Nuneaton passengers unhappy at new Desiro service

[AlexS]

This however fails to mention the Birmingham New Street to Edinburgh/Glasgow trains which I assume will still call at Crewe, Warrington, Wigan, Preston, Lancaster etc etc, and so therefore Crewe will still have northbound trains beyond Manchester.

 

[Nym]

I'm still anoyed that theres no overnight trains, they'd make a killer fortune doing an hourly or even less frequent from London - Manchester/Brum/Liverpool/Chester etc. Especialy Manchester and Stockport calls, maybe LM could pick up a couple of battons from northern on this...?

the London/Birmingham - Liverpool, right...

Run as 8car units to Crewe... Split, 1/2 to manchester, 1/2 to liverpool?

Take one of the hourly Manchester - Crewe via Stockport diagrams off Northern and give it to LM, or better yet, hand it over to LM and have it connecting into the TV?

basicaly, hourly 8car units to Crewe then split for MAN and Liverpool, taking a path off of Northern to do it

VT's overnights could work similarly with either vomiters... or is it possible to join 2 pindos together and have them running fast? if it is... ohhh, you could have another train to liverpoool no problem, just run the Manchester Via Wilmslow as 2 joined up then split at crewe and send one half one way and the other half the other, just like in the good old days

 

[Chafford1]

The original letter was to me from the DfT after I made a freedom of information request. Things are looking bad for keeping our virgin train service. We now have proper timetables and the 93 minutes to London is in fact 106 minutes. The virgin can do it in 56 minutes or 63 with 2 stops.

We are still fighting see www.nbrug.org.uk

It seems they are cutting the service as less people have used the service than other stations. This could very well be down to the line being closed about 60 days per year, the almost total lack of apex tickets and the 5 hour off peak ban on us returning on a saver. The last train we can take back before the rush hour is 14:17. We then need to wait until 19:17. No other station has such a massive restriction.

We have had another letter from the DFT which is on our website. http://greennuneaton.org.uk/nbrug_web/dft_ml.pdf

the change will add 40-50 minutes to our trips to London or Liverpool. people coming from leicester to liverpool will be expected to change at new street.

please help and write to local MPs.

Warwickshire Council in their response to the Rail Regulator's consultation on the West Coast access agreement seem to be looking for a direct off-peak Euston - Nuneaton service and more peak services via Northampton - has there been any subsequent agreement with ORR on this?

http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/pdf/vwc-WrckCC_280808.pdf

 

[Ascot]

Just change at Rugby for a LM to Nuneaton.

 

[thefab444]

Totally random question, but I notice the VHF timetable seems to have lost Llandudno, is that being nuked then?

 

[djw1981]

Draft timetable at http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/pi/wcml/wcms2008timetables/wcmsvirgintimetable showed Llandudno junction being served , with 2 trains to Bangor and 5 to Holyhead (M-F) to coincide with sailing times), but not rains serving Llandudno itself. Anyone known why Llandudno trains have become Bangor trains? Is there a saving in turnaround time? These are extensions of Chester trains (so IIRC they will be Voyagers)

 

[voyagerdude220]

What the heck has happened to the 16:30 Euston to Glasgow Central?

VT originally planned for this to call at *just* Preston on the way, 18:30-18:33 IIRC, arriving into Glasgow Central at 20:40.

However, it actually now makes one additional stop, compared to the day time stopping pattern south of Preston, with the overall journey time increasing from the planned 4 hours 10, to 4 hours 32 minutes.

London Euston 16:30
Rugby 17:17 17:19
Warrington Bank Quay 18:22 18:23
Wigan North Western 18:35 18:36
Preston (Lancs) 18:49 18:50
Glasgow Central 21:02

 

[175001]

Draft timetable at http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/pi/wcml/wcms2008timetables/wcmsvirgintimetable showed Llandudno junction being served , with 2 trains to Bangor and 5 to Holyhead (M-F) to coincide with sailing times), but not rains serving Llandudno itself. Anyone known why Llandudno trains have become Bangor trains? Is there a saving in turnaround time? These are extensions of Chester trains (so IIRC they will be Voyagers)

Its due to the Llandudno loadings not being good enough, apparently!

 

[djw1981]

How often is the ATW service from Llandudno Jctn to Llandudno? A PPM shuttle anyone?

 

[175001]

How often is the ATW service from Llandudno Jctn to Llandudno? A PPM shuttle anyone?

At the moment, VERY infrequent. The Piccadilly trains and the Conwy Valley Line service forms the only connection between the town and the Jucntion, but from December onwards, the Piccadilly timetable will be recast. They will arrive at Llandudno much earlier than they do now, and this will allow that unit, to do a shuttle back to the Junction, before forming the service to Manchester.

Makes sence?!

 

[Keithk2t]

Just change at Rugby for a LM to Nuneaton.

Changing is risky when trains operate just once per hour. Changing is fine when both trains are regular. The time to change at Rugby will be around 5 minutes south bound. Virgin have never like us in Nuneaton. Most of the best value tickets require you take an exact train and some current Virgin fares are only offered for direct services. We lose lots of opertunaties by not having a few virgin trains. We have had 6 years of railway hell at weekend so we could have faster trains.

It is not that we hate the Desiro service, it will be very useful, but we would like a few virgin trains to stop. Virgin are still claiming a monoply right on direct services at Nuneaton and force LM to stop Desiro services between 4PM and 6PM from Euston serving Nuneaton.

