Diary Of A Reasonably Frequent Rail User

[whole diary]

[Bob_Blakey]

Saturday 26th / Sunday 27th June 2021 - Watching Exeter Chiefs Relinquish Their Rugby Premiership Title At Twickenham

Outward
DIG 0914>EXC 0922 (2T11 EXM>PGN) : 2 x 150/2
EXC 0930>BSK^▸ (Brake Standard Corridor (carriage))▸ 1155 (1L36 EXD^» (Exeter St Davids - next trains)▸ >WAT) : 2 x 159
(Break Of Journey)
BSK 1335>CLJ 1411 (1W58 WEY>WAT) : 2 x 444
CLJ 1428>TWI 1442 (2C41 WAT>RDG^‡(resolve)) : 2 x 458
(Break Of Journey)
TWI 2007>RMD 2011 (2Z74 SHP>WAT) : 2 x 707
(Break Of Journey-Dinner)
RMD 2142>CLJ 2150 (2Z80 SHP>WAT) : 2 x 707
CLJ 2212>BSK 2250 (1B73 WAT>POO) : 2 x 444

1L36 was well loaded-I would say 60-70%. A couple of things caught my attention; a female who had joined the train at Sherborne asked the TM^‡(resolve) if she could move to the front 3-car unit because she felt the 'crowding' in the rear 159 was (Covid) unsafe but was told that this would be pointless because the front unit was busier than her existing position. There were a few rugby fans on board but the majority seemed to be travelling for other reasons.
A gentleman sat 2 rows in front of me was relieved of a significant amount of moolah when the TM discovered he was travelling on a 'GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Only' ticket.
1W58 was delayed leaving BMH and never recovered the time; at BSK a station PA^▸ (Public Address) announcement blamed this on a late running XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) service but I can't see anything obvious on RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website).
One of the station staff at RMD had no clue about the 'Break Of Journey' rules; fortunately his colleague was more knowledgeable.

Return
BSK 1307>EXC 1537 (1L33 WAT>EXD/BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains)) : 3 x 159 WAT>SAL, 2 x 159 SAL>EXD + 1 x 159 SAL>BRI (1V33)
EXC 1555>DIG 1601(2F16 PGN>EXM) : 1 x 166 (3 Cars)

A well loaded 1L33, on which my ticket was not checked, departed SAL 5 minutes down so that the 20mins late running GWR 1V00 PMH>CDF^» (Cardiff - next trains) did not conflict with 1V33. The 2F16 TM allowed a couple of teenagers sat opposite me to travel EXC>DIG on their EXC>PIN seasons. And my 'Crinklies' Railcard has still not be checked since I bought it on 03/10/20 - some TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)'s seem to have given up on Revenue Protection; I wonder why that could be?   

Total rail cost: £56.55 (2 x DIG>PIN CDS^▸ (Off Peak Day Single [ticket type] (formerly 'Cheap Day')) @ £2.20 + 1 x PIN<>BSK SVR @ £36.45 + 1 x BSK<>TWI SOH @ £15.70)

[Bob_Blakey]

Staycation - Along Part Of The Leeds-Liverpool Canal From Silsden To Hapton And Back

Outward Thursday 15th July 2021
DIG 0943>EXD^» (Exeter St Davids - next trains) 0955 (2T12 EXM>PGN) : 2 x 150/2
EXD 1015>PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) 1229 (1A78 PNZ>PAD) : 2 x 5-Car IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train)
TfL^» (Transport for London - about) Underground Paddington>Kings Cross St.Pancras
KGX 1433>WKF 1631 (1D18 KGX>LDS) : 9-Car Azuma^▸ (Brand name for Class 80x trains on LNER)

Once again I chose to travel via London because XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) will still not offer the direct service at a reasonable price even when I tried to book a couple of months in advance. And the LNER^» (London North Eastern Railway - about) 1st Class offer is still pretty good despite being cut back somewhat due to jolly old Covid. No at destination delays on this trip but the run from EXD to PAD was notable for TSR^▸ (Temporary Speed Restriction)'s at Blatchbridge, Fairwood & Southcote Junctions with the latter being at, I think, 20 or 30 mph which resulted in a late RDG^‡(resolve) arrival.

(Overnight Hotel / Dinner in Wakefield)

Intermediate Journey Friday 16th July
WKF 0842>FEA 0858 (2A07 LDS>KNO) : 1 x 150/2

First trip on a 150/2 with the 2-3 seating arrangement for years. The Wakefield>Streethouse section of this line desperately needs some TLC^▸ (three letter code )-the line speed is pathetically slow. Meeting up with a family member in Featherstone to do some pre-holiday shopping, principally at Farmer Copley's - if you are ever in this area don't miss it!

