Stations with an over-supply of platforms considering their present services

[brianthegiant]

With the increase in wind power we are losing inertia in the grid.

yes, but there should be a lot we can learn from the Germans & Danes who operate much higher % wind contribution.

The railway has comparatively much more redundancy!

On the National Grid you can lose an entire transmission line and continue normal operation except during very high demand?

Whereas on the railways if you close a mainline (due to say signal failure or tresspasser the impact is massive,) often there are limited diversionary routes.

I think we could argue this indefinitely since we're not comparing like with like. For example National Grid has the advantage of major variation in demand in & out of the 'heating season', so there is an extended summer period when generators and transmission lines can be closed for maintenance.

 

[londonmidland]

Is there any point of platforms on the fast line at Leagrave, Harlington & Flitwick? I have never seen these get used as FCC 319's and 377's go over to the slow lines at Luton.

 

[causton]

Is there any point of platforms on the fast line at Leagrave, Harlington & Flitwick? I have never seen these get used as FCC 319's and 377's go over to the slow lines at Luton.

At Brookmans Park there are 4 platforms, but likewise usually only the slow ones get used. One time a freight train did break down in front of us at Potters Bar and we moved out to the fast line - I believe we had to wait a long time for a second person to come, as BPK has no OPO equipment on the fast line platforms!

 

[HST Power]

Four platforms at Brookmans Park? I've never called there, only passed through, but I thought it was a village station of quite low importance on the FCC route.

 

[asylumxl]

Is there any point of platforms on the fast line at Leagrave, Harlington & Flitwick? I have never seen these get used as FCC 319's and 377's go over to the slow lines at Luton.

There are peak services that use the fast lines stopping Luton then Flitwick and Bedford. I may be wrong, but I believe they remain on the fasts.

 

[Mike395]

There are peak services that use the fast lines stopping Luton then Flitwick and Bedford. I may be wrong, but I believe they remain on the fasts.

They usually do, yes, up until just south of Bedford Have even known them occasionally use P4 at Bedford, usually reserved for trains going north up the MML (although 99 times out of 100, they do still switch to the slows on the approach to Bedford).

 

[mintcake]

. Plenty of places by the sea - Skegness of course, Scarborough, Blackpool North, Clacton - have far more than is necessary.

Although Clacton only has one train per hour during the day in the morning and evening peak at times all the platforms are occupied by trains at the same time.

 

[Eric]

Bradford Interchange could do with a 5th platform now GC have platform two 24/7.

 

[HST Power]

Hitchin should get another platform and more service as well. It's the place to change on the Great Northern Route if you are heading for Peterborough/Cambridge.

 

[MadCommuter]

Isn't Hitchin getting a flyover for the Cambridge trains? That should help the situation there.

 

[HST Power]

Isn't Hitchin getting a flyover for the Cambridge trains? That should help the situation there.

The scheme has been given the green light, as detailed in the below link.

http://www.thecomet.net/news/controversial_hitchin_rail_flyover_given_green_light_1_848578

And in this next link, a video of the proposed flyover (no sound)

http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/5538.aspx

I support the project. If they built the flyover then commuter trains will no longer expierence delays of up to ten minutes as they wait for HST's to pass through from Stevenage.

 

[paulb1973]

Two important WCML junction stations - Nuneaton & Rugby have done well in terms of platforms. Dunno if the Up Fast platform at Rugby (No.4 I think) sees much use? - the rest are well used though. Historically Rugby had up to six bay platforms. At Nuneaton, since the removal of fast stopping trains during the daytimes, platforms 3 & 4 are only lightly used and platform 1 was never heavily used.

 

[DarloRich]

I'd suggest that Bletchley doesn't need 6 platforms.
It's always struck me as rather odd that the Bedford-Bletchley trains get put on Platform 6 which only has access to the footbridge via concrete stairs, when Platform 5 is almost never used and shares a lift with Platform 4.
I know it used to be possible to get from the Bedford-Bletchley line to Platform 5, as I was on a train that did it in the mid 90s, but don't know if they've changed it since.

