Leamington Spa - Coventry services

[mindfeeder]

Hi, new poster here.

I regularly use this route as it offers a quick and cheap (£2.90 with a railcard) way of getting to Coventry and back. However at the moment, CrossCountry operates only one train an hour, usually a Super Voyager, but sometimes they'll just use a Voyager (leaving Leamington at xx:12 and getting to Coventry around xx:24, the other way leaving Coventry at xx:25 getting to Leamington around xx:38 ) and no matter what time of day it is, the train is pretty much always standing room only.

On some occasions i've had to stand in the gangway next to the door leading to first class which causes the on board staff to be rather rude to me and pushing me out of the way when they want to get past. I have considered sending a few emails to CrossCountry but I have been told by my fellow regular commuters that will get me no where.

Does CrossCountry, or any other TOC have any plans to offer additional services? Or do Freightliner have too many container trains using the single line/Kenilworth loop to add additional trains? Any info would be great.

 

[MCR247]

Hi, new poster here.

I regularly use this route as it offers a quick and cheap (£2.90 with a railcard) way of getting to Coventry and back. However at the moment, CrossCountry operates only one train an hour, usually a Super Voyager, but sometimes they'll just use a Voyager (leaving Leamington at xx:12 and getting to Coventry around xx:24, the other way leaving Coventry at xx:25 getting to Leamington around xx:38 ) and no matter what time of day it is, the train is pretty much always standing room only.

On some occasions i've had to stand in the gangway next to the door leading to first class which causes the on board staff to be rather rude to me and pushing me out of the way when they want to get past. I have considered sending a few emails to CrossCountry but I have been told by my fellow regular commuters that will get me no where.

Does CrossCountry, or any other TOC have any plans to offer additional services? Or do Freightliner have too many container trains using the single line/Kenilworth loop to add additional trains? Any info would be great.

Its the same really just about everywhere on the CrossCountry routes. But, CrossCountry have no additional stock and if they did, I'm not so sure that they'd put them on your route. Probably Edinburgh - Plymouth which might cascade voyagers to other routes.

There really is a national rolling stock shortage ATM which the DfT aren't doing much about, but of course putting more and more investment in the SE

 

[mindfeeder]

Its the same really just about everywhere on the CrossCountry routes. But, CrossCountry have no additional stock and if they did, I'm not so sure that they'd put them on your route. Probably Edinburgh - Plymouth which might cascade voyagers to other routes.

It's a shame really. CrossCountry would get enough people on these services if it ran twice an hour to justify it.

I use CrossCountry services down to Oxford occasionally and those run twice an hour and are not too bad regarding overcrowding compared to the Coventry services.

 

[devon_metro]

But, CrossCountry have no additional stock

Such as 3 HSTs sitting in Sidings all week doing sweet FA? It's a bloody disgrace that Cross Country are allowed to operate this shambolic railway.

In the first sign of trouble all services are caped

 

[MCR247]

Such as 3 HSTs sitting in Sidings all week doing sweet FA? It's a bloody disgrace that Cross Country are allowed to operate this shambolic railway.

In the first sign of trouble all services are caped

XC Emailed me saying all 3 are in service, doing the same diagrams before the TT change? :?

Dear *********

Thank you once again for getting in touch, please forgive the delay in getting back to you.

I can confirm that the following HST services are operating on weekdays since the timetable change:

Northbound

12.23 - Plymouth to Glasgow Central
13.23 - Plymouth to Edinburgh
15.23 - Plymouth to Leeds
17.23 - Plymouth to Leeds

Southbound

06.00 - Leeds to Plymouth
06.08 - Edinburgh to Plymouth
06.32 - York to Plymouth
06.32 - Dundee to Plymouth

On Saturday, the following services will be operating with HSTs:

Northbound

12.23 - Plymouth to Glasgow Central
17.23 - Plymouth to Leeds

Southbound

06.00 - Leeds to Plymouth
07.00 - Glasgow Central to Plymouth
09.00 - Glasgow Central to Plymouth

We are constantly looking at ways to utilise our rolling stock and ensure that the right trains are running at the right times across our network so that we provide key capacity when it's needed. However, the above times detail when our HSTs are scheduled to run at the moment, but may be subject to change due to engineering work or service disruption.

