aftermath of the cancelled strike days?

I think it is the athermath of the strike days, short formations rather than full cancellations is the general EMR issue,

 

[Scott1]

It's a knock on from the strike timetable. It should be OK after today.

 

[gazzaa2]

I've found EMT's timetable to be relatively reliable, it's the rolling stock that causes problems (a lack of it).

 

[Merseysider]

Do you have a seat reservation? EMR from Liv-Nrw can get very cosy sometimes, especially if formed of 2 instead of 4 cars.

 

[trainophile]

Thanks everyone, that's reassuring. I did look today as if buying a ticket from Man Picc to Norwich as the train I've booked on had already left Liverpool, only to find no tickets available as they were all sold out. Presumably that was due to a 2-coach substitution.

Actually scrap that, don't know what I checked but it appears today's 0951 off LIV didn't even run. It's not shown as cancelled, just not there on RTT. It's there on Nov 22nd which is when I'm booked for so looks like it was because of the strike days cancellations, "trains in the wrong place the next day" etc.

Booked my tickets on Trainsplit, and I don't seem to have been given reservations for any of the tickets. Do they usually have many unreserved seats? I figured that by getting on at the start I'd be okay. All my tickets on the confirmation email say "You have reserved a place on this service, but individual seat reservations are not possible." Is that normal for this route?

 

[grumpyoldman01]

According to BBC East Midlands News, the problem east of Nottingham stems from the bridge bash in Rutland; paraphrasing it, XC trains between Leicester and Peterborough are replaced by buses (understandable - one image broadcast showed that half of the bridge had gone), but it added that bustitution also applied to EMR trains between Nottingham and Peterborough too. This makes sense for the two early services which go via Stamford, but not to the rest, so this statement applying the bustitution to all could just be poor journalism

Booked my tickets on Trainsplit, and I don't seem to have been given reservations for any of the tickets. Do they usually have many unreserved seats? I figured that by getting on at the start I'd be okay. All my tickets on the confirmation email say "You have reserved a place on this service, but individual seat reservations are not possible." Is that normal for this route?

Yes

 

[BJames]

Do you have a seat reservation? EMR from Liv-Nrw can get very cosy sometimes, especially if formed of 2 instead of 4 cars.

I didn't think EMR did seat reservations on this route. I only usually use this line between Grantham and Nottingham mind but never seen any reservation cards or noticed anyone getting asked to move.

 

[trainophile]

They are saying three weeks for the bridge bash restitution, I do hope it doesn't affect my journey as it could add hours to it.

 

[liamf656]

Do you have a seat reservation? EMR from Liv-Nrw can get very cosy sometimes, especially if formed of 2 instead of 4 cars.

EMR only do reservations on Meridian services now

 

[MikeWM]

Booked my tickets on Trainsplit, and I don't seem to have been given reservations for any of the tickets. Do they usually have many unreserved seats? I figured that by getting on at the start I'd be okay.

In my experience of doing this trip (at least as far as Ely), you should be fine getting on at Liverpool, as long as you don't leave it until the last minute.

Remember if it is 4 carriages, it will probably split at Nottingham, which means you need to be in the *back* two at Liverpool (due to the reversal at Sheffield) or you'll need to move at some point.

 

[trainophile]

Ah that's excellent information, I've been wondering about the splitting situation. So it's the first two coaches nearest the bay end of the station at Lime Street? How does the splitting work if it's only two coaches?

 

[MikeWM]

Ah that's excellent information, I've been wondering about the splitting situation. So it's the first two coaches nearest the bay end of the station at Lime Street? How does the splitting work if it's only two coaches?

Yes, stay near the buffers Especially if the bridge bash hasn't been solved by then, as there may be a lot of people wanting to get on at Nottingham who would usually have gone via Oakham.

If just two carriages, they should go all the way, no splitting/joining.

I would add that most of the time when I do this trip, it seems to end up with a set swap at Nottingham, but I think I've mostly been unlucky, it seems unlikely the majority of all trips do that!

 

[dosxuk]

Pot luck - sometimes the two run through, sometimes they stop in Nottingham and a different pair run through to Norwich. When that happens, expect the first time you know about it to be when someone comes through the train at Nottingham and tells you to get off.

There's no actual seat reservations because the stock situation is so unreliable it's impossible to know what seats will be available on a particular service. They're still doing counted place reservations.