It is a little bit strange but ECS often uses 5 late at night or early in the morning. Also something like the 0715 from Bletchley to Euston departs from 5. Bedford trains do, occasionaly, use platform 5 (once/twice a month)

it is annoying becuase 5 has a lift an offers a much easier connection! PLatforms 1 and 2 are very rarely used, although when there was the recent train fire they were used quite a lot!

 

[NSE]

They usually do, yes, up until just south of Bedford Have even known them occasionally use P4 at Bedford, usually reserved for trains going north up the MML (although 99 times out of 100, they do still switch to the slows on the approach to Bedford).

If you mean FCC services then I don't think thats the case, as Platform 4 is unelectrified. Only EMT services use this one.

 

[SteveP29]

Kilmarnock is rather well-endowed; it rarely uses P4, and I don't think there's any need for more than one bay platform TBH.

I have to agree there, I was in Kilmarnock last Saturday, arrived into platform 2 and left 3 and a half hours later from the same platform.

We got back to the station at around 5 past 5 and were waiting for our train till 25 past 5, I saw 1 train go past and that was a Virgin train heading south.

 

[LE Greys]

Hitchin should get another platform and more service as well. It's the place to change on the Great Northern Route if you are heading for Peterborough/Cambridge.

It's possible. There's no room on the down side, but it might be possible to put a second one in on the up side, opposite the current platform face. You might need to make new arrangements for the scrap trains, but there's room. The platform could serve as a reversing point for Oxford-Cambridge trains under some of the proposals (at least in the eastbound direction).

 

[Urban Gateline]

Hampton Court has 3 platforms, when only two of those are in use, normally it's only one in use anyway, rarely see 2 trains there at the same time!!!

 

[googolplex]

There are peak services that use the fast lines stopping Luton then Flitwick and Bedford. I may be wrong, but I believe they remain on the fasts.

I was on an early evening FCC train in September that stopped on the fasts at Flitwick. I was quite surprised to see that, as I'm used to them exclusively using the slows. I figured it was a one off, so it's interesting to see that it's a regular thing.

 

[HST Power]

It's possible. There's no room on the down side, but it might be possible to put a second one in on the up side, opposite the current platform face. You might need to make new arrangements for the scrap trains, but there's room. The platform could serve as a reversing point for Oxford-Cambridge trains under some of the proposals (at least in the eastbound direction).

What do you think of the now confirmed construction of the Hitchin flyover?

 

[LE Greys]

What do you think of the now confirmed construction of the Hitchin flyover?

I've been stuck on that bridge at Cadwell plenty of times, the sooner the better.

 

[HST Power]

I've been stuck on that bridge at Cadwell plenty of times, the sooner the better.

I too support the flyover. It should serve to allow HST services the ability to run through Hitchin and towards Peterborough without disrupting the timetables of FCC commuter trains.

 

[DarloRich]

It is a little bit strange but ECS often uses 5 late at night or early in the morning. Also something like the 0715 from Bletchley to Euston departs from 5. Bedford trains do, occasionaly, use platform 5 (once/twice a month)

it is annoying becuase 5 has a lift an offers a much easier connection! PLatforms 1 and 2 are very rarely used, although when there was the recent train fire they were used quite a lot!

In fact Wembley express part I pulled into platform 5 so it must get used on a Saturday to!

 

[Skimble19]

Closer to home, does anything use the fast line platforms at Biggleswade?

Generally the services that are direct from KGX in the evening (roughly hourly) will use the fasts, as will the 2/3 services in the morning that are either first stop KGX or SVG.

As for the Hitchin flyover - I fully support it. The amount of times trains get delayed there is crazy, hopefully the flyover should help improve reliability.

 

[HST Power]

As for the Hitchin flyover - I fully support it. The amount of times trains get delayed there is crazy, hopefully the flyover should help improve reliability.

Agreed. It looks like support is strong on the forum! My train from Hitchin (the 1621) is commonly delayed until 1625 because of HST services running out of Stevenage. A four minute delay isn't much, but as I've expierenced it every single time I've taken that train (at least once a month) it soons become very tedious.

 

[Cherry_Picker]

Two important WCML junction stations - Nuneaton & Rugby have done well in terms of platforms. Dunno if the Up Fast platform at Rugby (No.4 I think) sees much use? - the rest are well used though. Historically Rugby had up to six bay platforms. At Nuneaton, since the removal of fast stopping trains during the daytimes, platforms 3 & 4 are only lightly used and platform 1 was never heavily used.