We tried to get a few Virgins retained and got quite hopeful of one stopping southbound at 9:58AM. The DfT and NR said it was OK but Virgin blocked it.

 

[87015]

It might not even be a 'desiro service' is the latest rumour, Trent Valley 321s anyone?

 

[A60K]

What the heck has happened to the 16:30 Euston to Glasgow Central?

VT originally planned for this to call at *just* Preston on the way, 18:30-18:33 IIRC, arriving into Glasgow Central at 20:40.

However, it actually now makes one additional stop, compared to the day time stopping pattern south of Preston, with the overall journey time increasing from the planned 4 hours 10, to 4 hours 32 minutes.

London Euston 16:30
Rugby 17:17 17:19
Warrington Bank Quay 18:22 18:23
Wigan North Western 18:35 18:36
Preston (Lancs) 18:49 18:50
Glasgow Central 21:02

AIUI the December timetable is an 'settling down' interim arrangement, with the proper VHF timetable due to come in early January, following Christmas and New Year engineering works and allowing for any operational and training issues to be resolved before the complete timetable comes into force.

Specifically the 1630 EUS-GLC shown in the December timetable is a temporary combination of two trains that should* be included in the January proper timetable, 1630 EUS-GLC fast and 1633 EUS-PRE semi-fast. Fingers crossed everything goes to plan and come January the 1630 will lose the additional stops and they'll transfer to the new 1633.

* no guarantees, but it's what I've heard

 

[The Planner]

It might not even be a 'desiro service' is the latest rumour, Trent Valley 321s anyone?

The dusty bins are meant to be going to FCC I thought, and a shed load of new Siemens stuff coming to LM.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

AIUI the December timetable is an 'settling down' interim arrangement, with the proper VHF timetable due to come in early January, following Christmas and New Year engineering works and allowing for any operational and training issues to be resolved before the complete timetable comes into force.

Thats correct, certain people in higher echelons have bottled it and arent prepared to go to the full timetable from day 1.

 

[87015]

The dusty bins are meant to be going to FCC I thought, and a shed load of new Siemens stuff coming to LM.

The plan has changed apparently (and will no doubt change again) with the new units (37x350/2) unlikely to be enough to cover current diagrams plus extra services in December timetable.

I think strengthening of peak hour services out of Euston and Brum (hence the platform works at Berkswell etc?) is on the wishlist aswell.

Think waiting and seeing is probably the best idea though!

 

[The Planner]

The plan has changed apparently (and will no doubt change again) with the new units (37x350/2) unlikely to be enough to cover current diagrams plus extra services in December timetable.

I think strengthening of peak hour services out of Euston and Brum (hence the platform works at Berkswell etc?) is on the wishlist aswell.

Think waiting and seeing is probably the best idea though!

8 car trains at Berkswell and Tile Hill have been on the cards for ages though.

 

[xtradj]

Nuneaton is still being used by VT at peak times, so its no massive loss?

if anything the Liverpool - New Street service which was runcorn crewe stafford wolves sandwell and birmingham, now includes smetwick galton, coseley, penkridge, hartford, winsford etc

so what was a fairly fast express service is now a stopper service. I've worked it out its quicker to use VT liverpool to stafford, and change for an XC service to birmingham!!!

 

[AlexS]

It always was a stopper service - it's been Winsford, Hartford, Penkridge and Acton Bridge's only service for years.

Some trains run fast but they generally stopped at Penkridge as well, and also Winsford or Hartford or both, and Coseley or Sandwell.

 

[xtradj]

Its been 2 an hour, 1 semi fast service (runcorn, crewe, stafford, wolves, sandwell) and 1 stopper service which included the local stations

Many passengers who use this service have called for 2 fast services, with local stopper trains covering the minor stops except for maybe peak times.

As i say, with the new timetable out, you can actually get on a VT to london, change at stafford, and get a XC to new street quicker than the LM service

 

[87015]

As i say, with the new timetable out, you can actually get on a VT to london, change at stafford, and get a XC to new street quicker than the LM service

Welcome to Virgins railway....:-x

 

[MKB]

Nuneaton is still being used by VT at peak times, so its no massive loss?

You're joking, right?

As a regular VT user from Nuneaton, virtually all the peak-time journeys I currently make are no longer possible. This comes after ten years of receiving marketing material from them -- the last very recently -- telling me how my journeys would be so much quicker next year!

My two most common journeys are NUN-LIV at 17:22 weekdays returning at 08:15 the following morning, and NUN-EUS at 17:35 returning the following morning.

Going to an evening event in London (typcially starting between 19:30 and 20:00) is no longer possible without taking holiday time from work. For evening events in Liverpool, I now have to drive.

Nuneaton will be a marginal seat at the next general election. I would be very surprised to see Labour hold on to the seat given the impact of its transport policy in the area. People here are very angry.

 

[me123]

I want to know why the Liverpool trains can't stop at Nuneaton hourly, or even once every 2 hours off peak. It seems to be well used enough to warrant the stop, and the loss in journey time to Liverpudlians is minimal. I wouldn't imagine that the trains would be so overcrowded that the stop is not feasible (although I don't have local knowledge).

 

[djw1981]

It could be that and also pathing time at key junctions. There may be slack on the journey as a whole, but be very tight at certain junctions.