(I had hoped to travel directly from Exeter to Steeton & Silsden (SON) on the 16th but our departure time from the boatyard did not allow this).

Return Friday 23rd July 2021
(Road transport from Silsden to Wakefield)
WKF 1428>KGX 1634 (1A34 LDS>KGX) : 5-Car Azuma.
TfL Underground Kings Cross St.Pancras>Paddington
PAD 1804>EXD 2014 (1C92 PAD>PNZ) : 9-Car IET
EXD 2040>DIG 2055 (2F32 EXD>EXM) : 2 x 150/2

1A34 was timetabled to start from Harrogate but the HGT>LDS sector was cancelled apparently due to a TCF^▸ (Track Circuit Failure) (Track Circuit Failure). The train travelled to KGX with the front coupler nosecone open presumably due to a fault.
1C92 was 5 minutes down at RDG according to the TM^‡(resolve) due to speed restrictions. Train was about 40% loaded judging by the carriage I was in.
2F32 was held for a short while at Exmouth Junction to allow the late running 2T34 off the branch.
 

[Bob_Blakey]

Rugby Weekend - Glasgow Warriors v Exeter Chiefs 18/12/21

Ticket splitting reduced the journey cost from a default £148.95 (E2E OffPeak Return with Crinklies Railcard) to £116.30. Flying options - which I wouldn't have done anyway - were somewhat reduced by the recent winter withdrawal of all Saturday Loganair services between Exeter and Glasgow/Edinburgh/Newcastle; a Friday/Sunday return Glasgow flight would have cost around twice the train fare.  

Outward Friday 17th December 2021
Booked Itinerary:
DIG 1242>EXD^» (Exeter St Davids - next trains) 1254 (2T18 EXM>PGN) : 1 x 150/2 + 1 x 158 (4 Cars)
EXD 1327>BHM 1556 (1S51 PLY^» (Plymouth - next trains)>EDB) : 1 x 221 (5 Cars)
BHM 1615>OXN 1822 (9S80 EUS>EDB) : 2 x 221 (10 Cars)
OXN 1834>GLC^▸ (Glasgow Central) 2041 (1T81 PRE>GLC)

All went well as far as EXD (!) because the 1S51 coach identities did not match the actual seat reservations and, in the absence of an official reservation suspension, it got a bit messy. XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) adopted the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) onboard service model and parked the trolley at one end of the train. On time arrival at BHM. The substitution of the diagrammed Pendolino by a 'double Voyager' on 9S80, again without a formal reservation suspension, was not very clever. The train arrived at BHM 8 minutes down, didn't recover much from the extended stop, and hit Preston 12 late just in time for me to glimpse 1T81 disappear into the gloom. Not sure if this was other factors or whether it is just not possible for a 221 combo to keep to Pendolino timings. BTW^▸ (by the way) 1T81 was originally 1S81 from MIA (?appropriate) but TransPennine were apparently seriously suffering with Covid-19 staff absences. Also, in another example of the railway deciding to make itself look idiotic, the 9S80 onboard crew announced on departure from BHM that catering facilities were, quote, 'nothing in the rear unit and a static trolley in the front unit as far as WVH'; perhaps 'unfortunately there are no onboard catering facilities on this service today' would have been a more sensible idea! Having quickly checked for later connection options at OXN - none - I stayed put on 9S80 as far as Carlisle and picked up 1S82, arriving in Glasgow only 20 minutes later than scheduled at 2101. 1S82 was the only train on which I had my tickets checked and, according to the TM^‡(resolve), Avanti had been accepting 'TPE^▸ (Trans Pennine Express) Only' tickets, which is what I had for OXN>GLC, pretty much all day.

Saturday 18th December 2021
A return trip between Glasgow Central & Scotstounhill, in thick fog, for the game which Exeter proceeded to lose 22-7. It seems doubtful if the players could see the ball, or indeed each other, most of the time! Previously we had travelled to Scotstounhill from Queen Street but that service was suspended also apparently due to Covid-19 related staff shortages.

