NXEA replace the 0847 GYM - NRW train with a bus.

[NXEA!]

I know that services are being cancelled, but at least its only two services and not a whole diagram. Its a shame SWT or LM can't help out really. LM have a little slack in their fleet, so I'm sure with a little rejigging they could release a 170/5 to Norwich for a few months, or SWT could loan a 158 to EMT which could in turn loan a 156 to NXEA. Or like others have said, they could go loco-hauled for a couple of months, using two spare Mark 3's a DVT and a pair of 47's like last time. Or even two ex WSMR Mark 3's a DVT/3 and a 67 so it keeps the cost down of running two loco's but I'm not sure 67's are cleared out on the branches. Just a suggestion anyway.

 

[SprinterMan]

I know that services are being cancelled, but at least its only two services and not a whole diagram. Its a shame SWT or LM can't help out really. LM have a little slack in their fleet, so I'm sure with a little rejigging they could release a 170/5 to Norwich for a few months, or SWT could loan a 158 to EMT which could in turn loan a 156 to NXEA. Or like others have said, they could go loco-hauled for a couple of months, using two spare Mark 3's a DVT and a pair of 47's like last time. Or even two ex WSMR Mark 3's a DVT/3 and a 67 so it keeps the cost down of running two loco's but I'm not sure 67's are cleared out on the branches. Just a suggestion anyway.

If the train is worked by T&T 47s, why would a DVT need to be included in formation? I think one was last year, and his has always struck me as odd.

 

[scotsman]

If the train is worked by T&T 47s, why would a DVT need to be included in formation? I think one was last year, and his has always struck me as odd.

Guard's Compartment with handbrake is required in all loco-hauled carriage formations

 

[NXEA!]

It was for bicycle space AFAIAA. That's what TR UK said anyway.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Guard's Compartment with handbrake is required in all loco-hauled carriage formations

There we are.

 

[dk1]

NXEA where one dmu up until the planned passing loop is installed at Beccles to allow an all day hourly service on the East Suffolk. The 08.09 Nrw-Gym/08.47 return was an additional working added last December.

 

[Any Permitted]

Well they've lost a fair bit of my money anyway. I commute using the 0847 four times a week and the 1217 two other times. So now I'll be taking the X1 bus that takes 45 minutes instead of an hour on the bustitution and I won't be buying a monthly ticket.

I appreciate it's only one service but it's really quite irritating when it happens to be the one service you use every other day. And then you get pushed onto a horrible First bus with 4.6 million old people and their free bus passes.

 

[dk1]

Well they've lost a fair bit of my money anyway. I commute using the 0847 four times a week and the 1217 two other times. So now I'll be taking the X1 bus that takes 45 minutes instead of an hour on the bustitution and I won't be buying a monthly ticket.

I appreciate it's only one service but it's really quite irritating when it happens to be the one service you use every other day. And then you get pushed onto a horrible First bus with 4.6 million old people and their free bus passes.

You have to admit that the X1 provides a far superior service than the train (except summer saturdays). Of all the East Anglian branch lines this route has had practically no improvements over the years. Even the few through London 170s where gradually reduced to zero. The bus even takes you direct to the City centre & nearer City college. The Yarmouth trains can still be very busy but this is often long-distance traffic & not so much local. The service should be half-hourly as it is doing nothing to compete with First.

 

[Any Permitted]

You have to admit that the X1 provides a far superior service than the train (except summer saturdays). Of all the East Anglian branch lines this route has had practically no improvements over the years. Even the few through London 170s where gradually reduced to zero. The bus even takes you direct to the City centre & nearer City college. The Yarmouth trains can still be very busy but this is often long-distance traffic & not so much local. The service should be half-hourly as it is doing nothing to compete with First.

Still; O-P return with a railcard: £4.65, return on the bus £6 so it's cheaper for me to go by train. Plus I get a table because of the 156s and they're only really busy on Saturdays and that tends to be the 1017 and the 1008 which I don't catch.

It'd be nice to have a half-hourly service but there's no call for it, the main problem being that Great Yarmouth station is half-a-mile out of the town and First refuses to provide a bus service since they're in direct competition on the X1.

Where there is a half-hourly service in the peak there's usually a wait at Acle whilst the Norwich-bound service arrives into the loop.

 

[Greenback]

Given the distance between Norwich station and where most people want to go, plus the location of Great yarmouth station, I don't think it's too surprising that prefer the bus for local journeys. Especially when you add in free travel for seniors on the bus, and the higher frequency of services.

 

[dk1]

It'd be nice to have a half-hourly service but there's no call for it, the main problem being that Great Yarmouth station is half-a-mile out of the town and First refuses to provide a bus service since they're in direct competition on the X1.

Where there is a half-hourly service in the peak there's usually a wait at Acle whilst the Norwich-bound service arrives into the loop.

