How many seconds early do trains from your TOC leave?

[Greenback]

I wonder if request stops would mess up timings - what if a train arrives at a request stop early and there is nobody around - are the crew meant to wait to the advertised/WTT time or do they just carry on through? What if there are several request stops in a row, such as between Bangor and Holyhead or on the Heart of Wales line?

There was an article about this is in an issue of RAIL. ATW confirmed that request stops can cause problems and cited the Heart of Wales and Cambrian Coast lines as an example. Where there are several requst stops in a row trains can arrive early at the nxt compulsory stop, and they are then required to wait until the booked departure time.

I can't remember whether anything was said about trains passing request stops early, or whether anyone had claimed to have missed a train at oen of them because the train had arrived early.

 

[O L Leigh]

We used to have a member who drove the HoW line, but he's gone so can't answer. However, I do seem to recall that he would have to slow for each request stop just in case someone leapt out and flagged him down at the very last minute. Therefore I would imagine that journey time would be broadly unaffected whether the train was stopped or not.

The other thing to bear in mind is that drivers would get a fairly good idea of how to "time" their trains to ensure that they kept to the correct times along the route. Yes you might get to a booked stop a little bit early, but it's not hard to keep a service to time once you've driven the route a few times.

O L Leigh

 

[The Planner]

Request stops tend to be timetabled as a stop with no dwell time and a performance allowance approaching the next compulsory stop or terminus to make up for if you do have to. As mentioned above if no one is there, you arrive early and wait time at the main stop.

It is an awkward problem to get out of as you can either make the PTT departure at the main stop earlier to negate against an extended dwell but you then have the issue of departing late if the request stop is used.

 

[Squaddie]

I am aware of all the arguments for denying access to platforms, removing the train from departure boards and closing the doors a minute or more before the train's scheduled departure time but neither understand nor accept them.

Here in Switzerland, a tone sounds about 5 seconds before a train is scheduled to leave, the doors close smoothly and the train departs exactly as the second hand on the station clock hits 12. Why does the UK rail industry find that so difficult to understand or achieve?

 

[Greenback]

I am aware of all the arguments for denying access to platforms, removing the train from departure boards and closing the doors a minute or more before the train's scheduled departure time but neither understand nor accept them.

Here in Switzerland, a tone sounds about 5 seconds before a train is scheduled to leave, the doors close smoothly and the train departs exactly as the second hand on the station clock hits 12. Why does the UK rail industry find that so difficult to understand or achieve?

Perhaps it's because the Swiss are generally less likely to chase along a platform trying to force a door open whilst hurling foul mouthed abuse at anyone they can see?

 

[Geezertronic]

And because most stock takes longer than 5 seconds for the doors to close before the driver has the order to proceed?

 

[142094]

Someone who works Northern trains can clarify but I'm sure I was told by a member of staff that they slow down to 10 mph when reaching the station, sound the horn then proceed on if no-one wants to board. As has been said the arrival and departure times at request stops are normally the same, so not much leeway in a timetable if people want to get on at every request stop.

Someone started a thread last year asking about how to grice request stops, and if the conductor would allow them to get off and on at each one. Quite unlikely.

 

[pmgarvey]

Perhaps it's because the Swiss are generally less likely to chase along a platform trying to force a door open whilst hurling foul mouthed abuse at anyone they can see?

Indeed, in my (admittedly very limited) experience of Switzerland, people take being on time for things much more seriously, and so contingency time matters a lot less.

A friend of my dad's told me a story about a country (I want to say it was Finland, but don't quote me on it), where he was invited to someone's house for 7. He got there a couple of minutes past 7 (he'd never been in the country before and had trouble finding the house) and the guy was out looking for him in the street concerned because he hadn't been there at bang on 7! No one had a doorbell, if you invited someone for 7, at 7 you'd open the door and they'd be strolling up the garden path.

 

[tannedfrog]

Liverpool St has big signs saying "30 seconds before departure"

I am starting to understand the railway way of thinking that on-time departure means xx:xx:00. And that anything later is considered late. Therefore 30 seconds before departure is necessarily xx:59:30

I didn't use to understand why a despatcher would want to lock the doors before xx:00:00 and I'm not the only the lay person to wonder that. It helps though to know when the doors are usually locked, so I know whether or not to bother running for a train.

 

[12CSVT]

At the TOC I work for, if a train booked is to leave at 10:00, we should aim for wheels to start turning at 10:00 and 00 seconds. Dispatch procedure usually starts 20 seconds before booked departure time.