Sunday 19th December 2021
Booked Itinerary:
GLC 0934>WBQ 1226 (1M05 GLC>PRE) : 390 (11Cars)
WBQ 1240>WVH 1332 (9A53 LAN>EUS) : 2 x 221 (10 Cars)
WVH 1342>BHM 1358 (1O18 MAN>BMH) : 2 x 221 (9 Cars)
BHM 1412>EXD 1644 (1V56 EDB>PLY) : HST^▸ (High Speed Train) (7 Cars)
EXD 1651>DIG 1701 (2F18 PGN>EXM) : 2 x 150/2 (4 Cars)

1M05 was scheduled to go all the way to Euston but crew shortages resulted in it being terminated, in advance, at PRE. Whilst en route the TM announced that all West Midlands-bound passengers could change onto 9A53 at Lancaster if they wished. So I did, as LAN is a little less manic than PRE when things aren't running smoothly, and in any case my booked change at WBQ was no longer an option. 9A53 was another double-Voyager vice Pendolino substitution, with the time-honoured no reservations or catering, and this also lost time between PRE and WVH. The resulting 12 minute late arrival at Wolverhampton prevented me from taking advantage of an earlier arrival at BHM using 1O18, and the slightly late arrival at BHM aboard 9A53 made getting 1V56 a bit of a struggle but I made it with about 90 seconds to spare. Queue an uneventful onward journey to the South West and an on time home arrival. No ticket checks for the entire journey and both 9A53 & 1V56 were 'full but no visible standing' between PRE/BHM and BHM/BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains).

Doing it again, accompanied by SWTSMBO^▸ (She Who Thinks She Must Be Obeyed), on Thursday 23/12 & Monday 27/12 with another Exeter>Wakefield>Exeter jaunt, via London, courtesy of SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) & LNER^» (London North Eastern Railway - about). Can't wait!  

[TaplowGreen]

Rugby Weekend - Glasgow Warriors v Exeter Chiefs 18/12/21

Ticket splitting reduced the journey cost from a default £148.95 (E2E OffPeak Return with Crinklies Railcard) to £116.30. Flying options - which I wouldn't have done anyway - were somewhat reduced by the recent winter withdrawal of all Saturday Loganair services between Exeter and Glasgow/Edinburgh/Newcastle; a Friday/Sunday return Glasgow flight would have cost around twice the train fare.  

Outward Friday 17th December 2021
Booked Itinerary:
DIG 1242>EXD^» (Exeter St Davids - next trains) 1254 (2T18 EXM>PGN) : 1 x 150/2 + 1 x 158 (4 Cars)
EXD 1327>BHM 1556 (1S51 PLY^» (Plymouth - next trains)>EDB) : 1 x 221 (5 Cars)
BHM 1615>OXN 1822 (9S80 EUS>EDB) : 2 x 221 (10 Cars)
OXN 1834>GLC^▸ (Glasgow Central) 2041 (1T81 PRE>GLC)

All went well as far as EXD (!) because the 1S51 coach identities did not match the actual seat reservations and, in the absence of an official reservation suspension, it got a bit messy. XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) adopted the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) onboard service model and parked the trolley at one end of the train. On time arrival at BHM. The substitution of the diagrammed Pendolino by a 'double Voyager' on 9S80, again without a formal reservation suspension, was not very clever. The train arrived at BHM 8 minutes down, didn't recover much from the extended stop, and hit Preston 12 late just in time for me to glimpse 1T81 disappear into the gloom. Not sure if this was other factors or whether it is just not possible for a 221 combo to keep to Pendolino timings. BTW^▸ (by the way) 1T81 was originally 1S81 from MIA (?appropriate) but TransPennine were apparently seriously suffering with Covid-19 staff absences. Also, in another example of the railway deciding to make itself look idiotic, the 9S80 onboard crew announced on departure from BHM that catering facilities were, quote, 'nothing in the rear unit and a static trolley in the front unit as far as WVH'; perhaps 'unfortunately there are no onboard catering facilities on this service today' would have been a more sensible idea! Having quickly checked for later connection options at OXN - none - I stayed put on 9S80 as far as Carlisle and picked up 1S82, arriving in Glasgow only 20 minutes later than scheduled at 2101. 1S82 was the only train on which I had my tickets checked and, according to the TM^‡(resolve), Avanti had been accepting 'TPE^▸ (Trans Pennine Express) Only' tickets, which is what I had for OXN>GLC, pretty much all day.

Saturday 18th December 2021
A return trip between Glasgow Central & Scotstounhill, in thick fog, for the game which Exeter proceeded to lose 22-7. It seems doubtful if the players could see the ball, or indeed each other, most of the time! Previously we had travelled to Scotstounhill from Queen Street but that service was suspended also apparently due to Covid-19 related staff shortages.

