Thameslink Services/Timetable from May 20th 2018

[387star]

Rainham services running on weekends again now?

 

[Mikey C]

Rainham services running on weekends again now?

Yes, but hourly. For some reason it also seems to be terminating at Kentish Town rather than Luton

 

[Failed Unit]

Anyone know why the weekend services are so pathetic in terms of frequency?

Hopefully they are driver training or is it lack of volunteers still? Saturday in particular is in the working week - but still the service levels remain frankly an embarrassment to the rail industry.

 

[717001]

If heading out today, St Albans route looks a better bet than WGC one - 2 hour gap showing into London this morning!

 

[OwenB]

I'm not sure how to upload pictures to this forum, but services from Hatfield are an absolute state this morning.

 

[Bungle965]

I'm not sure how to upload pictures to this forum, but services from Hatfield are an absolute state this morning.

I have always used the upload file button next to post reply to upload my photos.
Sam

 

[OwenB]

I have always used the upload file button next to post reply to upload my photos.
Sam

Thanks. Let's see if this works.

 

[Bungle965]

Thanks. Let's see if this works.

Yep, it does for me. What it does show is grim.
NRE is giving this customer information for alternative arrangements.

Customer Advice:
Please consider using the following services to reach your destination today, at no extra cost:

• Greater Anglia between Peterborough / Ely / Cambridge and London Liverpool Street
• London Underground, Piccadilly line between Cockfosters / Finsbury Park and King's Cross St. Pancras
• London Underground, Northern line between Kentish Town / King's Cross St. Pancras and Moorgate
• London Underground, Victoria line between King's Cross St. Pancras and Finsbury Park
• London Overground between Gospel Oak and Highbury & Islington

In addition to this, the following rail replacement buses are in operation at the below locations:

• Hatfield
• Hitchen
• Royston
• Cambridge

Additional buses have also been requested at Stevenage and Hertford North.

Sam

 

[OwenB]

Yep, it does for me. What it does show is grim.
NRE is giving this customer information for alternative arrangements.

Sam

I've never known it so bad, even in late May during the aborted attempt to run the new timetable.

 

[radamfi]

There is an hourly Peterborough to Horsham service in the schedules for tomorrow. Is that likely to run?

 

[Failed Unit]

There is an hourly Peterborough to Horsham service in the schedules for tomorrow. Is that likely to run?

It was supposed to be a Saturday service tomorrow, so I would expect to be taking a detour into London Kings Cross

 

[uglymonkey]

Signal problems now cleared apparently (From twitter)

1. National Rail‏Verified account @nationalrailenq 21m21 minutes ago
   CLEARED: Trains are now running normally between London Kings Cross and #Stevenage following a fault with the signalling system between the stations.
   
   0 replies1 retweet1 like
   
2. 
   National Rail‏Verified account @nationalrailenq 2h2 hours ago
   #Stevenage - A fault with the signalling system between London Kings Cross and Stevenage is causing disruption to journeys between these stations. Services may be cancelled, delayed by up to 30 minutes or revised. http://nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/199856.aspx …
   
   0 replies1 retweet2 likes
   
3. 
   National Rail‏Verified account @nationalrailenq 2h2 hours ago
   NEW: Disruption between London Kings Cross and #Stevenage expected until the end of service http://nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/199856.aspx …
   
   0 replies2 retweets1 like
   

 

[jon0844]

A bit of a mare this evening, with many trains diverted via Hertford (edited) due to trains having to be cautioned through signals at danger, with a time hit of 5-10 minutes per train.

The ECML has had a fair number of incidents in the last couple of weeks, which doesn't help an already bad situation timetable wise.

 

[MikeWM]

Yesterday didn't seem all that bad, though that has to be filtered through the fact they are still running what I've been calling for a few weeks now the '1998' timetable of 3 trains an hour between Cambridge and London (rather than 4 in the old timetable, 5 in the new, 6 promised). *Except* having just dug out my 1998 NRT, it turns out I was remembering it wrong - even back then WAGN managed to run 4 an hour for most of Saturday...

Today, however, looks like normal service has been resumed (even before the infrastructure issues made things worse).

 

[Aictos]

A bit of a mare this evening, with many trains diverted via Stevenage due to trains having to be cautioned through signals at danger, with a time hit of 5-10 minutes per train.

Diverted via Stevenage? You mean that Network Rail has secretly built a brand new line without anyone noticing or Greater Anglia has on the quiet learned the route to Cambridge via the ECML?



My point being that all ECML services except these terminating at Welwyn GC or Hertford go though Stevenage anyway so I'm a tad confused with your post saying many trains diverted via Stevenage....

It's like saying many trains diverted via Finsbury Park, everything goes though there so it's hardly a diversion...

 

[jon0844]

I meant Hertford.

 

[radamfi]

It was supposed to be a Saturday service tomorrow, so I would expect to be taking a detour into London Kings Cross

Looks like it is running.

 

[Aictos]

I meant Hertford.

I thought you might have, sorry couldn't resist

 

[Agent_Squash]

92% PPM on GTR so far today. Will it last?

