Discussion
There could be lots of reasons. Most probable cause if it's a regular occurrence is that your train could have been held up by previous trains running late somewhere on its route, perhaps the timetabling is tight in a certain area meaning your train has to wait for another in its path, causing a regular delay?
Edited by Pugland53 on Wednesday 3rd July 23:35
Edited by Pugland53 on Wednesday 3rd July 23:37
creampuff said:
Are there any train drivers on here who can answer this one:
Several times I've been on a branch line between smaller cities/towns where there isn't much train traffic at all. No level crossing either.
Yet the train is late.
What causes it?
Wrong type of wet leaves!Several times I've been on a branch line between smaller cities/towns where there isn't much train traffic at all. No level crossing either.
Yet the train is late.
What causes it?
Wrong type of snow!
Cows on the line!
On my semi rural line (The Cotswold Line) the usual reasons for late running are:
Delayed train in front (or on the single line sections delayed train coming the other way)
No free platform at Reading
Signalman didnt turn up for work
Train crew didnt turn up for work
Scrotes stole electric cables
Trespassers spotted on the line sometime in the preceding 24 hours
Another driver has noticed a bump so all trains run slowly over that section
Someone left a door open so train can't leave until guard has closed the door
Engineers are working on the adjacent track
Train has a fault (usually the nature of the fault is not disclosed)
Its raining
Its windy
Its sunny
Its snowing
Its icy
Its dry
Its cloudy
Its damp
Its foggy
We are in the UK
Delayed train in front (or on the single line sections delayed train coming the other way)
No free platform at Reading
Signalman didnt turn up for work
Train crew didnt turn up for work
Scrotes stole electric cables
Trespassers spotted on the line sometime in the preceding 24 hours
Another driver has noticed a bump so all trains run slowly over that section
Someone left a door open so train can't leave until guard has closed the door
Engineers are working on the adjacent track
Train has a fault (usually the nature of the fault is not disclosed)
Its raining
Its windy
Its sunny
Its snowing
Its icy
Its dry
Its cloudy
Its damp
Its foggy
We are in the UK
Edited by blueg33 on Thursday 4th July 13:41
a few things that make my train late on branch lines that I can not control that is not infrastructure/weather related etc.
Passengers holding doors open while their partner/friend/parent buying a ticket or runs ahead to hold the door while the other member/members casually walk up to the train and get on,
Passengers running last minute to get on the train and hold the doors, the doors then try to close a few times then open then close.
Passengers with bikes/dogs/OAP's, buggy's and children that are slow to get on or off the train,
Passengers all trying to board and disembark from one set of doors instead of using all those available as its closer to station exit...IE last set of doors.
It might not sound much, but any off those can cause an extra 30seconds to a minute dwell time at a station and all it needs is to happen a few times on the line and all of a sudden the train is a minute to two minutes late.
Generally I drive my train to the time timetable and I am not often late and if I am, its down to something out of my hands...and when you think that my company achieved a 95% trains on time percentage is pretty good, considering the 1000's of train movements there are. Generally I feel rail transport is pretty good and a good way to travel.
Passengers holding doors open while their partner/friend/parent buying a ticket or runs ahead to hold the door while the other member/members casually walk up to the train and get on,
Passengers running last minute to get on the train and hold the doors, the doors then try to close a few times then open then close.
Passengers with bikes/dogs/OAP's, buggy's and children that are slow to get on or off the train,
Passengers all trying to board and disembark from one set of doors instead of using all those available as its closer to station exit...IE last set of doors.
It might not sound much, but any off those can cause an extra 30seconds to a minute dwell time at a station and all it needs is to happen a few times on the line and all of a sudden the train is a minute to two minutes late.
Generally I drive my train to the time timetable and I am not often late and if I am, its down to something out of my hands...and when you think that my company achieved a 95% trains on time percentage is pretty good, considering the 1000's of train movements there are. Generally I feel rail transport is pretty good and a good way to travel.
You might get a clue by going to www.realtimetrains.co.uk - click the "Advanced" button at the top, then put in a station your train stops at.
Once you've found the train, there should be a column on the right showing how late/early it was at each timing point - this can be a bit unreliable on branch lines though, especially ones with local signalboxes.
Anyway, if you find your train, click the "formed from/forms 2X99" link at the top/bottom if it's visible and you can track the train getting earlier/later as the day progresses.
If the train is partially/totally cancelled at any point, there's normally a reason code at the top, but it doesn't show for delays. It only holds about 24 hours of history BTW.
Once you've found the train, there should be a column on the right showing how late/early it was at each timing point - this can be a bit unreliable on branch lines though, especially ones with local signalboxes.
Anyway, if you find your train, click the "formed from/forms 2X99" link at the top/bottom if it's visible and you can track the train getting earlier/later as the day progresses.
If the train is partially/totally cancelled at any point, there's normally a reason code at the top, but it doesn't show for delays. It only holds about 24 hours of history BTW.
