Some trains regularly late

Since 8 May I've been checking every train I intend to use, noting the ealiest it ever departs and the latest it ever arrives at its destination. This is particularly important when another service must be caught in order to continue the tour.

One of the sites I use is brtimes.com where I find the minimum time to change trains at each station. This varies from 2 minutes to 15 minutes and I can only assume this ignores any time needed to walk the length of the train. Train lengths vary enormously, from 1 to 11 coaches on my tour, and I allow half a minute to walk one coach.

Taking published change times and my calculated walking times together I must allow from 6 minutes to 24 minutes to change trains. Sadly the four fastest happen to be at four of my hotels, SHR, BIF, CNR and INV, so I'll never be changing trains there.

This leads me to a problem I discovered this week. Two of the services I'll use on 10 June run regularly so late that I've had to reschedule.  The STP to SHF, which includes the scenic bit near Bamford, is 7 minutes late making the connection unlikely to be achieved and the LDS to CAR, which includes the scenic bit near Settle, is up to 12 minutes late so totally misses my connection to LAN.

Below, from realtimetrains.co.uk , is how it ran on 28 May, only 7 minutes late but I would have missed my planned connection.

I've now booked my seat on a later train to LAN - with restaurant.

31 May

Today decided to add two more trains to my "most likely will be very late" list so I've booked a seat on a PLY to BRI train later than originally planned. 

The SWA to SHR train on the Heart of Wales line is also one I may have to take later than planned, but reservations are not really necessary on this service, even though it's only one coach.

Go to Day 01

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”

 I have plans for four levels of transport problem:

A/ All my scheduled trains are running to time or within acceptable limits of lateness.

B/ I missed my scheduled train or it was cancelled. All later trains are running normally and will get me to the next hotel at a reasonable time.

C/ There is a problem on the route such as emergency engineering works closing the line. An alternative route must be taken to the next planned station or the next hotel.

D/ There is industrial action affecting many trains on this route. A possibly major detour must be taken to the next, or later, hotel by any means of transport.

Plan "A" is my intended route, consisting of two to six trains each day for 12 days. This was more-or-less finalised last November and all six hotels were booked.

Plan "B" was then constructed out of Plan A, mostly taking later trains on the same planned route.

• - Day 8: One troublesome leg is the return from MLG to CNR because the planned train is the last through train of the day. There is a later train to Fort William in time to catch the Caledonian Sleeper which stops at CNR. I have an email from them assuring me I can use that train BUT I can not book it until 5th June. Otherwise it'll be a £100 cab fare!
• - Day 9: Another problem could arise at GLQ because the planned train is the last through train to ABD of the day to catch a connection to INV. In this case there are trains direct to INV.
• - Day 10: Yet another is that there is only one return trip each day between INV and WCK. Miss it means a day at leisure in Inverness.

Plan "C" becomes a little more serious. Most days this would mean missing a scenic line altogether.

• - Day 2 it is possible to be almost stranded in Cornwall
• - Day 4 it might be necessary to get two buses back from MCN
• - Day 6 BIF could be unreachable by any means so a hotel in LAN has been booked just in case.
• - Day 7 there could be a major problem getting to CNR but two buses could do it in good time.
• - Day 8 see Plan B above
• - Day 9 there are buses to INV
• - Day 10 depending on the problem, either cut trip short at Helmsdale and return from there or from WCK it'll have to be an early bus next morning
• - Day 11 probably best to abandon this leg altogether but there are busses from KYL to INV.
• - Day 12 can return to London changing at ABD and Edinburgh

Plan "D" can be a major headache. I have worked out alternatives catering for just one Train operating Company (ToC) being on strike at a time, and for only one day.

• - Day 1: [-GW] no trains from PAD, today is abandoned and another ToC is taken to Bristol hotel. Following morning the planned train via TAU is taken on the Cornwall leg.
• - Day 2: [-GW] abandon today's plan, explore Taunton and/or Bristol
• - Day 3: [-GW] various options via Birmingham to SHR
• - Day 4: [-AW] abandon today's plan, explore Shrewsbury
• - Day 6: [-NT] there are alternatives for most legs except the last one to BIF, see PlanC
• - Day 7: [-SR] there are alternatives to Glasgow and then buses to CNR
• - Day 8: [-SR] abandon today's plan, explore around hotel
• - Day 9: [-SR] see Plan C above
• - Day 10: [-SR] abandon today's plan, explore Inverness
• - Day 11: [-SR] abandon today's plan, explore Inverness
• - Day 12: [-GR] trains via Stirling, GLQ-GLC and Euston, or via Edinburgh and Crewe or York to Euston or KGX

There are just five scenic routes I haven't done before. If I fail to do any of these it may just be possible to do one of them in the two days remaining on my 14-day Rail Rover. They are:

• Oxford to HFD
• SER to SIV
• SHR tp PWL
• Bamford to Grindleford
• Settle to CAR

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This is the year

 Having recovered from my health problems, thanks to Guy's Cancer Centre, I've decided the Scenic Rail Tour will go ahead this year. 

Usually the summer rail timetable starts first or second Sunday in May and is published online three months in advance i.e. towards end of February so planning to travel in June gives me plenty of time to check the trains.

After much careful planning I decided the best day to start will be Wednesday 5th June 2024 returning Sunday 16th June.

N.B.
From this point onwards in this blog, when referring to trains from A to B the standard three-character short form will be used, e.g. TAU for Taunton.
All those used are listed in the key in the left panel.

November 2023 I booked the hotels in Taunton, Bristol, Shrewsbury, Barrow-in-Furness, Crianlarich and Inverness for the 12-day trip.

Early March I booked the Rail Rover.

BUT this year not only does the summer timetable start Sunday 2nd June but it won't be published until three WEEKS in advance i.e. 12th May. That gives me a very short time indeed to check all trains in the new timetable.

On the bright, and sensible, side of things I've decided not to be so adamant on keeping to the planned route as I was on the circular tour. This time if there are major problems I'll just head for the next hotel by any reasonable route by train or bus or cab. The bits I skip can be completed another time.

BUT... horror of horrors, there are so many rail strikes this year. Some are quite horrendous. For example: Wed 8th May (today as I write this) there's a strike/work to rule on Great Western Rail and I've checked all available transport I could use to get me to the first night's hotel in Taunton if similar action is called for Wed 5th June. There's very little indeed. No rail transport would get me there at all. Maybe I could get a coach from Victoria. Most take under 3h30m but some take over 8hrs, I couldn't do that. If there is a similar strike on 5th June I'd just have to skip the first two days journey and go direct to Bristol - that's assuming no other industrial action of course.

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