Tonight's 20:30 departure from EUS bound for PRE

[ffcphone]

I've just alighted from this service at Wigan but prior to arrival checked with NRE's iPhone app for live running info.

This train reportedly left Lichfield Trent Valley two minutes early.

Not sure I've ever seen green departure info before!

 

[Mojo]

Once missed a train as it left 5 mins early (also checked on Live Departure Boards which confirmed this). Complained to the TOC (I wasn't too bothered as there was another train 10 mins later, but someone might have needed that one/wanted to go somewhere served by that train) and all they did is offer me a refund when I didn't really want one!

 

[ffcphone]

I suppose there is that angle but given doors are closed 40 seconds before departure you should really be in situ long before 2 mins is up. So don't think it would have affected my service tonight.

More intriguingly why does the timetabling of this train allow such a ling transit from Wigan to Preston which is only 10 minutes or so. This train and the later Preston departure has a much longer passage scheduled.

Any ideas?

 

[bengolding]

Must be the infamous recovery time that Virgin add between the last two stops on their service. That said, since the VHF added recovery time is far more acceptable than before, with only a few minutes extra added (e.g. the xx45 Wolves to Euston is timetable to take 20 minutes from Watford to Euston, so about 5 mins of recovery). On late night VT arrivals into Euston, it isn't uncommon to arrive 30 minutes *early*.

 

[A60K]

On late night VT arrivals into Euston, it isn't uncommon to arrive 30 minutes *early*.

I believe that's not conventional recovery time, but a genuine allowance for when either the fast or slow lines are closed south of Hanslope, and VT services then have to follow LM stoppers or semi-fasts for some distance.

A similar thing happens on the ECML, where some late night up NXEC services are timetabled to run via Hertford. This is to allow for the closure of the line through Welwyn, and like the WCML example above it's much better for the passenger - if the extra time wasn't built into the timetable as the worst case scenario then late night long distance trains would be arriving into London 30ish minutes late sometimes.

 

[yorkie]

Someone managed to get a taxi organised because the last Pontefract Baghill train left 2 minutes early. I'm not sure whose responsibility that is, the driver or the guard?

 

[AlexS]

'There's always a reason for running late, but never one for going early!'

 

[HSTfan!!!]

Sometimes it can report as departing early but hasn't actually - often in the timetable at Newport, I've noticed a train is listed the timetable as departing at say xx39, it will depart at xx39, and if you look in trust it could show departure time as xx40 as make up time I guess - hence the train departs "one minute early"
Also most tocs policy is to lock doors etc. between 40 and 30 seconds early so if for example a train went past the signal at xx38 and 59 seconds it would report as 1 minute early departing

 

[Mojo]

And of course when the train actually starts moving and how long the doors close before departure depends on a number of factors such as DOO, how quick the doors close, whether dispatch staff are provided and whether RA indicators are used.

The line I grew up using was DOO and my local station had no dispatch staff. The hustle alarm would sound at 50 seconds with the train moving exactly to the minute - in comparison when dispatching a Pendolino at Birmingham New Street they start at 30 seconds but it's very rare for the RA to be showing and the train actually start moving until about 15 seconds after the minute.

 

[The Planner]

People are mistaking "recovery" time for many other things. As mentioned earlier, the late night Virgins have subtantial amounts of Engineering recovery time to account for possible slow line running. You cant just add this as and when you want to schedules as they are based on Rules of the Route possesions. If the engineers dont take them, the train runs early, simple as. Every train on the network will have an element of engineering time in it, so if there are no TSRs etc... it runs early.

The xx.45 services could well be right behind something else, therefore have pathing time in them to keep them at the headway.

The Newport example is probably a case of public time versus working time. The WTT will show a departure of xx.40, which is why TRUST shows it then, but the public schedule is shown at xx.39 to keep to a pattern timetable. If the train is ready at xx.39 it can go.