Archive for the ‘Observations’ Category
Cheshire, England, Macclesfield, National Rail, Northern Rail, Northwich, Stockport, Trains, Virgin
In Journeys, Observations, Trains on March 9, 2010 at 8:12 pm
After having the idea in my head for a while, I finally went out for a cycle that mostly followed quieter lanes as my itinerary took in Gawsworth, Astbury and Goostrey on the way to Northwich. Many of the roads that I followed were new to me as was the town of Northwich itself. The plan was not to overdo it so I had designs on using trains to get home again. However, a missed train allowed an opportunity to check out the countryside on the north side of the town too. Well, the service is two hourly on Sundays.
When another train did come to the down at heel halt that is Northwich’s train station (the local user’s group have posters up regarding giving the thing a spot of TLC), I was glad to find that there were bicycle spaces available, especially with Northern trumpetting about there only being two per train. Eventually, there were three on the train without any protest from the conductor. Even so, there was no trouble with retrieving my mode of transport in Stockport so the next train serving Macclesfield saw me on board.
That was a Virgin so arrangements were more formal than the “help yourself” regime of Northern or CrossCountry. First, you need to get Virgin staff to unlock the compartment where bikes are kept on the train. On the night, a spot of (illegal) smoking was the cause of setting off a row between passengers so the process of loading involved a little wait. Once that little formality is out of the way, you need to find a member of the train crew to ensure that you get the bicycle off again (there are signs to that effect in case you are unaware or have forgotten), a pressing need when you are getting off at the next stop like I was. Saying that, the procedure worked without a hitch and I wasn’t dumped in Stoke or left bereft of anything. Incidentally, storage space didn’t seem to be a problem either.
10, 11, 4, Arriva, Bollington, Buses, Cheshire, England, Kerridge, Macclesfield, Road Works, Timetables, Traffic, Upton Priory
In Happenings, News, Observations on March 5, 2010 at 10:11 pm
Macclesfield’s streets have been getting dug up again and it’s a reminder of what was going on around this time last year when traffic light renewal was under way. About that time, there seemed to be some gas works ongoing too and it is gas mains renewals that are causing the disruption at the moment. The powers that be seem to have focussed their attention around the roundabout at the intersection of Churchill Way and Cumberland Street/Hibel Road. So far, that doesn’t seem to having much effect on the buses that I use though services to Kerridge (the bus used for that service now displays its destination and the vehicle has gained a cherished registration mark too; what was wrong with the standard issue 54 one?), Bollington and Upton Priory surely can’t have escaped the build up of traffic caused by temporary traffic lights. Of course, it would be best if this sort of thing went away for a while but that might be why signs have appeared about a few weeks work lasting for eighty years afterwards. Only time can tell if that promise comes to pass with the rigid plastic pipes that they seem to be using.
130, Arriva, Buses, Cheshire, Cheshire East Council, England, Macclesfield, Manchester, Road Works, Timetables, Traffic, Wilmslow
In Buses, Observations, Timetables on February 2, 2010 at 11:43 am
Yesterday, I was in Macclesfield bus station awaiting a 130 and one did come in from Manchester but that wasn’t to be my bus. In fact, it was to be a double-decker that arrived at the bus stance only minutes from going back out again. It’s destination blinds said Manchester and the route number was still 38 but that soon enough was changed to 130 and we were on our way once the bus driver sorted himself out. As we departed, that earlier bus moved into our stance and must have been the next departure. Now, I suppose that what we were watching were the machinations of rest breaks, dealing with delays to services and such like, the bread and butter of operating bus services that work along congested roads like the 130 does.
The Nether Alderley road improvements are adding to that and bus services are getting disrupted. This morning, it looks as if the 09:15 from Macclesfield never ran and that those waiting for it had to content themselves with the 09:45 instead. Yesterday morning saw a tailback along the A537 from Monk’s Heath traffic lights most of the way back to Henbury. It seems that reversing lorries may be doing hell as they start to draw in foundations for the road widening works near the Monk’s Heath junction itself. All in all, it looks as if this will be part and parcel of travelling that way over the next few months and that the bus tracker will be needed more than ever. Let’s hope that it actually gives us real times too and not just the timetable.