Sunday 19th December 2021
Booked Itinerary:
GLC 0934>WBQ 1226 (1M05 GLC>PRE) : 390 (11Cars)
WBQ 1240>WVH 1332 (9A53 LAN>EUS) : 2 x 221 (10 Cars)
WVH 1342>BHM 1358 (1O18 MAN>BMH) : 2 x 221 (9 Cars)
BHM 1412>EXD 1644 (1V56 EDB>PLY) : HST^▸ (High Speed Train) (7 Cars)
EXD 1651>DIG 1701 (2F18 PGN>EXM) : 2 x 150/2 (4 Cars)

1M05 was scheduled to go all the way to Euston but crew shortages resulted in it being terminated, in advance, at PRE. Whilst en route the TM announced that all West Midlands-bound passengers could change onto 9A53 at Lancaster if they wished. So I did, as LAN is a little less manic than PRE when things aren't running smoothly, and in any case my booked change at WBQ was no longer an option. 9A53 was another double-Voyager vice Pendolino substitution, with the time-honoured no reservations or catering, and this also lost time between PRE and WVH. The resulting 12 minute late arrival at Wolverhampton prevented me from taking advantage of an earlier arrival at BHM using 1O18, and the slightly late arrival at BHM aboard 9A53 made getting 1V56 a bit of a struggle but I made it with about 90 seconds to spare. Queue an uneventful onward journey to the South West and an on time home arrival. No ticket checks for the entire journey and both 9A53 & 1V56 were 'full but no visible standing' between PRE/BHM and BHM/BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains).

Doing it again, accompanied by SWTSMBO^▸ (She Who Thinks She Must Be Obeyed), on Thursday 23/12 & Monday 27/12 with another Exeter>Wakefield>Exeter jaunt, via London, courtesy of SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) & LNER^» (London North Eastern Railway - about). Can't wait!  

Blimey what an odyssey!

I admire your commitment - shame about the result though.

I am heading up to Scotland (LHR - Glasgow Friday pm/return Sunday pm) for the Calcutta Cup match with a train journey to/from Edinburgh on 5th Feb.

Flights (BA^» (British Airways - about)) about £120 return.

That's the plan anyway - I fear that most likely it will be postponed or at best played behind closed doors thanks to COVID - a pity, as the Calcutta Cup away match is always a great experience.

[Bob_Blakey]

Christmas In Yorkshire 23-27/12/2021

Once again we opted to travel via London because Cross Country were much more expensive and I had grave doubts about their ability to provide a decent service. Tickets were split at TAU^» (Taunton - next trains) on the return journey because GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) were mickey taking with the through PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains)>DIG fares.

Outward: Thursday 23rd December 2021
Booked Itinerary:
DIG 0743>EXD^» (Exeter St Davids - next trains) 0756 (2T08 EXM>PGN) : 1 x 166 (3 Cars)
EXD 0823>WAT 1156 (1L32 EXD >WAT) : 2 x 159 (6 Cars)
(TfL^» (Transport for London - about) Underground Waterloo>King's Cross/St.Pancras via Warren Street)
KGX 1303>WKF 1459 (1D15 KGX>LDS) : 2 x 801/1 (10 Cars)

Journey Cost (2 Pax): £84.20 (SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) DIG>WAT £37.00 + LNER^» (London North Eastern Railway - about) KGX>WKF £47.20 (£6.20 LNER Perks Discount)). Tube Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services) charges not included.

An excellent start - NOT! 2T08 was cancelled between EXM & EXD due to the Exmouth-bound service, 2F05 BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains)-EXM, being terminated at Taunton 'due to the train operator's request'. I don't know what this actually means in this instance so any clues/suggestions would be welcome; could this have been a Bristol driver who was only route qualified as far as Taunton? A substitute 2Z05 EXD>EXM did appear on RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) but was cancelled pretty much immediately. Rather than potentially delay the entire journey we decided to taxi it down to EXD and pick up the SWR service from there. Praise be - a few minor delays en route but an on time arrival at WAT. The Tube was comparatively quiet. Another pretty good run up to Wakefield with LNER - we do like the Azumas^▸ (Brand name for Class 80x trains on LNER) - with a minor arrival delay due to a late running Plymouth>Aberdeen XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) service.

Friday 24th December 2021
Shopping day in Leeds. Up to LDS on one of Northern's newish Class 331's which I found to be very comfortable with a good quality internal fit out (e.g. eye level PIS^▸ (Passenger Information System) screens). Late afternoon return to WKF on a very lightly loaded 9 Car LNER Azuma.