I know lots of people who drive to Norwich as they get fed up with missing a train & waiting up to 55 minutes for the next. Half hourly would aleviate this & provide a service acceptable for locals between to decent sized destinations 20 miles apart. Yarmouth station isnt far from the town centre but is a decent walk from the seafront. At Norwich First's 25/35 run every 6mins to the station from the Uni & city centre. Trouble with Yarmouth is the population is spread over a long area from Caister to Gorleston.

The loop at Acle has always been a bit of a pain even after extension for loco-hauled traffic after the closure of the M&GN & Southtown. No overlap means one train arrives before the other can.

It would be nice if an additional mid-morning & early afternoon service could be arranged rather than Acle/Lingwood lose out as has happened for years without the silly gaps whilst the current 11.36 dn & 15.13 up go via Reedham.

 

[Any Permitted]

I know lots of people who drive to Norwich as they get fed up with missing a train & waiting up to 55 minutes for the next. Half hourly would aleviate this & provide a service acceptable for locals between to decent sized destinations 20 miles apart. Yarmouth station isnt far from the town centre but is a decent walk from the seafront. At Norwich First's 25/35 run every 6mins to the station from the Uni & city centre. Trouble with Yarmouth is the population is spread over a long area from Caister to Gorleston.

The loop at Acle has always been a bit of a pain even after extension for loco-hauled traffic after the closure of the M&GN & Southtown. No overlap means one train arrives before the other can.

It would be nice if an additional mid-morning & early afternoon service could be arranged rather than Acle/Lingwood lose out as has happened for years without the silly gaps whilst the current 11.36 dn & 15.13 up go via Reedham.

I think you could get to a point where a half-hourly service would be viable, perhaps simply because the traffic between Yarmouth and Norwich is so awful during most of the day. To make this viable though you'd need to:
- Run a free or very cheap bus between Gorleston High Street, Great Yarmouth bus station and the seafront.
- Include the bus between the station in Norwich and the city centre in the ticket as standard.
- Reduce the price of a standard off-peak ticket to match the price of a return on the X1.
- Scrap the peak-time ticket, there isn't much difference between peak and off-peak traffic and the extra fare only hits the low-paid workers (like myself) who have to commute because they can't afford to live in Norwich.

Once you've done that I can see how you could justify a half-hourly service but that's a lot of money down the drain right there for not a great deal of incentive. Saying that we're getting a new franchise soon so, who knows?

 

[LAX54]

Are there literally NO spare trains anywhere to be sent to cover for that damaged one? Or is it just that training/staffing/transporting costs make it not worth it?

After the morning 'peak' the service is lighter, thus units can, and are swapped around to keep a majority of the service running, although they do tend to cause a bit of hassle throught the day.

Knocking out just one round, eases the situation somewhat at a busy time of day

 

[TheBigD]

Taken from WNXX...

From 20/06/11 in addition to the Saturday extras, several weekday NXEA trains will be Class 47 hauled until further notice: Norwich to Yarmouth at 0650, 0836 & 1735 returning at 0735, 0917 and 1817.

 

[dk1]

From what ive heard the loco hauled will remain as standby. There should be a dmu to cover but should anything fail there is no cover hence the bus replacement on reliability grounds. Cannot do this with the RR due to differing times. With loco-hauled too we can revert to train only but dont expect 47s to do it to run on a daily basis.

 

[williamn]

aren't there any heritage diesels that can be hired in? The Hastings set springs to mind and was used for a while on the Hastings / Ashford route.

 

[dk1]

aren't there any heritage diesels that can be hired in? The Hastings set springs to mind and was used for a while on the Hastings / Ashford route.

We give them the tip on this almost daily. No passion. Come back Anglia Railways

 

[IanXC]

aren't there any heritage diesels that can be hired in? The Hastings set springs to mind and was used for a while on the Hastings / Ashford route.

Would such a unit have to be used on a completely isolated branch as I guess it'd be subject to the Mark 1 ban?

 

[NXEA!]

Would such a unit have to be used on a completely isolated branch as I guess it'd be subject to the Mark 1 ban?

Nope, AFAIAA its permitted on Network Rail because of the huge engine rooms which take up a big portion of the carriage on the motor coaches and this is deemed as crashworthy enough in that respect. As far as the body parting company with the underframes goes, I'm not sure, maybe the engine rooms would absorb some of the impact on the underframes, hence why it is permitted? The second part is speculation, but the first part I definitely read in a magazine somewhere.

 

[IanXC]

Nope, AFAIAA its permitted on Network Rail because of the huge engine rooms which take up a big portion of the carriage on the motor coaches and this is deemed as crashworthy enough in that respect. As far as the body parting company with the underframes goes, I'm not sure, maybe the engine rooms would absorb some of the impact on the underframes, hence why it is permitted? The second part is speculation, but the first part I definitely read in a magazine somewhere.

Ah, didn't know about the design of this stock, can see the argument for it being permitted on NR