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Posted 2 years ago #
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The split has certainly been a disincentive to using the day coach (often empty) as a way to get to & from Fort Bill directly from Edinburgh with an early and late service
If the train left Edinburgh immediately it was split instead of waiting for around an hour to 04.30, a rail connection with the 05.20-ish train to Oban which departs around 20 minutes before the sleeper could deliver passengers for early ferry sailings (but a connection using the 976 coach service from Glasgow or Arrochar is possible)
The day coaches also provide early arrivals at Aviemore & Inverness, and Aberdeen, and the misalignment between Serco and Scotrail reservations/ticketing deters their use
Posted 2 years ago # -
Going back on this wandering thread
Carron Water - The HST is one of the safest trains to be on when it hits an obstruction on the line - I have 2 examples of the leading power car leaving the rails and landing back on them - 1 hitting a track destresser at Monktonhall, where I examined the damage & saw that the bogie had left the rails 2 hitting a demolished bridge parapet at Froxton
In the serious damage events the train has been deflected (Ufton Nervet - a set of points Carron Water the cant of the track and curve let the leading car slide outwards and hit the bridge parapet, fitting containment rails on more viaducts can address this.
Those in Glasgow might notice that the cladding has been stripped from the on ramp for J18 Eastbound, revealing the inadequacy of concrete poured around the steel 50 years ago, and elsewhere the viaduct beams are crumbling, with the footbridge parapet at Charing Cross detached and flexing since 2016, with bits of concrete missig - presumed fallen on to the footway & road below
The Welsh Government has obtained Mk4 carriages & DVT's to operate on their North-South and Cardiff-Manchester routes, with Class 68's. Like the class 47 & Class 27 push-pull sets the Mk4 uses the LMS train lighting wires & plugs (1930's design) for Frequency Division Multiplex controls, and the standard 850v/1000V AC/DC train heating system. Class 87s Class 90's & other locos all have this FDM system
HST's use a 3 phase 415V power bus with a 27(?)-way control cable using LPA plugs & sockets
Posted 2 years ago # -
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on Sunday afternoon not a single NS train ran throughout the country. The cause was a malfunction in the IT system, as a result of which current travel information could not be passed on. Not to travelers, via the signs or the app, but also not internally. NS had no choice but to shut down the whole thing on Sunday, a spokesperson said on the phone.
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Posted 2 years ago # -
Regarding the ScotRail tickets thing: did the web site change on 1st April, or is it (as I suspect) exactly the same as it was under Abellio? I note that the Android app (which likely uses the same back-end ticketing engine) hasn't been updated since December. So the reference in the article to ScotRail being "newly nationalised" could be a smelly old red herring. It's not as if Abellio's operation of the network was well-loved and respected...
FWIW I've found ticketing anomalies between NRE and different TOCs' web sites in the past. (Also thetrainline.com, although since I regard them as a gouging bunch of shysters best avoided anyway the issue is moot in that case.)
Posted 2 years ago # -
I understand that Great British Railways (which will co-ordinate the post-franchising GB rail system) is aiming to create a single ticketing portal, that should hopefully streamline things. Hopefully the Scottish Government joins in with this and doesn't go it alone with some Saltire splashed nonsense instead.
Posted 2 years ago # -
However it's flagged I was hoping that prices inside Scotland would get rid of 'peak congestion charging' and single fares that are same as returns.
Maybe based on distance of travel?
I fear a GB one will again go into lottery ticket pricing where the losers subsidise the winners. Often takes me a while to decide which ticket to buy and have made error of purchasing a day return rather than 'open returns'. Or missed out on two advance singles etc.
Buy a train ticket too quickly and you're bound to be paying more? Long distance offers might still follow 'airline models' where people plan ahead.Posted 2 years ago # -
Given that walk-on fare structures have in practice always been under the control of the government, I wouldn't hold your breath!
Posted 2 years ago # -
Which Gov though?
I don’t actually understand what has changed apart from the operator.
Is Westminster still involved in any way and/or NR(UK)?
Posted 2 years ago # -
“
Unfortunately we're suspending our 2022 services.
Current economic conditions have created the perfect storm of ever rising costs & constrained demand as people tighten their belts during this unprecidented time of uncertainty.
We look forward to seeing you aboard in 2023!
“
https://twitter.com/charterrail/status/1510988241452904458
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UK's first ever dedicated 'tourist' operator running seasonal daily timetabled services on the iconic Settle-Carlisle line with an all first class train
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Posted 2 years ago # -
@chdot - okay, details are a bit sketchy at the moment, but the system currently looks like:
ScotRail Trains Ltd: Operates ScotRail services.
