Merseyrail reduced service info.

[trainophile]

I am travelling (Advance ticket) from Southport to Hereford on 30th December, via Chester.

Just thought I'd check there are no cancellations already scheduled, and I find I need to leave Southport one and a half hours earlier than the original time in order to pick up my train at Chester, because it appears that services both from Southport to Moorfields and from Moorfields to Chester are only running at hourly intervals.

On the Merseyrail website it shows that they are meant to be half-hourly during the coming week, but on the Eastcoast site (the one I always use to book) they are only shown as hourly.

I don't suppose I have any flexibility on my ticket to take the Crewe/Hereford route from Chester, thus saving half an hour or so, so I'm resigned to waiting for one hour at Moorfields (grim) and 56 minutes at Chester (hoping the heated waiting rooms are open!).

Can anyone confirm that the hourly service is correct, and if so why are Merseyrail stating half-hourly services?

 

[vjm1975]

Merseyrail has been running a 30 minute service on all routes. Oddly, National Rail was claiming Merseyrail were running an hourly service on 23rd, yet it was operating a 30 minute service.

 

[Polarbear]

Merseyrail have been running a 30min frequency service on all routes since December 21. Unless something drastic has happened, I can't see this changing for a little while yet.

I've certainly not seen any more snow fall in the last few days it's just chuffing cold around here!

The trouble with a Southport-Chester journey on Merseyrail under the current temporary timetable is that the connections don't work very well. Each service from Southport arrives in Liverpool Centrail just 2 minutes before the Chester train leaves from the Wirral platform. Either that or a 30 min wait for the next Chester, (assuming it apperas - there have been cancellations). The leap can be done, but I wouldn't rely on a +2 on an advanced ticket!

 

[vjm1975]

There have been quite a few cancellations on the Chester services due to very late running, with them being terminated short of Liverpool, and restarted from Rock Ferry or Hooton.
. When this is the case, the information boards advise to board the Ellesmere Port service and change at Hooton.

Rest assured though, there is a 30 minute frequency operating though. There has been no more snowfall of late, the problem seems to be lots of ice on the 3rd rail causing trains to fail left right and centre, especially as the temperature on some nights has dipped to as low as -15c.

According to Merseyrails website, they aim to have normal service by 4th January.

 

[trainophile]

On the same subject, what's the reason why the same route usually says to change at Moorfields, but occasionally says to change at Liverpool Central, even though the "show all calling points" details indicate that both the Northern Line and the Wirral service stop at both?

I think the distance between lines is shorter at Central as it's straight down an escalator rather than a five minute hike and two escalators at Moorfields, but generally Moorfields is the scheduled changing point.

Never dared deviate from whatever is shown on the booking in case it throws the timing out and I miss a connection. Just wondered what the reasons are for the inconsistency. Central is more crowded but a shorter connection time so I'd have thought that one would be the first choice but it isn't usually.