Manchester to Cumbria service anomalies

[Philip]

Is there any reason why the 11.50 and 12:50 departures from Manchester Piccadilly to Windermere/Barrow run non-stop to Preston via Golbourne, rather than along the normal route, stopping at Bolton & Chorley?

 

[185]

Probably for traincrew knowledge route retention. If there were no booked workings, a vital diversion may fall off their route cards if not traversed for six months. Plenty of other services over that route.

 

[scrapy]

Probably for traincrew knowledge route retention. If there were no booked workings, a vital diversion may fall off their route cards if not traversed for six months. Plenty of other services over that route.

Exactly that. The 1447 Barrow to Manchester Airport and the 2155 Blackpool North to Manchester Piccadilly (not on a Thursday for some reason) also go that way in the opposite direction.

 

[SuspectUsual]

Exactly that. The 1447 Barrow to Manchester Airport and the 2155 Blackpool North to Manchester Piccadilly (not on a Thursday for some reason) also go that way in the opposite direction.

Which is eminently more sensible than creating a three hour gap in the Bolton and Chorley northbound services

 

[berneyarms]

Which is eminently more sensible than creating a three hour gap in the Bolton and Chorley northbound services

There are still Manchester-Blackpool North services operating during that period which offer connections into the two services concerned at Preston.

No one would be waiting three hours.

 

[Some guy]

What’s crazy is how they couldn’t fit a stop in at Wigan for both services despite both services sit in Preston for up to 15 minutes

 

[The Planner]

What’s crazy is how they couldn’t fit a stop in at Wigan for both services despite both services sit in Preston for up to 15 minutes

The 1150 clashes with the fast Avanti Glasgow if you put a stop in. You can't loop it in 6 as the Wigan Liverpool is in there. Doing it in the 1250 means a later departure from Preston and the Euston Edinburgh catches it.

 

[nw1]

General comment - is there a specific reason why these one-off diverted workings are more common now than in say, late BR or early privatisation during the 80s and 90s?

 

[30907]

Tentative first reply, as I've never done traincrew stuff: TOCs have discovered it is cheaper than paying crew time to do a route refresh (and simpler, if it doesn't involve another TOC). I suspect also TOC-specific depots probably sign fewer routes than of old (a process that had begun with sectorisation).

 

[Class 170101]

Tentative first reply, as I've never done traincrew stuff: TOCs have discovered it is cheaper than paying crew time to do a route refresh (and simpler, if it doesn't involve another TOC). I suspect also TOC-specific depots probably sign fewer routes than of old (a process that had begun with sectorisation).

Indeed its now part of the diagrams in some TOCs rather than route retention specific days.