When Nuneaton only had five platforms, every departure to Birmingham and most of the trains to Coventry left from platform #1. It was almost certainly the busiest platform in terms of number of passengers who used it, and probably the busiest in terms of number of trains which stopped there.

Now Nuneaton has 7 platforms, platform #1 is very lightly used, but it's probably important to point out that Platforms #6 & #7 are essentially the old Nuneaton Abbey Street station. Im guessing now, but when Abbey Street closed to passengers in the 60s to save money then the number of conflicting movements with the WCML at Nuneaton Trent Valley would have increased dramatically.
For those who are unaware, trains from Abbey Street on the Birmingham - Leicester line essentially passed through the sidings at Trent Valley anyway and as Trent Valley Station is slap bang in the middle of Nuneaton town centre and Abbey Street was a good 20 minute walk away then you can kind of see the arguments that would have been made to merge the two stations even if it did mean increasing the number of conflicting movements, especially if the people in charge at the time were trying to make Nuneaton into an important point of interchange.

What Nuneaton has now is probably what should have happened in the first place. One station which is right in the heart of the town centre which makes changing from local lines in the west and east midlands onto the WCML (and vice versa) an easy thing to do, even if it does mean having quite a lot of platforms.

 

[HST Power]

It's possible. There's no room on the down side, but it might be possible to put a second one in on the up side, opposite the current platform face.

If I ruled FCC, I'd introduce two extra hourly services to Cambridge and Peterborough from Potters Bar, a station which is starved of services that go beyond Welwyn. The Cambridge services would no longer call at Hatfield or WGC, they'd go to Welwyn North direct then onto Stevenage, Hitchin and Cambridge. The fifteen minutes past train from Potters Bar would then terminate at Welwyn North (leaving PBR at ten past)allowing passengers from Brookmans Park and Welham Green time to change trains. The twenty one minutes past service to Cambridge would still leave at normal time, making this possible. Now to call up and bribe the FCC team!

 

[scarby]

I remember we had a thread about this some time ago. One of the most obvious was Skegness, which pretty much epitomised the seaside dominance. Plenty of places by the sea - Skegness of course, Scarborough, Blackpool North, Clacton - have far more than is necessary.

Scarborough only has 5 now - it used to have 9 - and all 5 are needed in the summer on several occasions, e.g. 2 TPE services, one Hull service, the direct Saturday St Pancras service which stays there about 5 hours and the Scarborough Spa Express.

Even every night 3 trains are stabled there.

 

[NSE]

If I ruled FCC, I'd introduce two extra hourly services to Cambridge and Peterborough from Potters Bar, a station which is starved of services that go beyond Welwyn. The Cambridge services would no longer call at Hatfield or WGC, they'd go to Welwyn North direct then onto Stevenage, Hitchin and Cambridge. The fifteen minutes past train from Potters Bar would then terminate at Welwyn North (leaving PBR at ten past)allowing passengers from Brookmans Park and Welham Green time to change trains. The twenty one minutes past service to Cambridge would still leave at normal time, making this possible. Now to call up and bribe the FCC team!

I really don't think there is any capacity from north of Welwyn Garden City. The line drops to two tracks and I don't know if there is any capacity to stop more than two trains an hour at Welwyn North with the EC/GC/HT Services. You've made a few comments about trains stopping at Hatfield and Welwyn saying there is no need etc, but I think its fine as it is. There is two fast services to KGX from Stevenage and Hitchin, Two fast services from Knebworth to Hatfield stations to KGX, and slow stoppers to complement this. 1tph from Cambridge and Peterborough to reach places such as Welwyn and Hatfield is fine, I'd also add the service is virtually half-hourly, as you can get the semi-fast to Stevenage and change to slow when thats the next train out, which is faster.
(so coming from Cambridge, take the Cambridge semi-fast to Stevenage and then pick up the slow from Peterborough right behind)
If I could change it, I'd also add a fast P'bo service running fast to St. Neots, maybe a Biggleswade call too.
But, thats just my thoughts!