Stations that really ought to be request stops...

[Chapeltom]

Dove Holes on the Buxton to Manchester Line is pretty badly used. It gets two hourly services anyway and isn't much use.

I'd do it for Middlewood Monday to Friday off-peak as well

Anyone got any stations they nominate for request stop status?

 

[Z12XE]

Perhaps operators etc should be looking at ways to make such stations better used or the service more useful to locals.

Request stops assume that every passenger knows what the procedure is which is of little use to those unfamilar with the area.

 

[Drsatan]

There were plans to downgrade Mottisfont & Dunbridge and Dean stations on the Southampton-Salisbury line to request stops, although since both stations are now served by the hourly Salisbury-Southampton Central-Eastleigh-Romsey service (and usage of both stations has increased to around 16,000 passengers a year as a result), that idea has been scrapped.

 

[Geezertronic]

Presuming someone on the train has not asked for the train to stop, is there a maximum speed a train has go past a request stop at in order for someone to "flag it down"?

 

[MrC]

Anyone got any stations they nominate for request stop status?

Beaulieu Road immediately springs to mind, & maybe Holton Heath outside of 'peak' hours

 

[Stuwhu]

Dove Holes on the Buxton to Manchester Line is pretty badly used. It gets two hourly services anyway and isn't much use.

I'd do it for Middlewood Monday to Friday off-peak as well

Anyone got any stations they nominate for request stop status?

I never understand why Middlewood has a service of once every 2 hours during daylight hours.. but then at night it has an hourly service. Bearing in mind it has no road access and the only access is down an unlit path.

Seems a strange one to me

 

[142094]

Presuming someone on the train has not asked for the train to stop, is there a maximum speed a train has go past a request stop at in order for someone to "flag it down"?

I don't know the exact speed but it must be slow enough for the unit to stop within the limits of the platform. However what I also don't know is how a driver is supposed to tell the difference between say a person waving his hand to stop the train, or a person taking a picture of it.

 

[transportphoto]

Well they are timed to stop so if they do I wouldn't do much harm!

It would become clear that the person has a camera in His/Her hand...

 

[A60K]

What if you're a photographer AND want to board the train? I've actually done that before, at Falls of Cruachan (population 0) and Berney Arms (population 2)!

 

[Crossover]

Presuming someone on the train has not asked for the train to stop, is there a maximum speed a train has go past a request stop at in order for someone to "flag it down"?

As per 142094 I am also unsure as to speed but I have been on the LM service to Stratford-upon-Avon before now which has request stops...the guard came round and asked if anyone wanted the stops

When gong past the request stops, we pretty much crawled through, and the driver sounded the horn too to make anyone on the platform aware the train was there - not sure if that is standard practice but is what happened here nonetheless

 

[royaloak]

The same way you are supposed to stop a bus, by sticking your arm out IN GOOD TIME!

 

[mindfeeder]

Claverdon and Bearley on the Leamington-Stratford branch in Warwickshire only get around 1,500 passengers a year. Yet trains stop there regularly. Or so they did when I last travelled to Stratford from Leamington.

 

[jonnorail]

Bowling, Kilpatrick, Duke Street, Alexandra Parade and Barnhill on the North Clude Electric / Springburn line and Anderston and Dalmarnock on the Argyle line in Scotland. Too quiet over the years I have been on a train calling at these stations.

Best Regards

Jonathan McGurk

 

[Ivo]

Should be:

Battlesbridge
Beaulieu Road
Winchelsea
Doleham
Three Oaks

Should not be:

Dilton Marsh (releasing pressure on Westbury)
Bures (only a couple of services as it is)Chappel & Wakes Colne (only a couple of services as it is)

 

[scrapy]

Surely it would make more sense to have an hourly service to both Middlewood and Dove Holes, but to make them both request stops. Ashley and Mobberley used to have a two hourly service before they were made request stops and passenger numbers have increased since. Strines should also be a request stop, but get an hourly service.

I believe drivers should stop if they see anyone on the platform, whether or not they make a hand signal, so photographers may well get funny looks.

 

[Lampshade]

Salwick should be a request stop instead of having just 3 trains a day.

 

[Z12XE]

Should not be:
Bures (only a couple of services as it is)Chappel & Wakes Colne (only a couple of services as it is)

Come December 2010 and the new TT they "will not be"

they are only request stops in the current timetable for operational (PPM) reasons

 

[Failed Unit]

They are a double edge sword, if you take a Nottingham - Lincoln stopper, by the time it hits Rolleson it can be running early if it hasn't stopped at any of the previous stations. I know it is better than stopping to have them as requests, but I am glad stagecoach drasitcally reduced the service at many of those stations. The perfect solution of Nottingham - Lincoln fast hourly supplemented by a Nottingham - Newark Castle stopper unfortunately isn't viable (backed up by the RUS although it is hard to estimate the increase use of the fast service!)

