I thought trains never departed early?

[Surreytraveller]

Oops:

Realtime Trains | 2G61 0643 Kirkby to Liverpool Central | 07/03/2023

Real-time train running information for 2G61 0643 departure from Kirkby to Liverpool Central on 07/03/2023. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

It could be a train has departed with the wrong headcode

 

[Bertie the bus]

How could it be something using the wrong headcode? Departures from Kirkby are 06:13 and 06:43 so nothing around 0629 when it departed:. The 06:13 had already departed and Kirkby is a single platform station so unless the arriving service was an 8-car, which they split, there was nothing except the unit forming the 06:43 departure there, and they’re not currently running 8-car Class 777 services.

 

[Falcon1200]

2G61 did depart Kirkby 13 minutes early, arrived at its first stop, Fazakerly, 13 mins early, but stood there until its correct departure time. So either it left early due to misreading of the diagram or timetable (by both Driver and Guard), but this was quickly realised and the train waited time at Fazakerly, or was there some reason why it had to vacate the platform at Kirkby quickly?

 

[MCR247]

Another one today. It seems they sent the stopping service ahead of the express service. So the stopping service was departing early to avoid holding up the express.

Realtime Trains | 0658 Portsmouth & Southsea to London Waterloo | 08/03/2023

Real-time train running information for 0658 departure from Portsmouth & Southsea to London Waterloo on 08/03/2023. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Looks like something was preventing P3 at Haslemere from being used so there was no opportunity for the fast to overtake