10, 130, 27, Bollington, Buses, Cheshire, Cheshire East Council, England, Knutsford, Macclesfield, Manchester, Wilmslow
In Buses, News, Observations on January 27, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Since the Wright-bodied VDL’s and DAF’s that underpin the 27 Macclesfield-Knutsford service were brought into use, they have sported a Cheshire County Council specified navy and orange livery. This morning, I spotted one of them wearing a new silver, yellow and green livery, of the same kind that was brought into use by Cheshire East Council. Repainting of buses mightn’t sound a priority activity but I suppose that paintwork gets shabby over time and there’s never any harm in changing colours while you are freshening up things.
Increasing capacity is of higher priority than painting things and that brings me to the sight of double decker buses on the Macclesfield-Bollington route. When I first moved to Cheshire, the route benefitted from the introduction of new Plaxton Mini-Pointer bodied short wheelbase Dennis Darts. At the time, they stood out in a fleet full of Mercedes minibuses and old arthritic Leylands, Lynxes and Olympians. Since then, the world has turned and Dennis Darts are the dominant type with double deckers and other longer single deckers being in the minority. With that in mind, it is interesting to see the 10 getting larger capacity vehicles of an age older than those brought into service back in 2000. It’s always good to see more people using buses but it would be better if they got to travel on newer vehicles as well. That increase of passenger numbers must have helped the 130 too and an increase in usage is apparent to eyes that remember how many used to be on those Leyland midibuses that were operating on the service ten years ago.
England, National Rail, Scotland, Timetables, Trains, Wales
In Observations, Suggestions, Timetables, Trains on January 22, 2010 at 7:04 am
After a look at the National Rail Enquiries website, I have noted the appearance of a departure board form on the main page during the recent arctic spell and it’s still there after the restoration of full service. There is one annoyance that has just come to my attention, though. It’s that you cannot plan day return trips without some adjustments because the default behaviour is that the earliest return date is the day after the day of outward travel even if you specify the return date correctly. This is a situation that does annoy me and I hope that they get to removing that restriction. All in all, the new website feels rough underneath its shiny surface. Did they rush things in place of delivering a more polished item?
Macclesfield, Manchester, Knutsford, Cheshire, England, Buses, 130, Timetables, 27, Cheshire East Council, Real-time Web, Bus Tracker
In Buses, Journeys, News, Observations, Suggestions on January 21, 2010 at 12:17 pm
When Cheshire East Council launched online bus tracking for routes 27 and 130, it looked like a step in the right direction and that still is the case. However, there caveats regarding the supplied information that need attention. To my mind, it seems that not enough of the buses operating those route have trackers installed or turned on. What we cannot expect is that every bus connecting Macclesfield with Knutsford or Manchester is tracked because that may mean a restricted pool of buses for initiative such as what Cheshire East Council have in operation. Breakdowns and maintenance can mean that the usual buses are unavailable so untracked vehicles have to be tolerated. Nevertheless, I am getting the impression that not enough are being tracked and that makes the tracker little better than a rolling bus timetable. Another thing that I have spotted is that it doesn’t take account of cancelled services and there were plenty of those during the recent run of arctic weather. In a nutshell, things need improving before the tracker is truly dependable and my only hope is that the general extent of usage will convince the council to do just that and maybe even expand the service to other bus routes.
10, 130, 27, Arriva, Bowers, Buses, Buxton, Cheshire, Derbyshire, England, Knutsford, Macclesfield, Manchester, National Rail, Northern Rail, Road Conditions, Weather, Wilmslow
In Buses, Happenings, Journeys, News, Observations, Site news, Timetables, Trains on January 17, 2010 at 8:34 pm
The first full working week of 2010 was a hectic affair after the previous weekend’s snowfall and that during the early hours of Tuesday morning. Many a website was being hammered in the search for travel information during the disruption and this one was no exception with it getting as many hits in a week as it normally does in a month. The past week has seen things calming down though there have been problems in places. One of these has been the A537 between Macclesfield and Buxton and the 58 was being diverted even as lately as today because of snow drifts and troublesome road conditions. However, the Cat and Fiddle webcam shows a clearance from the way that things were not so long ago. Hopefully, the run of normal Atlantic weather will continue to normalise things even it means getting wet from time to time (or was that nearly all of the time?). The sad part might be having to find another talking point but anything’s better than seeing people getting hurt on ice.