ScotRail Holdings Ltd: Owns and oversees ScotRail Trains Ltd.
Transport Scotland: Sets Scottish rail policy.
Scottish Ministers: Owns ScotRail Holdings Ltd, sets the direction of Scottish rail policy and budget.
Network Rail: Owns and manages the national rail infrastructure - will be subsumed into Great British Railways.
Great British Railways: GB-wide organisation due to start work in 2023/24 and "guiding mind" for the rail industry.
Great British Railway Transition Team: Rail industry big-wigs managing the detailed transition between franchising and Great British Railways.
UK Department for Transport: Responsible for new rail legislation that will establish Great British Railways, owner of Network Rail and sets English rail policy and budget.Hopefully that has cleared things up...
Posted 2 years ago # -
Mmm
I thought SG was getting NRS!
Ongoing uncertainty/mess/etc…
Posted 2 years ago # -
Noted that 'Abbey Hill Junction' was announced as a station last night on the train up to Waverley from Musselburgh. Train obviously kept on rolling into Waverley but it did make me wonder if it's just some random error or an accidental leak of plans to reopen a previous station in the area.
Posted 2 years ago # -
VERY unlikely.
Were the two previous junctions mentioned?
Posted 2 years ago # -
There were plans to reopen Abbeyhill as part of the Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP). The original EGIP plans had 4-car trains running every 10 minutes between the two cities. Too many trains for the west end of Waverley, so Abbeyhill would have provided the necessary extra capacity and a new station in a densely populated part of the city. The Scottish Government de-scoped the project - longer, slower trains running every 15 minutes so no need for Abeyhill.
Surprised that it would have been programmed into the automated announcements though.
Posted 2 years ago # -
None of the earlier junctions were called, which made me wonder. This was one of the newer trains on the N Berwick line. Markings for the cycle space definitely still need to be a bit more visible...
Posted 2 years ago # -
Remember that NR(Sc) & Scotrail™ are already functioning as Scotland's Railway™ along the same lines as proposed for the Great English Railways, and the Senydd does a similar job with
Trafnidiaeth Cymru (Rheilffordd Cymraeg?)Merseyrail already operates trains & track as an integrated entity, as does T&W Metro on the local rail lines taken over from British Rail, and Manchester Metrolink, along with Midlands Metro and Croydon Tramlink are also using former National rail lines
Remember too that your National Entitlement (Saltire) Card also gets a 50% discount on 'local' rail fares - I get 50% off SPT area (Glasgow) fares so better to use my Saltire Card than Railcard
Posted 2 years ago # -
Cycle space upgrades on Class 385 in progress just now
Posted 2 years ago # -
@Tulyar - Edinburgh Council pulled its concessionary rail scheme a few years ago. Edinburgh residents who hold a National Entitlement Card do get free tram travel though. I think anyone who holds an Edinburgh Council disabled persons' taxicard can also travel on trains within the Lothian area for free.
Posted 2 years ago # -
@Morningsider: Abbeyhill would have provided the necessary extra capacity and a new station in a densely populated part of the city
AFAIK the only serious intention for Abbeyhill was to use it as a stabling/turnback point for units that couldn't be accommodated at Waverley itself. I think there were suggestions floating around that the opportunity could be taken to re-open it as a passenger station but I don't think those ideas went much beyond "wouldn't it be nice if..." (see also the south sub).
As you say, the use of the Abbeyhill site was dropped altogether when EGIP was re-scoped.
Posted 2 years ago # -
“
“UK coal for steam trains has now gone and our next supply source was to be Russia, which is now off the table for totally understandable reasons. We are in a very tricky position.”
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Posted 2 years ago # -
Posted 2 years ago #
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Many already get half price fares on local Scotrail services, with the Saltire Card, and off peak return fares on E-G are roughly half the price of a standard return
Slow news day?
Posted 2 years ago # -
Had my first argument with one of the bike cupboard stores on a train.
I'm tall enough and fit enough that it was irritating rather than difficult. But I couldn't get the straps to work as designed, so ended up just tying knots in them.
Someone else got on a few stops later with a van Moof style bike, which didn't fit in beside my bike. Luckily they were only going one stop, so just held their bike.
Such a needless faff.
Posted 2 years ago # -
“
The lowest totals were awarded to Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, Grand Central and ScotRail, with one point each.
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Posted 2 years ago #
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