Thank you once again for taking the time to get in touch.

James Ison
Customer Relations Consultant

And since they took forever to reply saying that, I'm more reluctant to believe they are wrong. They replied at the beginning of december saying they are looking into (it was a person, not the automatic one you get when you first ask)

 

[devon_metro]

MO
1223 PLY - EDB
1323 PLY - EDB (stock starts in Plymouth)
1723 PLY - LDS

MX
1223 PLY - EDB
1723 PLY - LDS

 

[tbtc]

Such as 3 HSTs sitting in Sidings all week doing sweet FA? It's a bloody disgrace that Cross Country are allowed to operate this shambolic railway

Every operator needs to leave some stock "spare"; a TOC that didn't have some stock sat "in sidings doing sweet FA" would soon run into trouble (and you'd find people complaining "why don't they have any spare trains when something goes wrong"...).

One hope for Lem - Cov is if WMSR (and the proposed ATW services to London) were allowed to stop at both. Which won't happen...

 

[yorkie]

And since they took forever to reply saying that, I'm more reluctant to believe they are wrong. They replied at the beginning of december saying they are looking into (it was a person, not the automatic one you get when you first ask)

I don't think that XC being slow to respond and giving the old diagrams means they are right. I'd be more inclined to believe what 'gen' posters say, and the 'gen' is that there are usually only 2 sets out.

I've not read anything to indicate that any sets are available as "hot spares" and the only reasons that I've read so far for this indicate cost cutting and XC are in a financial crisis.

 

[Arriva158]

One hope for Lem - Cov is if WMSR (and the proposed ATW services to London) were allowed to stop at both. Which won't happen...

i can only assume that WSMR have got Leamington because of being part of Chiltern... and with the extra coach, i think its going to be needed, they're full AND standing leaving Tame Bridge Parkway even with the 4th coach now! i mean goodness mee!
Give WSMR the 3 HST's which XC aren't using =D

 

[87015]

One hope for Lem - Cov is if WMSR (and the proposed ATW services to London) were allowed to stop at both. Which won't happen...

Giving LM a good kicking into supporting the Kenilworth station and extending the Cov-Nuneaton rocket though to Leamington would be equally good .... Probably won't happen either mind!

 

[route:oxford]

Does CrossCountry, or any other TOC have any plans to offer additional services? Or do Freightliner have too many container trains using the single line/Kenilworth loop to add additional trains? Any info would be great.

Is there an opportunity, or value in doubling part or all of the route.

It's always struck me as odd that a busy route in the heart of the midlands is mostly single track.

 

[tbtc]

Giving LM a good kicking into supporting the Kenilworth station and extending the Cov-Nuneaton rocket though to Leamington would be equally good .... Probably won't happen either mind!

Ah, you're bringing back memories of my Bristol - Swindon - Didcot - Oxford - Leamington Spa - Coventry - Nuneaton - Leicester - Nottingham idea; a kind of "Birmingham avoiding route" that links lots of marginal routes, and will never happen...

It's a shame there's no paths for all XC services to serve Coventry, as they're not stopping at Solihill or any other stations on that stretch of line.

 

[The Planner]

You would have to stick a bit of extra double track in to do Kenilworth station, still no paths though, which is the same as every other time it has been suggested or tried. Now if you got Oxford Bletchley sorted and got the box trains out that way, then you would be talking.

 

[mindfeeder]

Giving LM a good kicking into supporting the Kenilworth station and extending the Cov-Nuneaton rocket though to Leamington would be equally good .... Probably won't happen either mind!

That would be a great service if it was ever to happen. It's totally workable too - as there are two bay platforms at Leamington one of which (Platform 1) is barely ever used - only for London Midland parking up stock at night.

Making a local service on the Coventry - Leamington route would be the best solution IMO. At the moment, you are having to share your journey with folks who have been on the same train since Bournemouth/Manchester!

 

[matt]

You would have to stick a bit of extra double track in to do Kenilworth station, still no paths though, which is the same as every other time it has been suggested or tried. Now if you got Oxford Bletchley sorted and got the box trains out that way, then you would be talking.