10, 11, 130, 21, 27, 4, Bollington, Buxton, Cheshire, Derbyshire, England, Kerridge, Knutsford, Macclesfield, Manchester
In Buses, News, Observations, Timetables on January 15, 2010 at 11:56 am
Heavy rain might have been visiting Macclesfield this morning but bus travellers between Macclesfield and Buxton still are being diverted around by Whaley Bridge. Of course, what is rain at lower levels can become sleet and snow up higher on those hills. With that there was last night, you wouldn’t have imagined that heavy rain lay ahead but such is the British weather that big changes like that often happen quickly. What does take a while is the melting of any ice that has formed and the rain only makes it more slippery in the interim period. The result is that I have tended to walk on the carriageway where the footway looks very suspect. Speaking of roads, buses are able to travel and the usual complement of buses serving routes 4, 10, 11, 21, 27 and 130 were out and about. So, while the snow hasn’t departed us yet, milder (and wetter) weather lies ahead. Quite where all the water locked up in snow and ice is going to go is anyone’s guess but rivers and streams could get very full and the next complaint that we get to hear could be about flooding. Well, there’s always something but we have little choice but to get through it.
Arriva, Éire, Bowers, Buses, Cheshire, Derbyshire, England, Ireland, Macclesfield, Road Conditions, Trains, Weather
In Buses, Happenings, Journeys, News, Observations, Timetables, Trains on January 12, 2010 at 10:22 am
Since Sunday, there has been a very noticeable thaw. That’s not to say the snowy blanket is in marked retreat but that any that is lying on Macclesfield pavements is reducing and roads are staying clear or are clearing. The lack of severe frosts over the last few nights only can have helped. Bowers is providing an ever more complete service over its routes (amyone travelling between Macclesfield and Buxton needed to go around by Whaley Bridge when I last looked) and Arriva’s services around Macclesfield seem to be running OK from what I can see. The same statement applies to train services too.
More snow is forecast but this will be of the Atlantic variety so there is a chance that it will not stall what is a slow thaw; there may be disruption like what affected Ireland in recent days (bus services around Cork and Kerry were affected) but that may be part and parcel of things generally warming up. With all the snow that is lying, it is best not have a fast rise in temperature or we will have transport disruption due to flooding. So, it might be better to have a slow clearance than a fast one, especially in hill country where places are heavily plastered with the white stuff. I, for one, will be taking things as they come and it is looking as if places may be slippery on the way to our more usual maritime mix of weather.
10, 130, 27, 4, 58, Bollington, Buxton, Cheshire, Derbyshire, England, Knutsford, Macclesfield, Manchester
In Buses, Happenings, News, Observations, Site news, Timetables, Trains on January 8, 2010 at 11:15 am
Yesterday proved to be a very busy day on this part of the web with the site statistics showing it was the busiest day that it ever had. In contrast, it is a much quieter place this morning with visitor numbers being more usual. It would seem that the same could be said for buses around Macclesfield. There was a very late 130 but that can happen on any day with Knutsford, Bollington and Macclesfield town services being out and about. Only for the snow that was on the ground in places and the need to clear and grit some areas, it could have been any other day. Of course, another dump of snow could change things and the A537 between Macclesfield and Buxton remains shut, resulting in a diverted service 58 (it’s not the only alteration to Bowers services in Derbyshire). A weekend foray into the hills remains tempting but transport considerations come into play as does the need for items like snowshoes. We’ll see what comes next.
