New XC contract - what changes would you like to see?

[quantinghome]

A train that starts in Edinburgh and finishes in Penzance can't have the ideal number of available seats at all points on the journey. Ideal depends on viewpoint. For me as a traveller about 60% occupied is fine, over 80% is getting crowded and over 90% is likely to be becoming unpleasant. For XC the more sections loading at 90% the better.

True, but it's also equally true for IC services to/from London, with passenger numbers reducing with every stop further from London. We once caught a very lightly loaded evening LNER from Aberdeen to Leeds which seemed to be a 6.5 hour 9-car stock move. Is XC particularly badly hit by variable seat demand compared to other IC lines? The distribution of cities along the route would suggest that aggregate demand should be more continuous along the line.

 

[Bletchleyite]

True, but it's also equally true for IC services to/from London, with passenger numbers reducing with every stop further from London. We once caught a very lightly loaded evening LNER from Aberdeen to Leeds which seemed to be a 6.5 hour 9-car stock move. Is XC particularly badly hit by variable seat demand compared to other IC lines? The distribution of cities along the route would suggest that aggregate demand should be more continuous along the line.

Of course as a TOC which runs 4 and 5 car units, logic would seem to be that XC could strengthen in the busy bits and run single units in the quieter ones. This is more complex to diagram, but it is one way to make the best use of a limited fleet, and it's an approach that is well established at the likes of Northampton.

 

[Killingworth]

True, but it's also equally true for IC services to/from London, with passenger numbers reducing with every stop further from London. We once caught a very lightly loaded evening LNER from Aberdeen to Leeds which seemed to be a 6.5 hour 9-car stock move. Is XC particularly badly hit by variable seat demand compared to other IC lines? The distribution of cities along the route would suggest that aggregate demand should be more continuous along the line.

Time of day, day of week, time of year, section of route.

I've seen a well filled XC Glasgow - Leeds evening service when seeing off a relative from Alnmouth to Newcastle. All but empty long, north bound, LNER Azumas were noted as we waited.

 

[tigerroar]

But Gloucester has nothing to or from Sheffield, Leeds or Newcastle. Correction - the 13.05 Edinburgh - Plymouth calls there but nothing going north. But if we're talking about the extension of an existing service then it will be Cardiff - Bristol TM, reverse, Parkway - Cheltenham.

Why would this not run direct from Parkway to Newport? Oh the hypocrisy of the time penalty from reversing at Gloucester!

 

[dciuk]

And yet Totnes is deemed worthy of every single XC train stopping there. Personally I see Brockenhurst a fairly worthwhile location as its essentially the gateway to the New Forest. XC isn't about fast services. Maybe it should be, would be nice to have some quicker runs to the south west for example, but no, everything stops at the likes of Totnes, and I don't think Brockenhurst should be any different.

Brockenhurst also offers connections to the Isle of Wight. Yes, Totnes is very well served for a place of its size and only a handful of early morning trains don't stop.

To be fair, I think the points some are making is that the stops for Brockenhurst
Were removed without speeding up the service so why can’t they be reintroduced with slowing them down?

Also note that it’s relatively easy to change for Totnes in the same way as you say it is for Brockenhurst. 12 mins from Newton Abbot with 2 tph down To Penzance. Coming the other way it’s about 25 mins from Plymouth so not too hard to do also, and in fact the half of the GWR services that do pick up at Totnes continue to Bristol as well.

I’m not saying if it’s right or wrong to stop at Totnes/Brockenhurst, but it does seem like a similar situation to me.

Why are we picking on Totnes? The last time I checked Totnes had higher passenger numbers that Tiverton Parkway, but Tiverton Parkway has a similar stopping pattern

 

[irish_rail]

Why are we picking on Totnes? The last time I checked Totnes had higher passenger numbers that Tiverton Parkway, but Tiverton Parkway has a similar stopping pattern

Id say its similar to Brockenhurst in many ways as A XC stop.

 

[ValentaFan1974]

Hopefully they will completely freshen up the outsides as well as inside…. You can still see where the Virgin logo was removed from the front of the units in 2007!

 

[occone]

Place your bets on which type of LED they'll go for... warm and subtle or football stadium?

Judging on the current lighting, and our shared experience of reality, XCs inability to do anything well at all indicates that it will be a jumble of both.

Any new lighting will require a complete top to bottom clean, as the CFLs/candles they currently use do them a favour in hiding the accumulated presumably Virgin-era filth.

Possibly a regular maintenance issue but it seems that every other Voyager seems to have a busted window that's condensed up. The one today was greenish with mould - presumably I'm mistaken and this is a spectacular commitment to the environment by growing their very own ecosystem.

XCs biggest problem is they don't go to London nor do they belong regionally. They're the ugly duckling that has no status or belonging, a sprawl of mediocrity that can be tolerated as they're usually counterbalanced by a reasonable operator nearby. If they had one service to London, or if they belonged geographically, they'd be getting 80Xs.

 

[Mordac]

Judging on the current lighting, and our shared experience of reality, XCs inability to do anything well at all indicates that it will be a jumble of both.

Any new lighting will require a complete top to bottom clean, as the CFLs/candles they currently use do them a favour in hiding the accumulated presumably Virgin-era filth.

Possibly a regular maintenance issue but it seems that every other Voyager seems to have a busted window that's condensed up. The one today was greenish with mould - presumably I'm mistaken and this is a spectacular commitment to the environment by growing their very own ecosystem.

XCs biggest problem is they don't go to London nor do they belong regionally. They're the ugly duckling that has no status or belonging, a sprawl of mediocrity that can be tolerated as they're usually counterbalanced by a reasonable operator nearby. If they had one service to London, or if they belonged geographically, they'd be getting 80Xs.

Chiltern isn't getting 80Xs either (for the mainline operations, obviously, not the commuter stuff).

 

[Bletchleyite]

Chiltern isn't getting 80Xs either (for the mainline operations, obviously, not the commuter stuff).

80x would be a bad fit for Chiltern because 80x's big noses waste platform length which is at a premium for a commuter operation and they have no need for over 110mph, nor do they need end doors (the Mk3s have them but that's just because they already exist). If Hitachi wins their tender for new stock it'll be AT200, not AT300 based, almost certainly with doors at thirds/quarters.

 

[TheWalrus]

Better stock ie 222s rather than awful voyagers.
More direct services from Gloucester end through to Leicester and Cambridge.
More calls at Ashchurch and Bromsgrove to connect with cross-city line stoppers.
A decent catering offering for long distance services.
Maybe a reduction in first class seats and removal of first class in 170s?
Can’t see any of this happening but it’s what I would like to see.