BMW3s6 said:
a few things that make my train late on branch lines that I can not control that is not infrastructure/weather related etc.
Passengers holding doors open while their partner/friend/parent buying a ticket or runs ahead to hold the door while the other member/members casually walk up to the train and get on,
Passengers running last minute to get on the train and hold the doors, the doors then try to close a few times then open then close.
Passengers with bikes/dogs/OAP's, buggy's and children that are slow to get on or off the train,
Passengers all trying to board and disembark from one set of doors instead of using all those available as its closer to station exit...IE last set of doors.
It might not sound much, but any off those can cause an extra 30seconds to a minute dwell time at a station and all it needs is to happen a few times on the line and all of a sudden the train is a minute to two minutes late.
Generally I drive my train to the time timetable and I am not often late and if I am, its down to something out of my hands...and when you think that my company achieved a 95% trains on time percentage is pretty good, considering the 1000's of train movements there are. Generally I feel rail transport is pretty good and a good way to travel.
sounds like most of the problems are caused by those pesky customers. If it wasn't for them, the train system would be perfect... Not a moan at you, but after 100+ years of experience of self loading cargo, why don't timetables take this into account?Passengers holding doors open while their partner/friend/parent buying a ticket or runs ahead to hold the door while the other member/members casually walk up to the train and get on,
Passengers running last minute to get on the train and hold the doors, the doors then try to close a few times then open then close.
Passengers with bikes/dogs/OAP's, buggy's and children that are slow to get on or off the train,
Passengers all trying to board and disembark from one set of doors instead of using all those available as its closer to station exit...IE last set of doors.
It might not sound much, but any off those can cause an extra 30seconds to a minute dwell time at a station and all it needs is to happen a few times on the line and all of a sudden the train is a minute to two minutes late.
Generally I drive my train to the time timetable and I am not often late and if I am, its down to something out of my hands...and when you think that my company achieved a 95% trains on time percentage is pretty good, considering the 1000's of train movements there are. Generally I feel rail transport is pretty good and a good way to travel.
Just a very brief run down of stuff going on at the minute on a quiet Thu night.
Fatalitys
Stuff on fire
Tresspassers
Drunks
Suicidals
Power failures
Unattended luggage
Loco failures
Passenger injuries
Level crossing failures
Assaults
Laser pens in drivers eyes
There was a series on BBC a while back called, The Railway. Worth a watch.
Time is given for passengers, however we have such a busy network these days there is not much spare available.
An extra 30 sec in a platform may cause a following service to brake or even stop. It takes a fair while for trains to get back up to speed, esp freight. You then get a domino effect which can quite often go on for hours.
Fatalitys
Stuff on fire
Tresspassers
Drunks
Suicidals
Power failures
Unattended luggage
Loco failures
Passenger injuries
Level crossing failures
Assaults
Laser pens in drivers eyes
There was a series on BBC a while back called, The Railway. Worth a watch.
Time is given for passengers, however we have such a busy network these days there is not much spare available.
An extra 30 sec in a platform may cause a following service to brake or even stop. It takes a fair while for trains to get back up to speed, esp freight. You then get a domino effect which can quite often go on for hours.
Edited by Rick101 on Friday 5th July 00:49
Mave said:
sounds like most of the problems are caused by those pesky customers. If it wasn't for them, the train system would be perfect... Not a moan at you, but after 100+ years of experience of self loading cargo, why don't timetables take this into account?
Sometimes they do add an extra minute or two at key stations,And sometimes for some reason its the way the timetable is, take an example the following when I stop there,
I'm booked to arrive at station A at 1320 and booked to depart at 1320, If Im running on time I normally arrive around 1319.30s...At 1319.50s I close the doors and by the time the doors close, gain interlock and start to apply power its 1320. I am booked to arrive at station B at 1321 and booked to depart at 1321. These two stations are pretty close together but it is impossible to arrive at station B in less than a minute unless, let alone arrive and depart for 1321 unless you had a much much faster accelerating train..If I leave Station A on time...the best I will arrive is roughly 1321.50s and will leave Station B a minute late...even though I was bang on time all the way up to station A....I'm suddenly leaving station B a minute late and there is nothing I can do....yet despite leaving Station B a minute late....you will arrive at Station C on time....crazy eh
so if your running on time and will always arrive almost a minute late at station B, you could see why people who wait for the train there always think the trains run late
and that's if the train is running on time .Edited by BMW3s6 on Friday 5th July 12:42
Edited by BMW3s6 on Friday 5th July 12:47
Mave said:
sounds like most of the problems are caused by those pesky customers. If it wasn't for them, the train system would be perfect... Not a moan at you, but after 100+ years of experience of self loading cargo, why don't timetables take this into account?
Why do you expect trains to manage that? bus companies can't either & they grew out of stage coaches running several hundred years ago.BMW3s6 said:
Mave said:
sounds like most of the problems are caused by those pesky customers. If it wasn't for them, the train system would be perfect... Not a moan at you, but after 100+ years of experience of self loading cargo, why don't timetables take this into account?