Update @15:40: Service 58 between Buxton and Macclesfield now seems to be running as usual so the A537 must have been cleared to facilitate this.
10, 130, 27, Arriva, Bollington, Bowers, Buses, Cheshire, England, Knutsford, Macclesfield, Manchester, Road Conditions, Road Safety, Weather
In Buses, Happenings, News, Observations, Timetables on January 6, 2010 at 10:08 am
The southbound voyage of yesterday’s band of snow seems to have paralysed Arriva’s website but the 130 is running again this morning as is the 27 (not all Bowers services are running as usual, though; check their website for details). A number 10 was spotted running around Macclesfield too so signs are hopeful regarding bus services. So long as more snow doesn’t arrive, there should be some buses running near enough to normal around Cheshire. There are talks of the cold weather staying with us for weeks yet so it looks as if we’ll need to adapt to the conditions rather than waiting for them to adapt to us. The Nordic combination of wearing boots to work and shoes around the office is set to stay in place for much of January by the looks of things.
Update: The 130 was running well when I got to going home this evening and I even thought I spied a 27 going around too. The chaos may have gone south…
130, Arriva, Cheshire, England, Macclesfield, Road Conditions, Weather
In Buses, Happenings, News, Observations, Timetables on January 5, 2010 at 5:32 pm
It now seems that Arriva’s services are getting badly hit by the weather with the usual 130 service being abandoned with only the possibility of a skeleton service between Macclesfield and Handforth in its place. The article on their website says Macclesfield states Macclesfield Hospital as the destination but I spotted a bus looking as if it was from the Macclesfield depot sporting the service number 130 around Monk’s Heath; by then I had bailed out and organised a lift home from a work colleague (who happens to have experience of Montreal winters as I later found). Otherwise, the snowfall seems to be causing havoc in Cheshire so we’ll have to wait and see what runs in the morning. It looks as if the Arriva website will need inspection before travel decisions can be made, especially with more snow being expected.
Hint: Head over to the Bus Companies page on here for more information on any disruption. I’ll try to keep up with what I find but the scale of the problem is too big for someone like myself to cover on our own. Of course, if you can add anything in the comments, then that would be very welcome.
Delays, Derbyshire, Edale, Hope Valley, Manchester, Northern Rail, Sheffield, Timetables, Trains
In Happenings, Observations, Timetables, Trains on December 14, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Not wanting to waste a weekend that promised some decent weather had me out on a Sunday trip to Edale. All was going swimmingly until the driver of the Northern Rail service that was to take me the last stretch of the outbound journey had to tell us that there was a delay due to not having a conductor. For safety reasons, one has to be present and I suppose that it helps with revenue protection too. That delay was to be 15 minutes and all passengers that were on board had to disembark until a train conductor arrived. Overheard conversations revealed that there had been a night out and that someone was feeling rough after it. Was that the reason for the delay? That question remains unanswered but there is another: how do railways staff have lives involving going to live gigs at the same time as having a job that involves weekend working? Well, it doesn’t make getting out to see the Happy Mondays and their like any easier.
Caledonian Sleeper, Cheshire, Crewe, Fort William, Lochaber, Scotland, Scotrail, Trains
In Journeys, Observations, Trains on December 9, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Last weekend saw me take the Caledonian Sleeper from Crewe to Fort William. After a none too restful return from Aviemore in August, I booked a berth to make sure of a better night’s rest (being able to turn off the lights helps). It wasn’t the first time that I travelled by Sleeper to Fort William and a January 2006 escapade saw me arriving in Fort William feeling reasonably refreshed so I knew that my plans had some form, to use an expression from horse racing. Since that 2006 journey, memories have faded a little and I had forgotten how little floor space there is to be found even in a first class berth and the corridor wasn’t very wide either. Yes, I did travel first class on both occasions with the second outing costing less than the first with my getting an advance purchase fare the second time around. That’s never to say that it was cheap at £136 so it has to be a once in while extravagance and the standard single ticket is around £184, which is even more forestalling. Even the standard class fare isn’t cheap either and having two in a berth sounds restrictive.