 

[OwenB]

92% PPM on GTR so far today. Will it last?

Probably. But the Saturday service is still painfully threadbare. From Hatfield we have 1tph to King's Cross and 1tph if you're going any further north than WGC. Granted, there's a few Moorgate services which have been a godsend, no margin for error if travelling northwards. If you're trying to get to Stevenage and one is cancelled, there's a yawning 2 hour gap.

 

[jon0844]

Anyone know why 365s aren't allowed north of Cambridge North?

 

[Ianno87]

Anyone know why 365s aren't allowed north of Cambridge North?

They regularly go to Ely - one was going there earlier.

Don't think any have been to King's Lynn since the May 2017 timetable change. Lynn drivers may no longer sign them?

 

[387star]

Do all Peterborough services need to stop at Merstham given reigate services stop there

Place seems dead off peak

 

[jon0844]

They regularly go to Ely - one was going there earlier.

Don't think any have been to King's Lynn since the May 2017 timetable change. Lynn drivers may no longer sign them?

There was/is a specific 365 ban that saw some services terminated early today.

 

[JonathanH]

Do all Peterborough services need to stop at Merstham given reigate services stop there

Place seems dead off peak

Yes, in order to give Merstham passengers services to both Victoria and London Bridge and a link to Gatwick and the south since the Bedford to Gatwick service omits Coulsdon South and Merstham at off peak times to even out journey times. Stopping the Peterborough train at Merstham gives it a quick link to London.

That said, there is relatively little off-peak demand at Merstham as arguably there are no major offices, shops, industry or significant schools nearby.

If Reigate one day gets an extra platform, the work at Croydon gets done, and the Bedford to Gatwick service gets diverted to Reigate, a better operation may be to take the Merstham stop out of the Peterborough train off-peak.

I think I would go for the following:

a) VIC-CLJ-ECR-PUR-CDS-MHM-RDH-ELD-SAF-HOR-GTW-TBD

b) PBO-...-LBG-CDS-(MHM)-RDH-(ELD)-(SAF)-HOR-GTW-TBD-CRW-IFI-(FGT)-LVN-HRH

c) BDM-...-LBG-NWD-ECR-PUR-CDS-MHM-RDH-REI

d) VIC-CLJ-ECR-RDH-(NUF)-(GDN)-TON-...

e) RDG-...-REI-RDH-GTW-...-BTN

but that is all a long way off and d) and e) need some strategic thinking to happen. Peak only calls in brackets.

This, of course, demonstrates one of the issues of diverting the Bedford to Gatwick train to Reigate which is that you have to stop the Peterborough to Horsham train at all the stations on the Redhill line in the peaks to maintain a London Bridge service for Earlswood and Salfords.

However, I think that is not too much hardship for Horsham and Crawley as there are peak only trains from the Arun Valley to London Bridge.

 

[387star]

I see
Why do Peterborough trains start at Gatwick or Three Bridges in the AM peak (calling Salfords Earlswood) with Bedfords starting at Horsham? Is it because those Bedfords stop at too many stations eg south croydon to make it feasible for them to go further north ?

 

[MikeWM]

Looks like they tried to run Peterborough services through the core today (though not Cambridge - I guess that made sense to someone...)

Seems to have gone ok for a while, then completely fallen apart from late afternoon.

 

[JonathanH]

I see
Why do Peterborough trains start at Gatwick or Three Bridges in the AM peak (calling Salfords Earlswood) with Bedfords starting at Horsham? Is it because those Bedfords stop at too many stations eg south croydon to make it feasible for them to go further north ?

Good question - I suspect it is something to do with the stopping patterns and pathing - probably operational convenience too.

Firstly, the Bedford trains need to stop additionally at Merstham and Coulsdon South so run in a 10-minute earlier path through Redhill (xx09 rather than xx19).

The arrival times from Bedford at Gatwick don't fit with the required departure time for the northbound Bedford service.

Then, the Peterborough trains stop at Horley, Salfords and Earlswood and give these stations a quicker journey time to London Bridge than if their stops were in the Bedford train.

In the peaks there are also 7tph (ie only 1tph GWR) from Gatwick to Redhill and there is an element of needing to spread these departures too.

Also, it is not so important for the Horsham starters to have a fast journey time to London Bridge as there are separate Arun Valley to London Bridge trains in the peak.

 

[Surreytraveller]

I see
Why do Peterborough trains start at Gatwick or Three Bridges in the AM peak (calling Salfords Earlswood) with Bedfords starting at Horsham? Is it because those Bedfords stop at too many stations eg south croydon to make it feasible for them to go further north ?

Stock positioning. Otherwise the Horsham to Peterborough trains would never come off Horsham to Peterborough services, which means none of them would cycle through to diagrams where they end at depots.

 

[Agent_Squash]

Looks like they tried to run Peterborough services through the core today (though not Cambridge - I guess that made sense to someone...)

Seems to have gone ok for a while, then completely fallen apart from late afternoon.

I can only find one afternoon cancellation - the 1724?