Markinch
Member
For many, I won't need to explain that WTT is Working Timetable, i.e. not the regular passenger timetable but more like one allegedly used by the industry. The WTT (well, there are hundreds - if not thousands - of them altogether) details all workings on a particular route (there's usually a separate WTT for freight operations), including passenger trains, empty stock movements, single loco movements and so forth. It gives actual times (as opposed to passenger times, which are sometimes a minute or two earlier [for departures] or later [for arrivals], to the nearest half-minute. It also details what stock is being used (well, more precisely, the "loading gauge", i.e. the theoretical stock type used for calculating timings: this sometimes varies en route!), what its signal ID is, where it came from (if not in the WTT range) and likewise where it's going to. These documents - WTTs - are very useful for working out how long a train of a specific type SHOULD take to get from A to B (but they need to be considered in conjunction with the timetable planning rules for the line concerned).
Anyway, having probably bored half of you with my attempt at teaching granny to suck eggs (but hopefully of some use to the rest), it has been my habit over the years to download the latest WTTs covering Scotland (Books GA, GC and GF) from the Network Rail site. When the Borders Line reopened (2015?), I was looking forward to seeing its WTT schedule - but it was MISSING. Table GC01 (Berwick to Benhar Junction) covers Edinburgh-Newcraighall - but no further. And it's not in any other table. Indeed, the route itself is still missing from the GC route map diagram. The only hint you get of there being trains between Newcraighall and Tweedbank is that trains appearing at Newcraighall are stated to have come from Tweedbank, and likewise trains disappearing at Newcraighall are stated to be going to Tweedbank. But no details of any timings etc. south of Newcraighall.
Also, we got a new station on the Fife Lines recently - one opened with much fanfare and with ultra-long platforms, escalators, ticket hall and all mod cons rejoicing in the name of Edinburgh Gateway. ALL the semi-fast trains through Fife (Perth, Dundee, Arbroath) now call at it, together with maybe 2/3 of the local services (they tend to alternate Edinburgh Gateway with South Gyle). But, in spite of being open 2 or 3 years now, this station has still not appeared in the WTT for the line (GC04).
It is possible to find out WTT details for the Borders Line and Gateway station, but it's a rather tedious process of trawling through information from (e.g.) RealTimeTrains. I'm wondering when the available WTTs will actually start to show this information (they seem to cover the less recent openings, e.g. Airdrie-Bathgate and Alloa-Stirling, OK), or if maybe there's some reason why this information hasn't yet appeared in the WTTs.
It would also be interesting to hear of other such lacunae from other parts of the UK - if there are such. Incidentally, another omission is in the Far North: while Beaulieu (A' Mhanachainn) has made it into the WTT, Conon Bridge (Drochaid Sguideil) has yet to appear.
Anyway, having probably bored half of you with my attempt at teaching granny to suck eggs (but hopefully of some use to the rest), it has been my habit over the years to download the latest WTTs covering Scotland (Books GA, GC and GF) from the Network Rail site. When the Borders Line reopened (2015?), I was looking forward to seeing its WTT schedule - but it was MISSING. Table GC01 (Berwick to Benhar Junction) covers Edinburgh-Newcraighall - but no further. And it's not in any other table. Indeed, the route itself is still missing from the GC route map diagram. The only hint you get of there being trains between Newcraighall and Tweedbank is that trains appearing at Newcraighall are stated to have come from Tweedbank, and likewise trains disappearing at Newcraighall are stated to be going to Tweedbank. But no details of any timings etc. south of Newcraighall.
Also, we got a new station on the Fife Lines recently - one opened with much fanfare and with ultra-long platforms, escalators, ticket hall and all mod cons rejoicing in the name of Edinburgh Gateway. ALL the semi-fast trains through Fife (Perth, Dundee, Arbroath) now call at it, together with maybe 2/3 of the local services (they tend to alternate Edinburgh Gateway with South Gyle). But, in spite of being open 2 or 3 years now, this station has still not appeared in the WTT for the line (GC04).
It is possible to find out WTT details for the Borders Line and Gateway station, but it's a rather tedious process of trawling through information from (e.g.) RealTimeTrains. I'm wondering when the available WTTs will actually start to show this information (they seem to cover the less recent openings, e.g. Airdrie-Bathgate and Alloa-Stirling, OK), or if maybe there's some reason why this information hasn't yet appeared in the WTTs.
It would also be interesting to hear of other such lacunae from other parts of the UK - if there are such. Incidentally, another omission is in the Far North: while Beaulieu (A' Mhanachainn) has made it into the WTT, Conon Bridge (Drochaid Sguideil) has yet to appear.