The reason for the title of this piece is that there was more audible noise than I’d expected though it was nothing like the brake roar of a Mark II carriage like the one(s) on which I was travelling when going to and from Aviemore. The carriage in which I was travelling was immediately behind the locomotive on the way to Edinburgh so that may have been part of the reason for this along with the general turning of wheels that is unavoidable. Even so, I did manage to drop off to sleep even if it was to be interrupted from time to time. In keeping with the general lack of space, the bed wasn’t the widest but I discovered a duvet that either remained unfound or was absent on my 2006 trip. That was a bonus on the cold night and put a stop to any recourse to coverage with an outer jacket.
It was beyond Bridge of Orchy that I arose and opened the window blind to be greeted by the sight of snow-topped summits with the sun struggling from its slumber. That awakening was later than in 2006 when I looked out at Tyndrum Upper station and the tops were devoid of the white stuff too so that was one previsualisation put out of its misery. Breakfast duly arrived within a few minutes of the agreed time (included in the fare for first class and costing extra for standard class), the pull down tray shelf allowed me to down the alloted portions while gawping at what lay outside my window. In fact, I was left wondering when the glorious sights were to ease off to allow for ablutions (you get a covered sink in the berth) and collection of belongings but there was to be time for those necessities too.
All in all, it was a good journey and I went out into the frosty Fort William air not feeling the worst for wear after the night’s travelling. If I ever get to doing it again, I’d bring earplugs to make getting to sleep easier but you cannot do anything about awakenings caused by jolts as the train changes tracks at a junction. Even so, you do arrive feeling far better than you would after travelling overnight on a coach. On the surface, there are issues with value for money but a look at daytime fares helps to put that in perspective. Travelling mid-week helps too and there are bargain berths if you book ahead, especially if you are starting from London. Even with the cost issue and the fact that there are no Saturday night services, it probably is the best way to travel overnight to Scotland. While you could always fly and avoid overnight travel altogether, you’d miss out on those early sights of the hills and lochs and that has to be better than worrying about environmental consequences and luggage considerations. That the airborne option is not always cheaper either makes it less sensible to miss out on those visual delights.
130, 27, A34, A537, Alderley Edge, Arriva, Buses, Cheshire, England, Knutsford, Macclesfield, Manchester, Road Works, Traffic, Wilmslow
In Buses, Happenings, Incidents, Observations, Timetables on November 26, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Two nights ago, the A34 was reduced to gridlock after a digger was left in the northbound lane by Bollington Lane. To be fair, it was guarded by temporary traffic lights but that in itself was the cause of havoc. Not only did they back up traffic by themselves but they must have caused trouble with the permanent lights at Monk’s Heath as well as those around where the Alderley Edge bypass is to join the A34. That roundabout should be complete by December 17th though the bypass exit from it will not be operational until 2011. However, both sets of temporary lights stopped everyone in their tracks those few evenings ago with their reduction of passage to one way progress. Thankfully, Birse Civils learned their lessons and the Bollington Lane lights were gone within 24 hours though it might have been better for them to have realised the potential effects beforehand. My guess is that they will not be seen again until after the completion of the roundabout though I do wonder if they have gone to the A537 instead because the 27 (Knutsford-Macclesfield) was heavily delayed tonight. As if all this weren’t there apparently have been another set of temporary lights in Alderley Edge and their acting up has caused its own troubles. All in all, motorists might need to consider avoiding the A34 at rush hour for the next year if these experiences are any sign of what lies ahead. Buses don’t have that luxury so public transport users will have to make do and put the bus tracker to good use.
CrossCountry, England, Manchester, Northern Rail, Timetables, Trains, Virgin
In News, Observations, Suggestions, Timetables, Trains on November 17, 2009 at 7:26 am
After last year’s big timetable change, I highlighted on here an inconsistency whereby northbound Virgin and CrossCountry services ran so close together within the hour that we virtually had an hourly service from Macclesfield on Sundays. Well, that seems to have been sorted with a more sensible half-hourly spacing but southbound services would seem to suffer the same affliction on the same day of the week. After the December timetable changeover, things are set to look better but they lapse again in February. All in all, It makes you wonder if these companies speak to each other with the aim of improving customer service. Perhaps, we need to voice our concerns.
