"An hourly service will be maintained between Manchester Airport, Sheffield, Doncaster and Cleethorpes. The vast majority of these will remain as direct services. Limited amends are planned, with customers for the 3:55pm between Manchester Airport and Cleethorpes and the 4:26pm Cleethorpes to Manchester Airport needing to change at Doncaster."
The 1555 from Manchester Airport departs Sheffield at 1716 and Doncaster at 1747 (1742 Sat, 1737 Sun) and therefore provides the main peak time service from South Yorkshire to the South Humber area. Both the 1555 and 1626 serve Grimsby Town, Barnetby and Scunthorpe en-route, and apart from the 1626 on Sunday's also serve Habrough. For Habrough it will mean no through departure from Manchester Airport between 1355 and 1855, and no through departure to Manchester Airport between 1444 and 1744. It's not clear if the proposed changes affect just weekdays, Monday to Saturdays, or every day.
TransPennine Express have provided justification as follows:
"We and Government recognises the importance of direct trains to Manchester Airport from Cleethorpes, Grimsby and other communities in the area. However, by splitting one service per day at Doncaster, we can better match train capacity to demand, by using a longer train West of Doncaster and a shorter train East of Doncaster. We have been able to protect all other through services. The key reason for this is to ensure that we do not have a two -car 170 turning up at Sheffield or Manchester in the peaks."
When you are in a tricky situation difficult decisions have to made, and a connection will be available at Doncaster. However what needs to be ensured is that this is not the 'thin end of the wedge'. There was recently a very strong, and successful, campaign to stop all through services between the South Humber Area and Manchester being withdrawn. Plan B shouldn't be to try again to do this, but this time one service at a time. Plan B should be to focus on providing an hourly Cleethorpes-Manchester Airport through services 7 days a week (and give Habrough a consistent two hourly or better stopping pattern).
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13 comments:
Why can't all TPE trains stop at Habrough? Trains leave Grimsby and Scunthorpe at the same times regardless of stopping there.
Regretfully, The Doncaster-Cleethorpes is always going to be the "thin end" of the route, and considering the initial proposal was to return to an Hourly Sheffield-Cleethorpes Northern service (158 operated, but no doubt without the occasional unwelcome pacer). The proposed May 2015 timetable shows the 16.26 from Cleethorpes terminating in Doncaster at 17:35, and returning to Cleethorpes from Doncaster at 17:47 - This will connect with the 15:55 from Manchester Airport that will terminate in Doncaster at 17:37, although I don't see why it would not be easier to run the 15:55 as 2 units, and split at Doncaster?
I think the Manchester Airport-Doncaster service will be a Class 185 and the Cleethorpes-Doncaster a Class 170, hence the split
The most unbelievable thing I've seen about this service is when 2xClass 185s are used from Manchester at peak times, one unit is locked out of use at Doncaster but runs all the way to Cleethorpes and back because two of these units won't fit in the platforms at Scunthorpe, Barnetby or Grimsby. Is this really an efficient use of resources? Presumably one unit isn't detached at Sheffield or Doncaster because it's too much trouble!
ChrisB, Grimsby can and has had six car trains fit with all cars in use. I've seen it. What I don't understand is why they don't just couple the 170 to a 185 at Donny and leave it as a through service.
Joe, the 185s and 170s cannot couple together (they have different coupling and electric systems).
We only have one booked 2x185 working down to Cleethorpes (on a Sunday afternoon), with the rear unit locked out of use beyond Sheffield.
Okay, thanks for 185 & 170 coupling info Sam. But I have certainly seen 2 coupled 185s both with passengers in each unit at Grimsby Town. My Mum was in the rear unit once. I agree they are locked sometimes but they certainly not all the time.
The current 1710 from Sheffield is currently formed of 2x 170s and leaves full and standing on weekdays - with no doubt more piling on at Meadowhall than leaving.
In many ways, it would be better to transfer the current South transpennine to EMT. They already operate SHF-MAN, and having them operate all services from Cleethorpes by transferring the Barton line, along with the current Lincoln services.
Of course the real thin end was to sit by and allow Chiltern to grab the 170s whilst TP were, by nature of the franchise debacle caused by the DfT's ineptitude and, some would say, Branson chucking all of his toys out of the pram, powerless to do anything about what amounts to blatant opportunism by another operator.
If I hear anymore about how good Chiltern are.......enough said.
The local paper in Doncaster has announced that a Platform Zero isto bebuilt next to the shopping centre for terminating trains starting ftom May. This must be in anticiptation of service cuts in this article.
I guess it's main use will be for the Hull to Doncaster stopper, saving it from having to use a through platform.
But £21m for one turnround per hour does not ring true does it? Of course the same money for three or four projected turnrounds per hour makes much more sense although not from a passenger's point of view. Four flights of stairs, or lifts for that matter, and a long walk is no appetising prospect particularly for those of a certain demographic. The drive to Brough from the North Wolds area south of the bridge makes more sense than Barnetby, and I live there, for some journeys now and possibly even more in the future. Lincolnshire gets a poor deal and the way is being paved for more inconvenience in the future. The only options to adequately resolve the Doncaster situation is grade separation on the one hand, expensive and filed in the "Too difficult drawer" or the restriction of ECML paths to protect east-west traffic. However the creed of London, London and more London and the voracious appetite for business growth on the core routes is having the effect of crowding out and undermining the usefulness and viability secondary services. Marples would have approved, and if I was a bus company commercial manager I would be looking forward to having some of that traffic, particularly to the honeypot known as Meadowhall, handed to me on a plate - 909 revival anyone?
I hope the message has been sent loud and clear that cutting the TPE service into two at Doncaster is unacceptable locally, both politically and economically (except one or two services per day). Cutting the Hull-Sheffield link would also fall into the same category. I do wonder about the future of the Scunthorpe stopping service however, and if that has a long term future operating beyond Doncaster to Sheffield. It hasn't always bee a through service so is unlikely to attract huge opposition if it was cut into two at Doncaster
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