 

[northwichcat]

Ashley and Mobberley used to have a two hourly service before they were made request stops

They actually used to have an hourly service which FNW decreased to hourly due to very tight turnarounds when they were short of units. When there was less os a unit shortage again they went to hourly on request.

 

[atomicdanny]

Should be:

Winchelsea
Doleham
Three Oaks

You would think so, since no one even uses these stations, but the "Marshlink Action Group" that wants to improve it, wants 2 trains an hour on the marshlink, with all trains stopping at those stations!! (I doubt that those stations would even need a train every 2 hours!)

 

[ChrisTheRef]

The guidelines are simply that if there's somebody on the platform, you can stop.

If you approach, there's nobody there, and you start to accelerate, if a person then arrives on the platform, my guess is you can go straight on as they didn't allow ample time to catch the train

 

[sheff'd victoria]

I remember once reading in the Rail magazine about Godley Junction on the Woodhead Line , the reporters were doing a bit about the lines in the area and were stood on the station, they had to flag the train down as it was a request to stop station but the train zoomed passed :roll:

 

[Donny Dave]

Althorpe (next station along from Scunthorpe) should be a request stop IMO, the only other people I see there are other photographers.

Stagecoach run an hourly bus service that serves the 3 villages surrounding Althorpe about 10 mins before the stopper is due (from Doncaster), and has the advantage of the bus station being right next door to the main shopping area in Scunthorpe. The same is true in the reverse direction. The bus leaves about 5 past the hour, and in both directions, calls at Tescos.

 

[blacknight]

They are a double edge sword, if you take a Nottingham - Lincoln stopper, by the time it hits Rolleson it can be running early if it hasn't stopped at any of the previous stations. I know it is better than stopping to have them as requests, but I am glad stagecoach drasitcally reduced the service at many of those stations. The perfect solution of Nottingham - Lincoln fast hourly supplemented by a Nottingham - Newark Castle stopper unfortunately isn't viable (backed up by the RUS although it is hard to estimate the increase use of the fast service!)

Personally I think request stops belong in the bus lane not on the railway either a service is booked to stop at a station or not.
Cuts out any confusion over attempting to flagged down a service & maybe they will introduce a passenger operated platform signal so you dont have to stand out in rain & driver can stop to pick up seemed to to work OK for Great Train Robbers
If you have a fast NOT-LCN service will that stop at Newark Castle Collingham Swinderby Hykeham cos if stopper runs only to Castle then Collingham Swinderby & Hykeham have just been closed to passengers

 

[Failed Unit]

Personally I think request stops belong in the bus lane not on the railway either a service is booked to stop at a station or not.
Cuts out any confusion over attempting to flagged down a service & maybe they will introduce a passenger operated platform signal so you dont have to stand out in rain & driver can stop to pick up seemed to to work OK for Great Train Robbers
If you have a fast NOT-LCN service will that stop at Newark Castle Collingham Swinderby Hykeham cos if stopper runs only to Castle then Collingham Swinderby & Hykeham have just been closed to passengers

Newark NorthGate - Lincoln all stops? Lincoln - Northgate fast will be covered by East Coast. Ideally disband EMTs Northgate - Lincoln service and use the unit to do the Lincoln-Nottingham stopper. Surely frieght don't use a path every hour?

 

[Multiple Unit]

Hunts Cross for EMT and TPE Services towards Liverpool Lime St and Warrington to provide a better connection to the Southport Line rather than fiddling arround trying to get out of Lime St ML On to the WL then to the NL @ CTL when theres jsut a reasonabley accessable foot bridge to cross from one platform to another at Hunts Cross.

Edge Hill also as not many people use it theesedays.

 

[northwichcat]

Hunts Cross for EMT and TPE Services towards Liverpool Lime St and Warrington to provide a better connection to the Southport Line rather than fiddling arround trying to get out of Lime St ML On to the WL then to the NL @ CTL when theres jsut a reasonabley accessable foot bridge to cross from one platform to another at Hunts Cross.

Edge Hill also as not many people use it theesedays.

The EMT services already call at Liverpool SP which has more Airport shuttle buses than Hunts Cross and can be used to change to the Liverpool-Crewe line which Hunts Cross cannot. I'd make more sense to add in a TPE call at Liverpool SP.

 

[anthony263]

Baglan station should become a request stop as there doesn't seem to be many passengers using it.

That said maybe more would if there was an hourly service

 

[northwichcat]

Salwick should be a request stop instead of having just 3 trains a day.

The same could apply at Styal. I'm not sure if it should apply at Ardwick due to how congested that line is in to Piccadilly.

 

[142094]

Instead of flagging down the train when it arrives, why isn't their a phone linked to the signaller, who can then tell the driver to stop at that station? Would cut out confusion over what to do.