Altrincham, Cheshire, Chester, CrossCountry, England, Knutsford, Macclesfield, Manchester, Northern Rail, Northwich, Stockport, Stoke-on-Trent, Timetables, Virgin
In Observations, Timetables, Trains on November 16, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Until yesterday, I was under the impression that the Sunday service on the Mid Cheshire railway line between Stockport and Chester consisted only of three trains running each way. There is some vague memory of a timetable of that shape lodge in the back my brain but it’s two-hourly these days and proved to be good enough to lure me as far as Chester yesterday. There may have been a delay to my outbound journey of the order of 35 minutes because of a delay to the train from Southport but I was far from incensed. The extra time was used to potter around Stockport’s nicer parts (around Stockport Village where its markets are held) and the sun stayed out to shorten the journey around by Knutsford and Northwich. Chester was under cloudy skies when I arrived but the clouds had dissipated by the time that I came to leave the pleasant spot.
A subsequent shamble around the web has revealed active community involvement in the line with there being websites for the associated community rail partnership and local users group. It makes you wonder if any service improvements are a result of the added involvement and the enhanced Sunday service then would make sense. My web wandering also took by the website of the community rail partnership for the Manchester-Crewe line and there would seem to have been improvements there too.
This vein of thought is beginning to make me wonder if a community rail partnership for the Manchester-Macclesfield-Stoke line is in order with Northern only running three services each way of a Sunday and none of these going northbound earlier than the first Virgin service starting from London. Unlike others, we might have been spoilt with what we have and I am getting to wonder if we are paying for any complacency and if we could be made to pay even more. There is the East Cheshire Lines Rail User Group but could it be more active? Where I am going with this is that is a question that only we can answer and it might be time for all of us to give it a bit of added oomph, particularly after the reduction in CrossCountry services and the disruption that we suffered for far too long during the West Coast Mainline upgrade.
A34, Alderley Edge, B5087, Buses, Cheshire, Highways Agency, M6, Road Works, Traffic, Wilmslow
In Buses, Happenings, Observations on November 6, 2009 at 12:23 pm
It’s an oft discussed topic but you do get to wondering how things might be if we didn’t bother with winter time and stuck with its summer counterpart all of the year around. I am led to believe that summer time continued into the winter months during WW2 with double summer time coming into force when BST usually would hold sway. By all accounts, everyone got along and it looks as if it would have been the least of the troubles that anyone faced.
However, I have noticed that November evening traffic is blighted with disruption from time to time and wonder if not putting back the clocks would help. There was an occasion when an overturned lorry between Alderley Edge and Wilmslow severely disrupted my journey home from work, delaying it by next to 90 minutes. We may have satellite tracking of buses (Cheshire East Timeline) these times so you can stay indoors until the bus is near but it is too easy to let disbelief take over when buses don’t seem to be moving at all and go outside to make sure of getting home; the onset of darkness concentrates the mind. That’s how it appeared on Tuesday night and the tracker hadn’t packed in as suspected but traffic had backed up to an horrendous level because of road works due to the construction of the Alderley Edge bypass and some work on the B5087 within that village itself.
That bypass should help avoid instances like those described above but you can get closures on the M6 too so I wonder how it would cope with the motorway traffic. It goes without saying that the village of Alderley Edge cannot take the onslaught with its pedestrian lights, junctions and school and such a situation had me keeping an eye on the Highways Agency website for a while (the BBC’s Travel News website is a useful port of call too). Cheshire East Council’s bus tracker easily dispatches that habit to history and things do seem to calm down in December. Nevertheless, it is striking how traffic chaos still occurs from time to time during an economic recession.
