"Keith Till"  wrote in message news:...

> Last Thursday I was a passenger on the late running ex Edinburgh 
> [Waverley] 1757 Voyager departure to Stafford.
>
> We left Haymarket approx 20 down and immediately turned left at Haymarket 
> East Jcn to access the line to Carstairs via Midcalder Jcn.
>
> Then you would not believe what happened next because a a slow moving 
> nuclear waste freight train hauled by two DRS Class 20 locos was let out 
> immediately into the block in front of us.
>
> As a result of this we crawled from block to block all the way to the 
> first loop which was actually on the WCML south of Carstairs South Jcn so 
> that by the time we were able to pass it we were something like 50 down. 
> In fact if we had been ten minutes later we would have actually been 
> taking the path of the following Virgin departure.
>
> Out of idle curiosity I was wondering what would be a possible reason why 
> Network Rail Edinburgh Control [or whoever was responsible for train 
> control up there] would turn out a slow moving freight a block ahead of a 
> late running express passenger train??
>
> Just interested.
>
> Keith


Having just had another thought on this I have realised that the freight 
would have been kept say 5 minutes to await us passing and clearing the 
section in both instances [ie near Haymarket before allowing it out on to 
the main line & at the loop on the WCML] the actual elapsed time would have 
been the same for the freight. All it meant was that a 20 minute deficiency 
was turned into a 50 minute deficiency for the train I was on. Is it me 
getting old or does it not make sense to operate trains in this manner?

Keith.

"Keith Till"  wrote

   Is it me

> getting old or does it not make sense to operate trains in this manner?
>

Edinburgh can regulate in what appears to be a more logical manner. This
evening the 1400 KX-ABD and the Penzance to Dundee both ran late, and
followed the 1910 EDB - ABD. The 1915 stopper KX - Markinch was allowed out
of Waverley on time, but delayed at least 7 minutes between there and
Haymarket to allow the two late long distance trains to go ahead. But is
there really a need for three Edinburgh to Aberdeen trains, plus one more to
Dundee, in just over half an hour?
1834 to Aberdeen (1400 GNER from KX)
1845 to Aberdeen (VXC from Bournemouth)
1900 to Dundee (VXC from Penzance)
1910 to Aberdeen (First Scotrail train).

Peter

On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 21:20:28 +0100 someone who may be "Keith Till"
 wrote this:-


>Is it me 
>getting old or does it not make sense to operate trains in this manner?


It makes sense for Network Rail.

It doesn't make sense for passengers and I imagine many railway
staff are even more livid when this sort of thing happens. ISTR one
poster here describing how it is now possible to display poor
regulating decisions on computers and watch the slow trains being
put infront of expresses.

I have certainly had journeys disrupted by having stopping trains
placed infront of the train I was on. In one case the train I was on
was held for several minutes at Wolverhampton, while they waited for
departure time for a stopping train, which ran infront of us all the
way to New Street. I saw the stopping train in another plat from.
When the guard explained this over the loudspeakers it sounded like
he would have strangled anyone from Railtrack that he came across. I
have also trundled around the Sheffield area behind local and
freight trains that should have been put out of the way.


-- 
 David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E
 I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
 prevents me by using the RIP Act 2000.

"David Hansen"  wrote in message 
news:rp97g1pfse4a1kguhcd1ib6muqvachggat@4ax.com...
| On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 21:20:28 +0100 someone who may be "Keith Till"
|  wrote this:-
|
| >Is it me
| >getting old or does it not make sense to operate trains in this manner?
|
| It makes sense for Network Rail.
|
| It doesn't make sense for passengers and I imagine many railway
| staff are even more livid when this sort of thing happens. ISTR one
| poster here describing how it is now possible to display poor
| regulating decisions on computers and watch the slow trains being
| put infront of expresses.
|

Probably me.

Virgin have something like 20-30 minutes recovery in their schedules from 
the north to Bournemouth via WCML.  Because of the folly described in this 
thread, this time is virtually unusable.  Either your train waits for time 
at every station or it gets held up somewhere and then follows every freight 
and stopper there is.  What a way to run a railway!  Unfortunately, there 
seems no-one with suitable authority left in the TOCs concerned or in ATOC 
that has the wit to see what is going on and present a suitably damning case 
to The Powers That Be (probably also because they don't want to lose their 
franchise bids!).

Having said that, much to my surprise I recently boarded a Virgin service 
already 10 minutes late at Leamington Spa and, in spite of a not 
particularly sparkling run, arrived virtually right time at Southampton.  I 
believe there is *7 minutes* "pathing" for some of these services at the 
junction at Basingstoke and this (aided by the late running of a SWT service 
for which we might otherwise have been held at Basingstoke) is doubtless how 
it was done.
-- 
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