What do you think counts as a 'regular service'?

[Krystal]

Me and other people might agree that a station with a 'regular' service is a station which gets services at equal intervals throughout the day, whether it be 1tph, 6tph, 1tp2h, 3tp2h, etc etc.
Some may argue that a station like Battersea Park gets a 'regular' service to Wandsworth Road because it gets one/two trains a day every day, so it's regular. So what do you think?

 

[pokemonsuper9]

(Boring answer) I think it depends on the context.
If e.g. this thread

Trivia: Physically connected neighbouring train stations with no regular direct train service.

Title says it all for this one. I'll start off with Belper and Duffield having no regular service to Chesterfield. It is necessary to double back at Derby for most of the day.

www.railforums.co.uk

I think it's any scheduled regular service (at least weekly).

But if on something advertising like a house listing I would say at least 1 train per hour.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

I think it's any scheduled regular service (at least weekly).

But if on something advertising like a house listing I would say at least 1 train per hour.

The other word to use is 'frequent'.

 

[bluegoblin7]

Me and other people might agree that a station with a 'regular' service is a station which gets services at equal intervals throughout the day, whether it be 1tph, 6tph, 1tp2h, 3tp2h, etc etc.
Some may argue that a station like Battersea Park gets a 'regular' service to Wandsworth Road because it gets one/two trains a day every day, so it's regular. So what do you think?

Regular is whether or not something happens at fixed intervals.

Frequent is how often those intervals are.

One train per week is regular, but not frequent.

36 trains per hour on totally random days and times is frequent, but not regular.

Hardly a debate, just linguistics.

 

[VT 390]

Surely this is a case where you are either right or wrong as no matter what you think using a definitive definition of regular it means that an long as the services are at equal intervals (like daily or weekly) it is by definition a regular service. I think people are confusing regular with frequent. It is rare I would directly say people are wrong with situations that are opinion based but I just can not see, using the correct definitions, how a regular service can not be provided by a very limited (including as little as once a week) services.

Even stations like Reddish South and Denton have regular services in each direction as there are 168 hours or 7 days between services making the interval between services in each direction even and therefore regular.
I could sort of see an argument for stations where the interval between services is not even such as Lelant Saltings (where each day there is a gap of 80 minutes then 1360 minutes) as not being regular but then it is still a regular daily service provided.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Hardly a debate, just linguistics.

Surely this is a case where you are either right or wrong as no matter what you think using a definitive definition of regular it means that an long as the services are at equal intervals (like daily or weekly) it is by definition a regular service. I think people are confusing regular with frequent.

The dictionary definition of 'regular' includes both:
happening or doing something often; and
existing or happening repeatedly in a fixed pattern, with equal or similar amounts of space or time between one and the next.

So one train a week is a regular service. So is one train a day. So is one train an hour. So is ten trains an hour. You can have a regular service at irregular intervals, as First Bus prove with their AI timetables.

English is such a fun language.

 

[The exile]

I would suggest that in our context “regular” is “timetabled to repeat at predictable intervals” (be that “hourly during the day” or “every so many days”. Thus once day each way on Sundays is regular; but the RTT Santa express is not (irrespective of that service’s credibility) because it runs at the most once in any timetable period.

 

[Farnborough]

An alternative use of "regular", as identified by the Supreme Court during the term time holiday debates, is "in accordance with the law"...

 

[The exile]

An alternative use of "regular", as identified by the Supreme Court during the term time holiday debates, is "in accordance with the law"...

Which for our purposes could be interpreted as “in accordance with the timetable”.

 

[rower40]

Way back...
It used to be that Fishguard Harbour had the most regular service of any station. It had a train at 0305, and another at 1505, Monday through Sunday. (I may have mis-remembered the exact times.) This meant that, if you missed one train, you had EXACTLY 12 hours to wait for the next one, every day of the week.

The trains were timed like that to meet the Rosslare ferries.

 

[mrcheek]

"Regular" is another word that has basically become misused over time.
It should mean "at consistent intervals", but few use it like that these days.

 

[norbitonflyer]

"Regular" is another word that has basically become misused over time.
It should mean "at consistent intervals", but few use it like that these days.

Particularly in the fast food industry. My "regular" fries were all different lengths.

 

[The exile]

"Regular" is another word that has basically become misused over time.
It should mean "at consistent intervals", but few use it like that these days.

As has been stated upthread - it also means “conforming to the regulations” (more often in the negative - “ this is most irregular” doesn’t mean that you can’t predict when it will happen next!)

 

[Gloster]

Around twenty years ago in its last years before closure Gedser in Denmark had a regular service: one terminating arrival that departed back a few minutes later. These two were the only trains of the day, but they ran at the same times seven days a week.

 

[MontyP]

Halley's Comet puts in a regular appearance, once every 76 years. But certainly not frequent!

It is amazing how often these two words are used wrongly/interchangeably when they mean different things.

 

[The exile]

Halley's Comet puts in a regular appearance, once every 76 years. But certainly not frequent!

It is amazing how often these two words are used wrongly/interchangeably when they mean different things.

In terms of comet appearances , I believe every 76 years is pretty frequent.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The Flying Dentonian (Stockport-Stalybridge) is very regular. Precisely once every 7 days.

 

[Ian Hardy]

The 23:59 North Pole International to North Pole International on 24th December each year is very regular, once every 12 months.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Even Pilning has a regular service.

 

[The exile]

Even Pilning has a regular service.

If a very imbalanced one!

 

[Metro95]

Even Pilning has a regular service.

Two trains per week isn't a regular service IMO.

 

[norbitonflyer]

Two trains per week isn't a regular service IMO.

See post 11 - there is a difference between "regular" and "frequent".

 

[Metro95]

See post 11 - there is a difference between "regular" and "frequent".

But it still only has a limited service of two trains a week.

 

[VT 390]

But it still only has a limited service of two trains a week.

Yes it has a limited infrequent service but it is still regular as it operates at the same times on the same days each week (subject to short notice amendments like engineering works).

 

[Metro95]

Yes it has a limited infrequent service but it is still regular as it operates at the same times on the same days each week (subject to short notice amendments like engineering works).

Now I understand the difference between regular and frequent.

 

[norbitonflyer]

The date of Easter is a funny one, because although it is irregular in the sense that it moves around a lot, (the time between successive Easters can be 50, 51, 54 or 55 weeks), it is "regular" in that it follows a set of rules.

 

[Harpo]

Way back...
It used to be that Fishguard Harbour had the most regular service of any station. It had a train at 0305, and another at 1505, Monday through Sunday. (I may have mis-remembered the exact times.)

01.50 & 13.50. Fishguard’s clockface timetable circa 1990?