What is meant by the term "ghost train"

[mrredrunner100]

hi

me and my friend are wondering what is actually meant by the term ghost train

thanks

mrredrunner100

 

[steamybrian]

Usually a passenger train that is not advertised in the public timetable.
Also for example used for running a night-time train service of passenger stock during a heavy blizzard to keep the tracks cleared.
I have also heard it used for running a test train service such as prior to opening a new line or perhaps testing new electric trains prior to introduction of electrification of a line.

 

[Sleepy]

Or a once a week type of service to keep the line open also known as parliamentary service !

 

[Twoonthebuzzer]

Or this.

 

[CyrusWuff]

I have this strange sense of déjà vu...

 

[Skimpot flyer]

I have this strange sense of déjà vu...

I know what you mean. I've had it before :roll:

 

[David Goddard]

Or a once a week type of service to keep the line open also known as parliamentary service !

These are the most common forms of Ghost Train.

Well known examples are:
2J45 1013 FO Stockport to Stalybridge

5F28 1955 Newhaven Harbour to Newhaven Marine/ 5F30 2015 Newhaven Marine to Brighton (although these are now both ECS workings)

The former Croxley Green branch was another, before its demise

 

[yorkie]

me and my friend are wondering what is actually meant by the term ghost train

The short answer is simple: it means whatever the author wants it to mean!

But here's what I posted when this subject cropped up recently:

The term "ghost train" is a meaningless term. It's not defined, so it ends up being used for any purpose the author deems fit, there's no way to know what someone means when they say "ghost train" until they have explained it.

There are more terms which are also undefined and their meaning can vary massively, so are meaningless by themselves, such as "open return" (which used to be a ticket type, but since 2008 no longer is, and it often takes on different meanings these days!)

In that case I was responding to someone who referred to a train with less than 10% occupancy (due to extortionately high fares) as a "ghost train" however the term is more commonly used to describe trains that are poorly advertised and/or run on a very infrequent basis and/or are not published in the National Rail Timetable, among numerous other reasons.

 

[DarloRich]

A ghost train to me is an empty passenger train run (normally under ohle) over night to keep the lines free of ice

 

[MK Tom]

I've also heard 'ghost running' or 'ghost timetable' to refer to full timetables being operated on test before a line opens.

 

[Lockwood]

And Connex SouthCentral's completely unbranded unit was referred to as the ghost train...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmightycat/5617174103/

 

[David Goddard]

And Connex SouthCentral's completely unbranded unit was referred to as the ghost train...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmightycat/5617174103/

Well I hope they ran it to Newhaven Marine at least once!

 

[northwichcat]

According to Cambridge Dictionaries:

ghost train noun
an entertainment for adults and children, in which you travel in a vehicle through a set of exciting and frightening experiences

So on that definition a Pacer journey between Wigan and Southport is more of a ghost train than a 150 operating Stockport-Stalybridge.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

I have this strange sense of déjà vu...

 

[Be3G]

Following on from jcollins, the OED offers this definition:

ghost train n. (a) (see quot. 1884 [below]); (b) a train of cars at a fun fair that travels through dark tunnels in which there are ghost-like effects; (c) a train run during the night to keep the track clear in periods of heavy snowfall or severe frost.

Q. Rev. July 94 On some lines, freight trains are frequently run of which no account is given, the profits going to the officials and the employés. They are technically known as ‘ghost trains’.

 

[GB]

A ghost train to me is an empty passenger train run (normally under ohle) over night to keep the lines free of ice

+1

but also on 3rd rail land too.

 

[6Gman]

The Ghost Train is a play by Arnold Ridley [who later played the role of Private Godfrey in Dad's Army]. It was made into a film starring Arthur Askey, which includes some scenes on the sea wall between Dawlish and Teignmouth.

The film used to crop up on the BBC at odd hours, but I haven't seen it for years.

I saw the play performed in Crewe in the 1970s (when Anglo-Scottish trains were worked by pairs of Class 50s). Some of the special effects were rather spoilt by the whole building shaking as a pair of 50s roared past on the nearby WCML!!

 

[balne-wonderer]

It's an attraction often found at Fairgrounds. They can be scary

No obviously i'm just being silly.

 

[CockneySparrow]

Its a service to keep the line open or for driver refreshers on diversionary routes

An example is one of the Norwich to Nottingham services on a Sunday afternoon misses Ely out and goes around the avoiding loop

East Coast also run a ghost train via Lincoln on a Saturday

 

[DarloRich]

+1

but also on 3rd rail land too.

I meant electrified lines - must remember third rail