This suggests that Kenilworth station is happening in a few years

http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/ne...th-rail-station-a-step-nearer-92746-24229888/

 

[mindfeeder]

This suggests that Kenilworth station is happening in a few years

http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/ne...th-rail-station-a-step-nearer-92746-24229888/

Kenilworth station will be an excellent idea. A shuttle to and from Coventry/Leam will also bring in some stiff competition for the bus services that currently operate.

 

[matt]

It mentions the upgrade of the Nuneaton to Leamington to line so maybe in the future the Nuneaton to Coventry shuttle will be extended to Leamington. What was the reason for only double tracking as far as Gibbet Hill?

 

[mindfeeder]

It mentions the upgrade of the Nuneaton to Leamington to line so maybe in the future the Nuneaton to Coventry shuttle will be extended to Leamington. What was the reason for only double tracking as far as Gibbet Hill?

According to this -

Photographs taken in the early 1960s at Coventry Station of a GWR 2-8-0 coming off the branch put paid to the issue of gauge. The more likely reason is that the cutting at Gibbet Hill was very deep and the construction work would, in the view of Robert Dockray, the LNWR's surveyor, required great judgement and care. The cost of excavating the cutting would therefore have been quite expensive so the alternative of a short single line would have been a cheaper and viable option.

http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/coventry_leamingtonhistory.htm

 

[matt]

I was more thinking of the recent re-doubling from Coventry to Gibbet Hill as until recently the single track started at Coventry

 

[mindfeeder]

I was more thinking of the recent re-doubling from Coventry to Gibbet Hill as until recently the single track started at Coventry

Cannot find any info on that, perhaps increased traffic on the line? The freightliner trains use the route more than the passenger services do from what I can gather.

 

[matt]

It was re-double but only as far as Gibbet Hill. My question was why only this short section was done.

 

[The Planner]

The Kenilworth story is a bit of a red herring, it is really yet another feasibility study as to whether a station is viable. As the timetable currently stands, you can only get XC to call there (and even then, only a few of them), there isnt enough capacity for a local unless you move a load of the freight or re-double it all.

 

[starlightEXPRESS]

It was re-double but only as far as Gibbet Hill. My question was why only this short section was done.

The section from South Coventry to Gibbett Hill was redoubled during the Coventry resignalling. The line through Gibbett Hill itself has never been double track and would have required widening of the cutting. (See http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/coventry_leamingtonhistory.htm for speculation on the reasons why this was the case.)

Further south through Kenilworth itself, the line is double track, although the arrangement is a bidirectional running line with adjacent goods loop, rather than two unidirectional running lines. My understanding is that south of Kenilworth the main obstacle to redoubling is the bridge over the A46 dual carriageway, which is only able to carry a single track.

 

[matt]

My understanding is that south of Kenilworth the main obstacle to redoubling is the bridge over the A46 dual carriageway, which is only able to carry a single track.

I thought that might have been the case. I wasn't sure how wide the bridge was but didn't look particularly wide when driving underneat it.

 

[starlightEXPRESS]

Incidentally the West Midlands and Chilterns RUS is due to be published in draft form by Network Rail early in 2010. Given the demand for paths on the line from XC, W&S and freight operators, I'm sure the issue of further redoubling will be given detailed consideration. It will be interesting to see what NR make of the plans by Warwickshire CC for a new Kenilworth station!

 

[mindfeeder]

My understanding is that south of Kenilworth the main obstacle to redoubling is the bridge over the A46 dual carriageway, which is only able to carry a single track.

Indeed it is a single line bridge. Not sure how difficult it would be to build a bridge next to it, but i can imagine it's do-able, although it would cause some major traffic problems on the A46, all the traffic from there would have to go through Leek Wooton into Kenilworth or round past Chesford Grange to the next Kenilworth/Leamington junction of the A46 to avoid any closures made to the by-pass.

The A46 is not a dual carriageway however, it has three lanes in either direction.

 

[MKB]

The NUCKLE project (Nuneaton-Coventry-Kenilworth-Leamington) has been proposed and phase 1 is discussed at http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/corporate/committe.nsf/f97183b3a13d475d80256f7000397ba1/0afa1c37b58b781980257577005a2403/$FILE/ww1%20NUCKLE%20Phase%201.lw.[382KB].pdf

I heard that phase 2 is unlikely because of the lack of a cost-effective solution to enable this service to bridge the WCML through Coventry.