Sometimes they do add an extra minute or two at key stations,And sometimes for some reason its the way the timetable is, take an example the following when I stop there,
I'm booked to arrive at station A at 1320 and booked to depart at 1320, If Im running on time I normally arrive around 1319.30s...At 1319.50s I close the doors and by the time the doors close, gain interlock and start to apply power its 1320. I am booked to arrive at station B at 1321 and booked to depart at 1321. These two stations are pretty close together but it is impossible to arrive at station B in less than a minute unless, let alone arrive and depart for 1321 unless you had a much much faster accelerating train..If I leave Station A on time...the best I will arrive is roughly 1321.50s and will leave Station B a minute late...even though I was bang on time all the way up to station A....I'm suddenly leaving station B a minute late and there is nothing I can do....yet despite leaving Station B a minute late....you will arrive at Station C on time....crazy eh
so if your running on time and will always arrive almost a minute late at station B, you could see why people who wait for the train there always think the trains run late
and that's if the train is running on time .Edited by BMW3s6 on Friday 5th July 12:42
Edited by BMW3s6 on Friday 5th July 12:47
As regards self loading frieght the other issue with them is train operating companies don't know where they are going to be any one day to the next. On the first three days of theis week my train was packed. Yesterday there were empty seats, today it wasnt as busy as Mon- Wed but was busier than yesterday.
My train home in the evening rarely arrives at the destination on time, nad as a result the bus that is meant to leave after it arrives frequesntly goes just as it arrives. The bus company probably wonder why they have no passengers!
Hooli said:
Why do you expect trains to manage that? bus companies can't either & they grew out of stage coaches running several hundred years ago.
Well, the earlier post suggests that even if everything goes perfectly at the station, the train ends up late. Why would you set up a timetable that you can't realistically meet?blueg33 said:
How do the Japanese and the Swiss manage to have a much higher percentage of their trains on time?
Probably because they have dedicated services running on certain lines only, or something close to it. Comparing overseas railways with ours is often very misleading, folk always bang on about the French TGV etc, but as far as I'm aware it was built and run as a 'stand alone' service. Similar situation with the famous Bullet Trains in Japan.Over here, Chiltern have a good reputation for timekeeping and good service, partly because a large chunk of the route they operate on isn't clogged up with other (slower) traffic, people often forget thsi when looking at headlines etc. The odd 'binliner' might get in the way but not much else.
As a freight driver I often get tangled up among faster traffic on the West Coast and Midland Mainlines, if I get let out of North London with a set of empty wagons going north, I invariably get caught between two faster stopping trains, if the one in front is an 'all stations' I soon catch him up, and so the second stopper behind me catches up with me as well. We often leave London and see only double or single yellows all the way to Bedford!
Edited by P5Nij on Saturday 6th July 13:03
P5Nij said:
Probably because they have dedicated services running on certain lines only, or something close to it. Comparing overseas railways with ours is often very misleading, folk always bang on about the French TGV etc, but as far as I'm aware it was built and run as a 'stand alone' service. Similar situation with the famous Bullet Trains in Japan.
Over here, Chiltern have a good reputation for timekeeping and good service, partly because a large chunk of the route they operate on isn't clogged up with other (slower) traffic, people often forget thsi when looking at headlines etc. The odd 'binliner' might get in the way but not much else.
Most of there railway lines go A to B Over here, Chiltern have a good reputation for timekeeping and good service, partly because a large chunk of the route they operate on isn't clogged up with other (slower) traffic, people often forget thsi when looking at headlines etc. The odd 'binliner' might get in the way but not much else.
Ours go A to bloody everywhere. Plus we are still heavily reliant on Victorian infrastructure.
Rick101 said:
Just a very brief run down of stuff going on at the minute on a quiet Thu night.
Fatalitys
Stuff on fire
Tresspassers
Drunks
Suicidals
Power failures
Unattended luggage
Loco failures
Passenger injuries
Level crossing failures
Assaults
Laser pens in drivers eyes
There was a series on BBC a while back called, The Railway. Worth a watch.
Time is given for passengers, however we have such a busy network these days there is not much spare available.
An extra 30 sec in a platform may cause a following service to brake or even stop. It takes a fair while for trains to get back up to speed, esp freight. You then get a domino effect which can quite often go on for hours.
Rick are you at York IECC? Fatalitys
Stuff on fire
Tresspassers
Drunks
Suicidals
Power failures
Unattended luggage
Loco failures
Passenger injuries
Level crossing failures
Assaults
Laser pens in drivers eyes
There was a series on BBC a while back called, The Railway. Worth a watch.
Time is given for passengers, however we have such a busy network these days there is not much spare available.
An extra 30 sec in a platform may cause a following service to brake or even stop. It takes a fair while for trains to get back up to speed, esp freight. You then get a domino effect which can quite often go on for hours.
Edited by Rick101 on Friday 5th July 00:49
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