 

[Merseysider]

EMR only do reservations on Meridian services now

I didn't think EMR did seat reservations on this route. I only usually use this line between Grantham and Nottingham mind but never seen any reservation cards or noticed anyone getting asked to move.

Ah, I hadn’t realised they weren’t doing proper reservations, haven’t been up to Liverpool in a while! Thanks for the correction

 

[trainophile]

Thanks again everyone. Hope to report back that it all went swimmingly!

 

[LowLevel]

There is a problem at the moment whereby train crews for EMR do some passing between Derby and Nottingham and XC are basically abandoning the route today for example which leaves not even 1 train an hour some hours with some EMR services still missing. These traincrew are being moved in taxis which is fine off peak, they don't take much more time than the train running direct, but at peak times it is causing significant knock on effects as the A52 is awful.

 

[Stampy]

Pot luck - sometimes the two run through, sometimes they stop in Nottingham and a different pair run through to Norwich. When that happens, expect the first time you know about it to be when someone comes through the train at Nottingham and tells you to get off.

There's no actual seat reservations because the stock situation is so unreliable it's impossible to know what seats will be available on a particular service. They're still doing counted place reservations.

If you're in the REAR units when it leaves Liverpool Lime Street as a 4-car unit, then after it reverses at Sheffield - you should then be in the FRONT 2-units heading towards Nottingham..

At Nottingham, they normally detach the REAR 2-units, and the FRONT 2 carry on towards Grantham, Peterborough and Norwich

This from personal experience, as I've caught one of these back from Manchester Piccadilly to Nottingham - and despite NUMEROUS announcements on the train that only the FRONT 2-cars will continue on past Nottingham, the "scrum" for seats at Nottingham has to be seen to be believed.

People hammering the buttons on the units to be detached
People who WERE in the rear unit now having to get off - and trying "barge" their way back on.

 

[dosxuk]

If you're in the REAR units when it leaves Liverpool Lime Street as a 4-car unit, then after it reverses at Sheffield - you should then be in the FRONT 2-units heading towards Nottingham..

At Nottingham, they normally detach the REAR 2-units, and the FRONT 2 carry on towards Grantham, Peterborough and Norwich

This from personal experience, as I've caught one of these back from Manchester Piccadilly to Nottingham - and despite NUMEROUS announcements on the train that only the FRONT 2-cars will continue on past Nottingham, the "scrum" for seats at Nottingham has to be seen to be believed.

People hammering the buttons on the units to be detached
People who WERE in the rear unit now having to get off - and trying "barge" their way back on.

I was replying to the question about whether if there's only two carriages they will run through.

In the case of four-cars, in the last year I think I've had every possibility - the front two carrying on, the rear two carrying on and even the whole four staying in Nottingham and a run across the station to get on to a different two car train carrying on. Likewise coming the other way, I've had two join ahead, two join behind, only two carry on through and my favourite, getting kicked off and then finding the continuing train already left from the other side of the station and you need to kick your heels for an hour.

It seems unless the normal (which is as you say) plan is to be followed, this only becomes clear in the approach to Nottingham. The staff are almost invariably apologetic and pleasant about it when things don't follow that plan, but I make sure I always listen to any announcement on the approach to Nottingham, and make sure I'm ready to get off if needed to give me the best chance of making it if a set swap happens.

The most fun happens if it skips out the reversal in Sheffield, as what happens in Nottingham is then completely random - all you can be sure of is that everyone will get disrupted somehow.

 

[High Dyke]

According to BBC East Midlands News, the problem east of Nottingham stems from the bridge bash in Rutland; paraphrasing it, XC trains between Leicester and Peterborough are replaced by buses (understandable - one image broadcast showed that half of the bridge had gone), but it added that bustitution also applied to EMR trains between Nottingham and Peterborough too. This makes sense for the two early services which go via Stamford, but not to the rest, so this statement applying the bustitution to all could just be poor journalism


Yes

Perhaps it is "poor journalism ". Some of the reference to the bustitution possibly refers to the weekend when the Stamford route was the diversionary way for the engineering at Werrington.

Whilst that line is still blocked, then the first two services could operate via Grantham, on the weekdays, with rail replacement in line of Melton Mowbray, Oakham and Stamford. They've done that before. Weekend engineering may be different though.