Why are XC always late?

[jaffa]

Whenever I have travelled on a train operated by CrossCountry, it has always been late. Sometimes majorly, but normally minor delays of 2-8 minutes say. I understand it is difficult because they are a long distance operator, but if you look at the departures and arrivals for many XC services across the rail network, they are often delayed.

As I understand it there is a fair amount of padding in their network, so can the rules be tightened up on fining them for late running? 5 minutes isn't horrendous, but it is infuriating when it is every time and when you have public transport connections. You can more often rely on them being late than being on time. Or am I being harsh?

 

[badassunicorn]

I guess a train from Penzance to Scotland for example is bound to get caught up in some disruption somewhere on the network

 

[Tim R-T-C]

Probably because as the name suggests they use a lot of different routes and lines and run with a lot of other commuter and freight traffic, unlike FGW VWC or EC who have their own routes essentially with fast lines to avoid the slow stuff.

 

[GaryMcEwan]

I never had any problems with XC, there has been the odd occasion where it's been a couple of minutes late, but the Scottish conductor kept everyone highly amused with the annoucements...

This one will always stick in my mind...'Right troops, we're gonnae be late. Deal wae it.' And everybody burst out laughing. TOC's could pick up some tips from conductors like this if they can get away with it...

 

[40129]

Another possible factor is that unlike most other TOCs Cross Country's network does not correspond with a single Network Rail zone so they are not any zone's priority customer when things go wrong. On top of that, all their services pass through New Street and many also pass along either the Wolverhampton - New Street and/or New Street - Coventry corridors which are notoriously congested

 

[Minilad]

We do it on purpose to claim the overtime.

Or.....it could be a massive over reaction and actually most XC trains run to time.

 

[yorkie]

XC are not "always late". The last few I've got have been on time.

However if you can post the dates & times of any recent trips you've made, we can analyse what caused the delay.

 

[GaryMcEwan]

If I'm travelling from Glasgow to Edinburgh, I'll only travel by XC now, not only are the fares ridiculously cheaper than Scotrail, XC only stop at Motherwell. It's a fantastic service if I do say so....

 

[richw]

I guess a train from Penzance to Scotland for example is bound to get caught up in some disruption somewhere on the network

I went to take photos of the xc HST on the Penzance to Leeds on Saturday 28th June. It was 6 late by Camborne, but on time by Leeds.

 

[class303]

If I'm travelling from Glasgow to Edinburgh, I'll only travel by XC now, not only are the fares ridiculously cheaper than Scotrail, XC only stop at Motherwell. It's a fantastic service if I do say so....

aye. and no need to walk all the way to queen street.

 

[Temple Meads]

You get the odd serious disruption that has a knock on effect across most of the XC network, but a lot of the smaller delays do get recovered en route, at the longer duration station stops.

 

[Greenback]

I try to avoid XC whenever I can, but my last couple of trips, which were Reading to Southampton and Bristol Parkway to Totnes, were on time at the beginning and end of the journey.

So, yes, I think you are being harsh, and I don't see how increasing the fines for late running will help the situation.

 

[ValleyLines142]

Considering XC run from as far as Penzance to Aberdeen, Bournemouth to Manchester and Stansted Airport/Nottingham to Cardiff, I think they do pretty well. I'm a regular on the 2015 Bristol to Cardiff and I reckon it's ran late about twice when I've been on it; once 25 minutes late, the other 10 minutes. Considering it comes from Manchester, that's not bad.

First Great Western, on the other hand, well don't get me started!

 

[talltim]

My XC service was late at Chesterfield this morning (although as a gut feeling they have been better in the last few years)
Strangely it was on the platform board before the 08:10 EMT service despite being behind it. I caught the EMT service which then was 4 mins late into Sheffield because it was held while the the XC service overtook it, making me doubly late. grrr
The XC service had got back on time by York. I'm not sure why it was late, it seemed to lose a minute here and there all the way from Birmingham

 

[sprinterguy]

I have reason to use Crosscountry quite regularly, over most of their axes (which unfortunately means a lot of time spent on Voyagers), and I have hardly ever known their services to be late by any meaningful amount: I don’t think that I would notice a piffling little delay of less than 5 minutes anyway.

It pains me slightly to say it, but the only time that I end up on delayed Crosscountry services at all seems to be on those services worked by HSTs, although it is not always the fault of the trains themselves and there’s still plenty that have run to time.

 

[Arglwydd Golau]

I rarely travel on CrossCountry, but had a Wolverhampton - Basingstoke journey and return last Saturday...actually quite impressed, thought the worst when we came to a halt just outside Reading on the return, but passengers were kept fully informed by the staff, three tannoy messages, I think - delay due to freight ahead. Anyway, only a few minutes down when Wolverhampton was reached.

 

[ffm]

Unfair to say they are 'always' late, they aren't. I use York, though rarely XC, and their trains are normally on time. Even if they were 2 to 8 minutes 'late' this is not late, it is counted as on time....
As to XC having the lowest fares Edinburgh to Glasgow you do rather limit your options for services to use! Also the saving compared to flexibility is hardly massive? Try the same elsewhere and find that XC is the most expensive, unless you are using a route where the price is set by another operator.