Return: Monday 27th December 2021
Booked Itinerary:
WKF 1128>DON 1146 (1A26 LDS>KGX) : 2 x 801/1 (10 Cars)
DON 1155>KGX 1338 (1E08 EDB>KGX) : 1 x 801/2 (9 Cars)
(TfL Underground King's Cross/St.Pancras>Paddington)
PAD 1436>EXD 1659 (1C85 PAD>PGN) : 1 x 802/1 (9Cars)
EXD 1715>DIG 1728 (2F26 PGN>EXM) : 2 x 150/2 (4 Cars)

Journey Cost (2 Pax): £65.05 (LNER WKF>KGX £30.20 + GWR PAD>DIG £34.85). Tube Oyster charges not included.

Fun and games on the trains! We got as far as Doncaster OK but already knew that 1E08 was around 30 minutes down north of York - signalling problems north of Berwick being part of the explanation - and would inevitably be delayed further by a points failure at York itself. Perhaps these announcements could be made by somebody who can mimic Reginald Perrin's voice? A 44 minute late departure from DON became +54 at PBO and +57 (1433) at KGX largely, I assume, a result of the London-bound fast line traffic jam. 1E08 had very few spare seats. Not surprisingly the Tube from King's Cross was extremely busy but we got to PAD at around 1500, expecting to have to wait for the 1C88 1604 Penzance service once our Advance tickets had been endorsed for an alternative train, only to discover that the 1C86 1504 train was delayed. Got that with plenty of time to spare - it eventually left PAD 18 minutes late and was very lightly loaded. Arrival at EXD was 28 late at 1743 - additional lost time at the RDG^‡(resolve) stop and then on the approach to Reading West - which allowed us to get home on 2F28 EXD 1815>DIG 1828 (a 158 +150/2 combo) exactly 1 hour later than scheduled.

And I nearly forgot...on 1C86 the customer host announced that 'the Standard class at seat trolley service has been suspended due to the lack of mandatory face mask wearing'. ??

[IndustryInsider]

Did you buy the LNER^» (London North Eastern Railway - about) tickets from their website?  I was pretty impressed with the semi-automatic delay repay refund I got from them on a disrupted journey recently.

Semi-automatic in that I just had to click on an email link they sent me unprompted.

[ChrisB]

The catering trolley person presumably objected to serving unmasked passengers

[Bob_Blakey]

Did you buy the LNER^» (London North Eastern Railway - about) tickets from their website? .....

Yes. I then get the 2% LNER Perks 'cashback' benefit.

[Bob_Blakey]

The catering trolley person presumably objected to serving unmasked passengers

but unmasked passengers could still walk to the static trolley location and get served so the decision seems pretty daft.

[TaplowGreen]

The catering trolley person presumably objected to serving unmasked passengers

but unmasked passengers could still walk to the static trolley location and get served so the decision seems pretty daft.

.....and the catering staff could refuse to serve them, and would be quite justified in doing so.

[Bob_Blakey]

.....and the catering staff could refuse to serve them, and would be quite justified in doing so.

I think not, in view of the fact that individuals have been permitted to self-certify mask exemptions and we are repeatedly told that questioning of said individuals over this is verboten.
Personally I think that this self certification was a government own goal and mask wearing exemptions should only have been available via an appropriate clinician.

[ellendune]

.....and the catering staff could refuse to serve them, and would be quite justified in doing so.

I think not, in view of the fact that individuals have been permitted to self-certify mask exemptions and we are repeatedly told that questioning of said individuals over this is verboten.
Personally I think that this self certification was a government own goal and mask wearing exemptions should only have been available via an appropriate clinician.

All very well if we had an abundance of such clinicians with plenty of spare time for these extra duties. 

[PhilWakely]

.....and the catering staff could refuse to serve them, and would be quite justified in doing so.

I think not, in view of the fact that individuals have been permitted to self-certify mask exemptions and we are repeatedly told that questioning of said individuals over this is verboten.
Personally I think that this self certification was a government own goal and mask wearing exemptions should only have been available via an appropriate clinician.

I think this has been said before, but sunflower lanyards and exemption badges are freely available to purchase on the internet with no checks whatsoever.

[TaplowGreen]

.....and the catering staff could refuse to serve them, and would be quite justified in doing so.

I think not, in view of the fact that individuals have been permitted to self-certify mask exemptions and we are repeatedly told that questioning of said individuals over this is verboten.
Personally I think that this self certification was a government own goal and mask wearing exemptions should only have been available via an appropriate clinician.

I think this has been said before, but sunflower lanyards and exemption badges are freely available to purchase on the internet with no checks whatsoever.

Indeed they can - no need to purchase, free from gov.uk or TfL^» (Transport for London - about).

[GBM]

Thank you for posting your journeys, I enjoy reading them