Services advertised with a pretend destination

[Crossover]

What about the Grand Tour at Wakefield Kirkgate? Does it show Leeds on its destination display? What about the one at the rear end (as it reverses there?) Because Wakefield Kirkgate has no monitors. Any automated announcements that give any idea of the train's stopping pattern and the fact that it probably isn't best to bord it if one actually wants to get to Leeds?

I have no idea to be honest, as I aim to spend as little time as is possible there. I have only ever once changed trains there and it wasn't a Grand Tour service either way.

At Selby and the stations prior to Leeds they are advertised as Wakefield Westgate, then at Leeds its shown as Brighouse.

I'm not sure whether advertising as Selby as such is a great idea to be honest, given there are far quicker ways to get there!

 

[jon0844]

And on the Leeds boards its Poppleton.

Agree that the Cambridge-KX stopper ought to be announced at Cambridge as Potters Bar.

Really? The fast trains don't call at Finsbury Park do they (well, some might - in which case the slow/semi-fast trains advertised around them could say Potters Bar perhaps). Otherwise, how would anyone ever get a train to go to Finsbury Park? A lot of people will change there to get on the tube with less of a walk than at King's Cross.

I think the downside to this 'trick' is that it can confuse other people, especially as the boards will say Foxton or Finsbury Park, but the train itself will say the correct destination. Another example is that we've got friends coming from abroad, and they've asked for details of the train. I've told them that they can take a train from King's Cross at xx06 and xx36. They asked where the trains go to, and I've said to look for Peterborough or Cambridge - but of course, some trains might be to Foxton when they look to 'double check' on the screens!

One more thing to note is that the slower train might be a lot more empty, so a bit longer on the train could be favourable, but the TOC may wish to try and 'force' people to use the faster trains and keep the stoppers free of people going all the way, giving more space to those travelling to stops before.

 

[yorkie]

Really? The fast trains don't call at Finsbury Park do they (well, some might - in which case the slow/semi-fast trains advertised around them could say Potters Bar perhaps).

Otherwise, how would anyone ever get a train to go to Finsbury Park? A lot of people will change there to get on the tube with less of a walk than at King's Cross.

The semi-fasts do. The stopper departs 25 mins after the semi-fast but arrives 46 minutes later.

Going the other way, the stopper departs FPK 13 mins after the semi-fast and arrives 33 minutes later.

So in both cases, you are better off taking the stopper rather than waiting for the next semi-fast.

 

[Anvil1984]

I have no idea to be honest, as I aim to spend as little time as is possible there. I have only ever once changed trains there and it wasn't a Grand Tour service either way.



I'm not sure whether advertising as Selby as such is a great idea to be honest, given there are far quicker ways to get there!

True but that wasn't my idea but whoever makes those decisions (and get paid more than me for making them)

 

[RPM]

To add to that, can't have them added either due to their bogie design. The only way to run them over LUL lines is to sandwich the unit between two tripcock fitted units...slightly impractical for Chiltern I would think, so probably isn't done at all

And on top of that, only Marylebone Chiltern drivers sign the units so even if you could sandwich the 172 between two 165s fewer than 50% of the drivers that sign the Met could actually take the train.

As far as I know it hasn't happened yet.

 

[Cherry_Picker]

Give it a month or so...

Banbury drivers are learning 172s now, plus Banbury, Birmingham & Stourbridge guards. Expect to see a class 172 on a Marylebone - Stratford service some time soon. /offtopic

 

[northwichcat]

What about the Grand Tour at Wakefield Kirkgate? Does it show Leeds on its destination display?

Depends on the crew. It can show Leeds but other times it shows Huddersfield.

 

[IanD]

In the early 1980s, before the NE to Manchester services (now TPE) switched to go to/via Piccadilly, the York-Leeds-Bradford-Manchester Victoria(-Liverpool) trains were advertised as "Rochdale" at York.

 

[tbtc]

In the early 1980s, before the NE to Manchester services (now TPE) switched to go to/via Piccadilly, the York-Leeds-Bradford-Manchester Victoria(-Liverpool) trains were advertised as "Rochdale" at York.

I guess that this may happen again in a couple of years time?

 

[benk1342]

They don't do the same at Kings Cross with Peterborough service, but maybe this is because of the different operators. If you want a fast service you use east coast. Where the Cambridges are both FCC.

Also there are "FCC Only" fares to Peterborough, so if they advertised the FCC services as to Huntingdon people with FCC Only tickets would think there are no valid trains for their tickets.

 

[northwichcat]

I guess that this may happen again in a couple of years time?

I'm assuming you mean at Leeds this time not York.

 

[emoaconr]

VT's once-daily return from Wrexham General is advertised as a service to Chester rather than Euston, and on the return the train is advertised as Chester which then becomes the Wrexham General service.

Merseyrail's Wirral Line services are another ... basically all their services now run end-to-end, i.e. West Kirby-West Kirby, Chester-Chester, Ellesmere Port-Ellesmere Port. They are advertised that way on NRE but on the station information displays themselves are advertised as "Liverpool Central".