 

[yorkie]

My XC service was late at Chesterfield this morning (although as a gut feeling they have been better in the last few years)
Strangely it was on the platform board before the 08:10 EMT service despite being behind it. I caught the EMT service which then was 4 mins late into Sheffield because it was held while the the XC service overtook it, making me doubly late. grrr
The XC service had got back on time by York. I'm not sure why it was late, it seemed to lose a minute here and there all the way from Birmingham

I don't know why it lost 5 mins before Derby, but the further delay was caused by poor (or perhaps a total lack of) regulation at Derby.

 

[All Line Rover]

XC aren't that bad for reliability, in my experience.

On the other hand, if anyone can show me worse performance than this, I'lll be impressed! (And considering these statistics, I'm surprised the posters at Crewe station saying 'Crewe - only 90 minutes from London' haven't been taken down yet as misleading advertising.) What annoys me most about these statistics is that despite trains arriving at Crewe around 5 minutes late on average - thus causing passengers to miss connections to stations to Shrewsbury, Chester, Wilmslow and so on - they're officially on time and usually arrive right on time (or even a few minutes early) at Piccadilly!

 

[Greenback]

I think most of us will agree that XC's problems are more than punctuality, which, in relation to their short, cramped, uncomfortable trains, ludicrously high fares, and useless reservations system is actually one of their better features!

 

[The Planner]

I don't know why it lost 5 mins before Derby, but the further delay was caused by poor (or perhaps a total lack of) regulation at Derby.

Got battered by 6Z77 Willesden - Bardon Hill from Kingsbury onwards then followed 1F02 from Ambergate.

 

[Qwerty133]

Better not put too much of my opinions of this, I would get banned!
I don't think XC timetable planners and control communicate with each others swell as they could, as some services have been consistently the same number of minutes late for a number of timetable periods without adjustment. I also think communication between them and station operators and frontline staff needs improvement, the number of times I've seen platform staff, the driver and the guard have 3 different ideas with what is happening during disruption is higher than it should be by quite a margin. Also as they don't operate any stations whenever stations are slightly short-staffed and have to make a choice between dispatching an XC service or something to do with their own service, the XC service will nearly always be the one to be given lower priority.

 

[The Planner]

The timetable planners would have no reason to talk to control and v.v. If there was an issue with the path that was timetable based it would be flagged up via the delay attribution and performance processes and allocated to NR Capacity Planning (as we validate the paths and subsequently amend or flex them with agreement with XC). Then it would be looked at if it was a reoccuring theme and rectified (if it can be!). If it is viewed to be an issue outside of the timetable causing the delay then it will stay as it is and the problem will be dealt with via other means.

 

[louis97]

My XC service was late at Chesterfield this morning (although as a gut feeling they have been better in the last few years)
Strangely it was on the platform board before the 08:10 EMT service despite being behind it. I caught the EMT service which then was 4 mins late into Sheffield because it was held while the the XC service overtook it, making me doubly late. grrr

The EMT service was not held awaiting the XC to overtake, it was held ironically waiting for another late running XC service to depart Platform 6 as booked, before then going into Platform 7. Last time I did that EMT service we got held outside awaiting the XC departure from platform 6 which was late too.

 

[Qwerty133]

The timetable planners would have no reason to talk to control and v.v. If there was an issue with the path that was timetable based it would be flagged up via the delay attribution and performance processes and allocated to NR Capacity Planning (as we validate the paths and subsequently amend or flex them with agreement with XC). Then it would be looked at if it was a reoccuring theme and rectified (if it can be!). If it is viewed to be an issue outside of the timetable causing the delay then it will stay as it is and the problem will be dealt with via other means.

Thanks for the info!

 

[dk1]

If you want to see XC as bad timekeepers you would need to return to loco-hauled days. Now that was bad. Whenever i use them they are punctual on the whole & impress me how they seem to arrive at Newton Abbot on time every hour all the way from Scotland.

 

[SpacePhoenix]

Does it sometimes happen where a xc trains gets a delay for whatever reason early in in the route, causing it to be late enough to loose its path later on in a route and so have to wait a new path?

 

[Zerothebrake!]

XC services occasionally run late due to:-
1/ The 'You can't stop the London!' mentality.
2/ Passengers and Signallers.
3/ P*ss poor train despatch.
I thank you..

 

[neilmc]

When I used to travel from Manchester to Bristol I always aimed for the trains which terminated/began at Temple Meads, they were nearly always on time and generally not busy. Get one from Paignton/Plymouth, etc, it was usually late and already full of people with suitcases, buggies, kids, beach balls, etc.

 

[LateThanNever]

If you want to see XC as bad timekeepers you would need to return to loco-hauled days. Now that was bad. Whenever i use them they are punctual on the whole & impress me how they seem to arrive at Newton Abbot on time every hour all the way from Scotland.

Quite. A friend of mine used to work in Bristol and it was a standing joke that even if he had to work late he would always be able to catch the delayed Aberdeen Penzance back to Exeter!