Welsh Marches Line and 197s 2 x car

[Lurcheroo]

I hope 5 cars on most Marches services isn't too far away.

TFW have said in a recent blog post that they expect all services on the marches to be 5 coaches within the next year.
It has been a long road no doubt, but we’re getting there and we will see the benefits.

Hopefully and 8th MK4 set can be made ready for service and an extra diagram brought in and hopefully this will free a few 197’s and allow all the MK4 services to be to and from Swansea.

I also hear rumours that the reason TFW is proposing some cuts to the December timetable is because they are expecting to not have enough units to cover everything until the 756’s and 398’s are in service.
So if that’s true and they do make the marches all 5 cars within a year then I will be reasonably impressed.

 

[Jez]

Hopefully and 8th MK4 set can be made ready for service and an extra diagram brought in and hopefully this will free a few 197’s and allow all the MK4 services to be to and from Swansea.

If more MK4 could go through to Swansea that would be excellent.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Jun 2024 ==

The 17:30 from Manchester will have been cosy then.

It looks like the same diagram is being covered by a 158 again today - this time the entire diagram. It seems like a big effort is being made to use 158s on Marches services with any 153 substitutions kept to Cardiff-West Wales.

Its a pity a 153 couldnt be attached to it to at least make it 3 car as the 1730 from Manchester is one of the busiest departures for South Wales

 

[Topological]

If more MK4 could go through to Swansea that would be excellent.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Jun 2024 ==


It looks like the same diagram is being covered by a 158 again today - this time the entire diagram. It seems like a big effort is being made to use 158s on Marches services with any 153 substitutions kept to Cardiff-West Wales.

Its a pity a 153 couldnt be attached to it to at least make it 3 car as the 1730 from Manchester is one of the busiest departures for South Wales

More through trains would right one of the wrongs of the current timetable in terms of through services.

I guess adding a 153 would slow the formation so there is some sense in not doing it. The capacity versus speed trade-off is clear though.

I notice as well that 1W13 terminated at Shrewsbury due to a problem with the traction equipment. At least it started out as a 3-car (197120 according to RTT).

 

[Lurcheroo]

If more MK4 could go through to Swansea that would be excellent.

There are other options such are re-instating the Holyhead services but I personally think the most sense comes from getting them all as far as to and from Swansea.
I guess we will have to see if it happens at all first.

 

[Krokodil]

Need to find a way of extending the range of the 67s if you want to run them through to Swansea. The things do guzzle fuel.

 

[Jez]

It looks like a 158 is covering a different diagram today - the one that starts with the 0535 Cardiff to Milford, then 0910 to Manchester. However looking at RTT it looks like it was a 158 from Milford to Carmarthen then a pair of 153s to Cardiff and finally a 197 took over from Cardiff. So any passengers from Haverfordwest to Hereford for example would need to swap trains twice!

The 158 then went onto Pembroke Dock services.