 

[calc7]

VT's once-daily return from Wrexham General is advertised as a service to Chester rather than Euston, and on the return the train is advertised as Chester which then becomes the Wrexham General service.

Really? At Euston it's always advertised as 1810 Wrexham General/Holyhead Caergybi.

 

[Jobsworth]

FGW's contribution from the provinces is 1K71 0520 Bristol TM to Paddington via the Berks and Hants which was initially advertised as terminating Theale. It was advertised as such so as to direct Reading and Paddington customers to 1A02 departing 10 minutes later and running by the faster Box route.

It backfired a bit when passengers with advance tickets started turning up complaining that they could not find the Paddington train leaving at 0520 and missing it in the process. Not that many staff about to ask at that time of the morning.

 

[tbtc]

I'm assuming you mean at Leeds this time not York.

Could be at Leeds, could be at Manchester Victoria, could be at York (the York/Sebly stoppers from Leeds used to be the half hourly Manchester Victoria services, before the timetable recast a few years ago that created the Grand Tour to/from Selby and attached the York slows to the Blackpool service after Blackpool lost it's link to the east coast).

At the moment there's no problem as the two routes obviously serve different Manchester stations, but post-Northern Hub they may need to show the Calderdale services as Rochdale/ Bramley

 

[emoaconr]

Really? At Euston it's always advertised as 1810 Wrexham General/Holyhead Caergybi.

Ahh I've just checked. NRE used to report that it was a Holyhead service with the Wrexham General bit operating separately. But now it appears this has changed, displaying "Virgin Trains service from London Euston to Wrexham General , Holyhead"

However traintimes.im suggests the former:

http://traintimes.im/location/CTR/2012/04/16/10/

 

[MCR247]

All splitting & joining services have one portion that carries the headcode throughout, and the other(s) have new headcodes after the split/join. So yes technically there is a London - Holyhead and a Chester - Wrexham, on the LDB and on boards it should be displayed as a through service

 

[TheLastMinute]

The SWT services from Bristol - Waterloo has been advertised as terminating at Salisbury at Bristol TM and Bath Spa before now. No idea if it's a regular thing as I've also seen them advertised as London Waterloo.

 

[TheJRB]

Similarly with trains splitting at Ashford and both halves going different routes to Ramsgate, the portion via Canterbury would be "Ramsgate" and the slower portion via Dover would be "Sandwich".

This is a funny one because it's still advertised as Sandwich and Ramsgate on train displays, between Charing Cross and London Bridge (I think) and Ashford, but stations in between display it as Ramsgate & Ramsgate. The on train announcements change to the proper destination once the train divides at Ashford.

Trains from Cannon Street to Cannon Street via Sidcup and Greenwich tend to be advertised on the departure boards at Cannon Street and London Bridge as going to Crayford; from New Cross they change to Woolwich Arsenal, and I think at Bexley they start getting marked as Cannon Street. The on-train displays tend to say Slade Green via Sidcup on the way out, not sure where it changes.

I think the loop trains which go out via Greenwich are shown at stations as Slade Green. Also from a video I saw on YouTube, I'm pretty sure the on train announcements change between Crayford/Erith and Slade Green from showing Slade Green as the destination to Cannon Street. When I was at New Cross back in January, I too noticed that the loop trains were advertised as Woolwich Arsenal (although the annoying part is that it doesn't show "via Sidcup" until it's the next train!).

 

[island]

When I was at New Cross back in January, I too noticed that the loop trains were advertised as Woolwich Arsenal (although the annoying part is that it doesn't show "via Sidcup" until it's the next train!).

I suppose it doesn't matter to people familiar with the service as there are not normally trains stopping at New Cross that proceed via Blackheath and Charlton to Woolwich Arsenal and terminating there.

 

[northwichcat]

At the moment there's no problem as the two routes obviously serve different Manchester stations, but post-Northern Hub they may need to show the Calderdale services as Rochdale/ Bramley

Although, TPE services diverted via Victoria aren't that uncommon overnight and on Sundays.

 

[Cletus]

I think the loop trains which go out via Greenwich are shown at stations as Slade Green. Also from a video I saw on YouTube, I'm pretty sure the on train announcements change between Crayford/Erith and Slade Green from showing Slade Green as the destination to Cannon Street. When I was at New Cross back in January, I too noticed that the loop trains were advertised as Woolwich Arsenal (although the annoying part is that it doesn't show "via Sidcup" until it's the next train!).

I was on the 1013 out of Woolwich Arsenal this morning. It's announced destination was Hither Green. After arriving at Slade Green, announcements were changed to Cannon Street.

 

[Caertroia]

I think the loop trains which go out via Greenwich are shown at stations as Slade Green.

But Southeastern's Twitter feed shows them as CST-CST, so when there's a problem the tweet reads: "CST-CST: delayed at CST"