Request Stops

[whole diary]

[amiddl]

So effectively If I buy my ticket (as I always do) from FGW^▸ (First Great Western) to  Lymphstone Commando or any request stop I will have no idea its a request stop and probably not ask for the train to stop unless I am told.

I travel the route Gunnislake to Plymouth fairly regularly and didn't know (some may call it complacent). At the very least I would expect the website to tell me if I but a ticket to a request shop (like Rail Enquiries) or announcements on the train.

[readytostart]

I only have a couple of reqest stops but I'd always make sure that I put out an announcement immediately after leaving the preceding station to let people know and then inform the driver accordingly.

[willc]

It's a bit hit and miss with request stops, on the Cotswold Line the two trains a day that serve the halts always stop and so there's no real need to. The Conductor might well have done a ticket check, but always I'd ask him to make sure. Ticket destinations are not always where a passenger wishes to get off - for example quite often passengers who've bought a Kingham to London ticket that morning and catch the last train home, actually get off at the request stop at Shipton.

The Cotswold Line request stops stopped being marked as such in the timetable a couple of years back, after, I think, the Saturday calls at the halts (except Shipton) were scrapped. In my experience, Saturday was the only time of the week that trains didn't stop as a matter of course. The morning and evening peak weekday halts services always stopped everywhere, at least as far back as 2001 when I started commuting on the route, whatever the published timetable said.

[Tim]

How much time is put into the diagram for request stops?  If a train stops at all request stops does it end up being late? (which would look bad for the stats), or is it a question of there being enough time in the diagram to stop at all the request stops if need be and the train making up slack at the next scheduled stop if the request stops aren't used?  Or is it that request stops are dealt with more quickly because not all door are opened?

[The SprinterMeister]

The policy is to "inform the guard".  At least one passenger needs to speak - you can't assume he will pick up your request to stop from what is printed on your ticket. Sure many will but it is a bit unreasonable to blame the guard if you haven't spoken to him (they are not superhuman). 

It makes sense to speak to him anyway as in my experience (mostly Scotrail) they will often ask you to use a certain door to disembark (usually the rear public or rear "cab" door) to save the delay in operating the central door locking.

The policy on FGW^▸ (First Great Western) 'West' as far as I am aware is that if the conductor is unable to carry out a full check of tickets of passengers boarding at station's previous to the request stop(s) then the train will always stop at the request stop(s). This might be the case on a heavily loaded train.

There is a tendency at places like Bath for passengers to ask the driver for the request stop at Avoncliff, if I am the driver of the train involved then the passengers are always directed to inform the conductor as well. Bath is several miles and quite a few signals back from Avoncliff.

[The SprinterMeister]

How much time is put into the diagram for request stops?  If a train stops at all request stops does it end up being late? (which would look bad for the stats), or is it a question of there being enough time in the diagram to stop at all the request stops if need be and the train making up slack at the next scheduled stop if the request stops aren't used?  Or is it that request stops are dealt with more quickly because not all door are opened?

The 'West' trains are timed to allow them to stop at all request stops. There is therefore a neccessity for the driver to regulate the speed of the train to ensure it does not approach a request stop before the advertised time.

On 'West' services, all the doors on the unit are released at request stops except at stations where the train is 'over length' for the platform. The sole exception being Newton St Cyres (Barnstaple branch). Selective Door Release is not fitted to any vehicles in the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) 'West' fleet.

[Tim]

How much time is put into the diagram for request stops?  If a train stops at all request stops does it end up being late? (which would look bad for the stats), or is it a question of there being enough time in the diagram to stop at all the request stops if need be and the train making up slack at the next scheduled stop if the request stops aren't used?  Or is it that request stops are dealt with more quickly because not all door are opened?

The 'West' trains are timed to allow them to stop at all request stops. There is therefore a neccessity for the driver to regulate the speed of the train to ensure it does not approach a request stop before the advertised time.

On 'West' services, all the doors on the unit are released at request stops except at stations where the train is 'over length' for the platform. The sole exception being Newton St Cyres (Barnstaple branch). Selective Door Release is not fitted to any vehicles in the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) 'West' fleet.

Thanks for the info.  If there is time to stop at all request stops why not just stop the train everytime?  Is it just a case of saving fuel and break-blocks?

[vacman]

How much time is put into the diagram for request stops?  If a train stops at all request stops does it end up being late? (which would look bad for the stats), or is it a question of there being enough time in the diagram to stop at all the request stops if need be and the train making up slack at the next scheduled stop if the request stops aren't used?  Or is it that request stops are dealt with more quickly because not all door are opened?

The 'West' trains are timed to allow them to stop at all request stops. There is therefore a neccessity for the driver to regulate the speed of the train to ensure it does not approach a request stop before the advertised time.

On 'West' services, all the doors on the unit are released at request stops except at stations where the train is 'over length' for the platform. The sole exception being Newton St Cyres (Barnstaple branch). Selective Door Release is not fitted to any vehicles in the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) 'West' fleet.

Thanks for the info.  If there is time to stop at all request stops why not just stop the train everytime?  Is it just a case of saving fuel and break-blocks?

it also allows recovery time when running a little late.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Not strictly on topic of 'request stops', but the last time I travelled on a train to Melksham, the guard did a full ticket check from Chippenham.  He made a point of telling all those with Melksham tickets: "You'll have to be up at the front of the train, if you want to get off at Melksham - that's the only door I'll be opening!" 

[amiddl]

Yes, likewise Dockyard, Keyham and Bere Ferres.  These are marked in the timetable and would have also been on the boards at the stations and announcements at Plymouth.

Need to get off at Bere Ferrers tomorrow and without this topic wouldn't have bothered to advise the train manager assuming the train would stop - so grateful for the info. Many Thanks.

[qwerty]

On the Barnstaple line, the services with many requests cannot infact stop at them all and keep time.
The Sprinter Meister only goes there once in a blue moon on a fast service but it is true that you have to tiddle along if no requests mean you are in danger of running early

[Cruithne3753]

What do you do if you want to get ON at a request stop?

[JayMac]

What do you do if you want to get ON at a request stop?

From FGW^▸ (First Great Western) timetables: '....passenger must give an appropriate hand signal to the driver'.

I'll leave you to decide what an 'appropriate hand signal' is.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Well, we have a whole previous topic devoted to this subject, at http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=4744.0

C. 

[Cruithne3753]

Works for buses but a train tends to be a tad faster and heavier than a bus... it seems that if it is close enough for a stop request to be seen, it's likely that it's already too late to stop unless it's going so slow as it might as well make a scheduled stop anyway.

How about equipping the platform with a big "Stop Request" button that links to a signal up the line?