Christmas overruns

[whole diary]

[phile]

I think the train service at Cardiff is going as pre-planned today.  The Trains between Radyr and Cardiff Cen are running non-stop with no City Line stops.   Passengers told tickets accepted on Cardiff Bus but somebody has tweeted to say no service for all stations today due to reduced bus service !!!    Platform 8 is not being used until tomorrow.  I have just checked a Barry Island train shown as using Platform 8 on RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) on the Open Train Maps and it is using 4

[TonyK]

2F78 is shown on both RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) and OTT^▸ (Open Train Times website) as having arrived at P8. Could this be a sign that the Christmas visit by the Cock-up Fairy may be coming to an end?

[IndustryInsider]

Good to hear that things are back to normalish now then.  Especially given that today, especially this afternoon and early evening, is likely to be the busiest of the whole period.

[phile]

2F78 is shown on both RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) and OTT^▸ (Open Train Times website) as having arrived at P8. Could this be a sign that the Christmas visit by the Cock-up Fairy may be coming to an end?

2F78 may be shown as Platform 8.   It is the one I tracked on the Open Train Maps and it arrived on Platform 4. The actual platform is not always accurate in RTT especially if it has been altered from the original plan.

[phile]

2Y36 1649 Cardiff to Barry Island shown on RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) AND Maps as Platform 8.  Picture on Twitter celebrating opening this afternoon

[phile]

Plot thickens.  I have just seen a picture on Facebook of the 1246 Cardiff to Barry Island on Platform 8 at Cardiff Cen.   Thats the one the Maps showed on Platform 4

[TonyK]

2F78 may be shown as Platform 8.   It is the one I tracked on the Open Train Maps and it arrived on Platform 4. The actual platform is not always accurate in RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) especially if it has been altered from the original plan.

[John R]

http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/new-platform-at-cardiff-central-station-is-officially-opened-as-part-of-network-rails-railway-upgrade-plan

A couple of interesting points in the text of the release below.  If all coast bound trains use platform 8 during the day, how does this ease congestion in that direction?  Or will that come later in March once the full functionality is completed?

But more telling is the comment at the very end regarding the need for a larger fleet.  So NR^» (Network Rail - home page) have delivered, and the Welsh Govt have had 5 years to prepare for this, yet so far there is not a sniff of new rolling stock becoming available. Unless they do something in advance of the new franchise it will possibly be 2020 before any new stock becomes available given lead times. Given Adrian Shooter is on record as saying they have a firm order for the D train and will start production this month, could it be for the W&B franchise?
 
A new platform at Cardiff Central station, designed to help ease congestion, has officially been opened today (Monday, 2 January).
Network Rail Chief Executive Mark Carne, Route Managing Director of Network Rail Wales Andy Thomas and the project team were joined by guest of honour Ken Skates AM, Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure, to witness one of the first trains departing from the platform at the opening event this afternoon.

The brand new platform 8, located above the modern south-side entrance building at the station also includes a new waiting area and customer information desk and is all part of the £300m Cardiff area signalling renewals project to modernise the Cardiff and Valleys network.

The upgrade works are the largest signalling phase of its kind to be commissioned on the rail network with the work due to be fully commissioned tomorrow, Tuesday, January 3, all part of Network Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan.

Passengers travelling on the Penarth, Barry Island and Vale of Glamorgan lines will now depart from the new platform.

The track for Platform 8 together with the new signalling system will be bi-directional and will enable trains to depart westwards from Platforms 7 and 8 simultaneously, improving the operational capacity of the line.

The new platform will immediately ease congestion and gives the potential for more services to run in the Cardiff area.

Mark Carne, Network Rail Chief Executive said:  "Cardiff is a fantastic, vibrant city and deserves a better railway. That's why we've just completed a major upgrade to the station, the tracks and the signalling. Commuters and tourists to Wales will now have better more reliable services and there will be new trains coming in the next year too. All part of the biggest railway upgrade in generations.

“I would like to thank passengers for their patience while we delivered this upgrade work.”

Ken Skates, Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure said:

“The Cardiff area signalling renewals scheme is an important programme of upgrade work and investment for Cardiff and the south Wales area.

"This project will significantly benefit the South Wales area by providing better connectivity for passengers to travel for both work and leisure.

“The Welsh Government is keen to see greater investment in rail infrastructure improvements on the Welsh network to maximise economic growth in towns and cities right across the country."




Notes to Editor:

From Tuesday 3 January 2017, Penarth, Barry Island and Vale of Glamorgan line services will run from platform 8 between the hours of 0600 and 2000 Monday-Saturday.

These services will continue to run from platform 7 at all other times with the exception of:

MONDAY TO FRIDAYS

06.36 Cardiff Central – Penarth Platform 4

06.56 Cardiff Central – Barry Island Platform 4

12.55 Cardiff Central – Barry Island Platform 4

 

SATURDAYS

06.36 Cardiff Central – Penarth Platform 4

06.56 Cardiff Central – Barry Island Platform 3

This final phase of the £300m Cardiff area signalling renewals project work has unlocked the potential to run 16 trains per hour on the Cardiff Central to Queen Street Corridor - up from the current 12 - into the heart of the Welsh capital, should fleet be made available in the future.

[ChrisB]

I think the D-Train has hit a problem putting it back some....

[John R]

Yes, I'm aware of that, though if a contract has been signed then hopefully one small setback would not result in its cancellation.  I guess it depends on the cause and how easy it is to overcome.

[WelshBluebird]

I think the train service at Cardiff is going as pre-planned today.  The Trains between Radyr and Cardiff Cen are running non-stop with no City Line stops.

Lets not talk about that! There were some valleys trains stopping at Ninian Park due to the football on at the Cardiff City Stadium. Based on NRE^‡(resolve), these looked like they were set down only beforehand and pick up afterwards. But ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))) on Twitter knew nothing about them and were adamant any mention of stops at NNP today was a mistake in the data that NRE would have to fix, and these services were not advertised at all (bar NRE / live departure boards at stations). Bit of a mess if you ask me.

[phile]

I think the train service at Cardiff is going as pre-planned today.  The Trains between Radyr and Cardiff Cen are running non-stop with no City Line stops.

Lets not talk about that! There were some valleys trains stopping at Ninian Park due to the football on at the Cardiff City Stadium. Based on NRE^‡(resolve), these looked like they were set down only beforehand and pick up afterwards. But ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))) on Twitter knew nothing about them and were adamant any mention of stops at NNP today was a mistake in the data that NRE would have to fix, and these services were not advertised at all (bar NRE / live departure boards at stations). Bit of a mess if you ask me.

Somebody tweeted that they went to join an Aberdare train after the Cardiff City game and it stopped and picked up

[WelshBluebird]

I think the train service at Cardiff is going as pre-planned today.  The Trains between Radyr and Cardiff Cen are running non-stop with no City Line stops.

Lets not talk about that! There were some valleys trains stopping at Ninian Park due to the football on at the Cardiff City Stadium. Based on NRE^‡(resolve), these looked like they were set down only beforehand and pick up afterwards. But ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))) on Twitter knew nothing about them and were adamant any mention of stops at NNP today was a mistake in the data that NRE would have to fix, and these services were not advertised at all (bar NRE / live departure boards at stations). Bit of a mess if you ask me.

Somebody tweeted that they went to join an Aberdare train after the Cardiff City game and it stopped and picked up

That was me anyway haha.
I may have been overly harsh on them on Twitter (I realise the people replying probably have no more info than whatever their computer system says), but I wanted to make the point about how insane the situation was. And as I said in one of my tweets, when it comes to timetable changes due to works, the information being given out simply has to be correct.