Odd XC Sunday Diagrams

[Goatboy]

Chaps,

Does anyone know the purpose of these Sunday diagrams?

http://www.opentraintimes.com/schedule/C11324/2013-12-15

This one in itself isn't that unusual, it's just the regular Monday-Friday working 10 minutes later.

But..

Just 52 minutes later we have another one - so thats only one direct train to Manchester in the week but two in the space of 52 minutes on a Sunday. It looks like an extension of the usual Bristol to Manchester service, but this one is particularly odd..

http://www.opentraintimes.com/schedule/C11330/2013-12-15

Despite not calling at Totnes, Tiverton Parkway or Taunton, it is no quicker, infact it's longer, than the service 52 minutes beforehand which does.

Then we have...

http://www.opentraintimes.com/schedule/C11339/2013-12-15

Yet another service to Manchester Piccadily from stations South of Newton Abbot? So thats 3 in fairly quick succession (Well, quick given there is only one midweek).

These are all in addition to the usual hourly service from the Westcountry to Leeds/Scotland, so there are very many XC services on this route on a Sunday afternoon.

Presumably there is an operational reason for this unusually high frequency that results in a far better service provision than the Monday-Friday, but it's certainly intruiging, as is the lack of calls at Totnes, Tiverton and Taunton for the second one.

 

[Tomnick]

Schedules, not diagrams!

 

[LowLevel]

Sunday afternoons are about the busiest time of the week for long distance services, that's possibly the reason?

 

[30907]

Presumably there is an operational reason for this unusually high frequency that results in a far better service provision than the Monday-Friday, but it's certainly intruiging, as is the lack of calls at Totnes, Tiverton and Taunton for the second one.

They're all extensions of the basic hourly Bristol-Manchesters. The 1252 Plymouth sits for 20 mins at Bristol which suggests a pathing problem - specifically, the 1100 Penzance-Padd is in the way.

 

[PHILIPE]

Remember that Sunday schedules have to fit in with Engineering work and with their services covering such a large area, there can be many "knock on" effects.

 

[swt_passenger]

They also start the overall XC service up later on Sunday mornings. That means that for a given number of units in service they can extend more from points south of Bristol.

 

[Goatboy]

They're all extensions of the basic hourly Bristol-Manchesters. The 1252 Plymouth sits for 20 mins at Bristol which suggests a pathing problem - specifically, the 1100 Penzance-Padd is in the way.

Given this, why does it skip Totnes, Tiverton and Taunton? A very unusual calling pattern - which makes less sense given it then gets to Bristol sufficiently early that it has to sit and wait.

Must catch a few people out as there are almost no services that run fast Exeter to Bristol

 

[Eagle]

Tiverton and Taunton are probably skipped in case it is diverted for engineering (either via Athelney and Westbury, or via Honiton and Westbury). That probably explains the extended wait at Bristol too. Means that the passenger timetable won't actually change if there's a diversion.

 

[Goatboy]

Tiverton and Taunton are probably skipped in case it is diverted for engineering (either via Athelney and Westbury, or via Honiton and Westbury). That probably explains the extended wait at Bristol too. Means that the passenger timetable won't actually change if there's a diversion.

None of the many other XC services using that route omit these calls though. And that doesn't explain Totnes

 

[Eagle]

I was going to say that a Sunday morning service is most likely to be diverted, but that doesn't explain why the one before it is normal.

Perhaps because it's seen as an extra service (unlike the previous one which is part of the standard daily pattern) it doesn't have to fulfil the calling requirements the previous one does?

 

[Goatboy]

Perhaps not but it's still a bit bizarre. There must be a reason, I'm just intruiged as to what it is. It would surely be more useful to use up the time it sits idle at Temple Meads by making those regular calls en-route?

 

[louis97]

It comes from Plymouth because the Manchester to Bristol and return services don't start till the afternoon and Bristol Barton Hill has run out of Voyagers for these service as it has to use them to run the first 2 services to the North and the first 2 services down to the South.

As a result of the later start up in service on a Sunday, Laira has quite a few extra voyagers on a Sunday morning - so many that the 1225 is actually a double set. As a result the standard xx25 departures from Plymouth come off Laira or from Penzance, and then 2 of the standard xx45 ish arrivals at Plymouth which are the 2 services down to the South from Bristol form the 1200 and 1252 Manchester, which both run non-stop Totnes and the latter also non-stop Tiverton and Taunton because of pathing reasons.

The later in the day Penzance to Manchester runs for the same reason the one during the week runs, to allow the southbound service that would normally form it to continue further south, to Paignton on a sunday and Exeter on weekdays and a Saturday.

 

[Goatboy]

An excellent and detailed answer, thanks! That explains why there are so many services on a Sunday.

Pathing reasons though - I can't imagine what a 4/5 car Voyager stopping at Totnes or Tiverton might hold up path wise? They are surely the fastest accelerating things on that route and nothing else omits those stops so I can't see a call at Tiverton getting in the way of anything else. Is it purely congestion in the Temple Meads area meaning it has to be there by a certain time to get a path into the station?

 

[louis97]

An excellent and detailed answer, thanks! That explains why there are so many services on a Sunday.

Pathing reasons though - I can't imagine what a 4/5 car Voyager stopping at Totnes or Tiverton might hold up path wise? They are surely the fastest accelerating things on that route and nothing else omits those stops so I can't see a call at Tiverton getting in the way of anything else. Is it purely congestion in the Temple Meads area meaning it has to be there by a certain time to get a path into the station?

The 1200 omits Totnes because it needs to in order to arrive at Bristol in time for a 1400 departure.

The 1252 omits Totnes because there is a close behind First Great Western service which departs Plymouth at 1300, and it takes longer for the train to clear the 10 minute section Aish to Totnes with slowing down for Totnes. The true reason for it omitting Tiverton Parkway and Taunton i'm not really sure, I once thought it might be for crew purposes as I know it changes crew at Bristol - but i'm not 100% sure.

 

[Goatboy]

I'm glad I asked now! This is very much satisfying my curiosity so thanks for taking the time to explain.