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Title: Worst railway in the UK? Post by: grahame on December 22, 2018, 03:34:41 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46653324
Quote Is the Ormskirk to Preston line the worst railway in the UK? Since the timetable changes in May, more than 2,000 services have been cancelled between the two destinations in north west England, a figure that rises every day. In exclusive data analysed for the BBC, 5,712 trains were timetabled to run during the six-and-a-half-month period. But up until Saturday 15 December, only 3,701 operated. That meant a third of services simply vanished. The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, says the route operator, Northern, should now be put on final warning. Those living and depending on the route have had enough. Students missed end-of-year exams because the hourly train didn't arrive. Elderly people continue to miss important hospital appointments. Some are in trouble at work. The personal toll is huge and people in this corner of the North West feel no-one really cares about them. The main line from Liverpool to the further north of England and Scotland used to run from Exchange Station via Ormskirk to Preston and a pretty straight line. But that's no longer the case; Exchange has gone, and electric trains from Merseyrail provide a frequent service from Ormskirk into the city, then go underground via Moorfields across the city. A good service. But the at Ormskirk a pair of buffers facing each way on the same single platform prevent through trains running ... and a diesel shuttle service runs (or is supposed to run) on to Preston. The journey time is scheduled at exactly 30 minutes and with a. five minute turn around at Ormskirk, that makes for a timetabled 55 minutes in Preston. I rather suspect (would love to learn from others) this makes the train ripe to hijack to fill other gaps in Northern's services from Preston ... resulting in the appalling level of service reported by the BBC. Title: Re: Worst railway in the UK? Post by: IndustryInsider on December 22, 2018, 11:46:58 Also the rather poor year Northern have had with strike action of course.
Title: Re: Worst railway in the UK? Post by: grahame on December 22, 2018, 12:00:26 Also the rather poor year Northern have had with strike action of course. The subject line asks the question "worst railway in the UK". I might argue that there are worse ... whilst Burscough Junction, Rufford and Croston have lost a third of their trains in recent months, I believe that Gainsborough Central, Brigg and Kirton Lindsey have lost virtually all of their services - which were very thing in the first place - see end of thread http://www.passenger.chat/13896. And I suspect that the people of Pilning might appreciate a service in the quantity that Northern have been delivering at Rufford - trains in both directions too! Title: Re: Worst railway in the UK? Post by: Oxonhutch on December 22, 2018, 12:17:45 Hard to believe that the line had expresses through to Glasgow and Edinburgh in the 1960s (attached) however better than the nearby citizens of Hesketh Park and Crossens that lost, in its entirety, their metro style electric railway - sorely missed today - and a stunning decision even then (also attached)
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