Éire, Bicycles, Cheshire, Dublin, England, Heuston, Leeds, Macclesfield, Northern Spirit, Rail Engineering, Rail Replacement, Railways, Skipton, Taxi, Trains, Virgin, Wilmslow, Yorkshire
In Observations, Trains on November 5, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Yesterday, I set down my observations and thoughts regarding carriage of bikes on buses. Perhaps naturally, my thinking has taken me into the area of carrying bikes on trains. On paper, that’s an easier proposition because most trains have some space set aside for bicycle storage. You may need to pay extra for carriage with a long distance express operator (Virgin Trains, for example) but it is included in the walk-on ticket price for most operators. The exceptions to this usual level of provision are some commuter services in the south-east of England where you have to sneak on folding bikes as luggage, a draconian state of affairs in my opinion.
Mind you, carrying any bike on a busy train is not the easiest thing to be doing. That’s what I faced when I needed to convey one from Skipton to Macclesfield in 2000. Thankfully, an obliging Northern Spirit train conductor allowed me carry it on even when there were bikes already on board and the DMU, like many, had only two spaces. Then, there was getting around Leeds station. There are lifts there now but this was before the major refurbishment that gave us what we see today and you needed a helpful station attendant to take you around use goods lifts and shop workers neglected to close the doors after them and the lift at platform level with us on the bridge! That made an already involved exploit a little more anxious than was needed. Saying that, I still caught my train to Manchester and another to Wilmslow due to rail engineering works. The Manchester changeover must have passed off with no trouble because I have no memory of it but getting from Wilmslow to Macclesfield involved a man with a very large taxi, a Ford Granada/Scorpio estate. If that wasn’t there, things would have been far more tricky.
That whole episode captures quite a few of the challenges that you have to overcome to get anywhere on the railways with a bike in tow. If there are engineering works, then you could be facing the obstacle that is the non-carriage of bicycles on buses or coaches. Even if there aren’t, there’s getting around train stations and Leeds is now both brighter and easier to get around than it use to be. Nevertheless, ticket barriers have been added and they are a new obstacle to be overcome that isn’t exclusive to Leeds since their use is spreading in the U.K. and beyond with Dublin’s Heuston Station now having them in Éire; thankfully, a certain amount of presence of mind has given us wide gates for those carrying wide articles with us. Finding space on a train is an ever enduring issue and may be one that is never resolved completely. In fact, modern trains have been getting less good at conveying luggage anyway, so much so that Virgin try to encourage you not to bring along too much; it is best not to attempt moving house by train then unless your worldly goods are none too numerous, not a situation in which I find myself anymore.
All in all, you can take a bike around with you on next parts of Britain’s railway network though there’s a spot of extra effort needed. It isn’t simply a matter of grabbing your bike and jumping on a train for a day out in the country. After a busy week of work, that may be sufficient to make you go for a walk instead and that’s partly how I got into hillwalking; the fear of punctures and mechanical failure hasn’t helped either. For a longer trip away or moving home to take up a new job like I was doing in the story above, the effort is worth it and does work. It just needs planning and patience rather than spontaneity. Saying that, the temptations of car use of bicycle hire are ever present too.
Arriva, Bicycles, Bus Éireann, Buses, Charleville, Cork, Edinburgh, England, Fort William, Gwynedd, Ireland, LUAS, National Express, Scotland, Scottish Citylink, Trains, Wales, X94, Yorkshire, Yorkshire Dales
In Buses, Coaches, Observations, Trains on November 4, 2009 at 12:12 pm
I remember making a return journey between Charleville and Cork in Ireland when a passenger just popped a bicycle into one of the coach’s side lockers and it was carried without further ado. When I had the idea of doing the same on an outing from Edinburgh to Fort William, I was thwarted because carriage of bicycles on buses and coaches is not the norm. The phrase that lingers in my memory, regardless of whether it actually was said that way or not was “This is not a train”. Undeterred, I secured my bicycle and left it after me to enjoy a wonderful day out. The change of plan was no spoiler though the it did alter how I spent the day.
There are some who might say that the above contrast between Irish easygoing helpfulness, the same type that allows the carriage of forgotten luggage on a service coach from Galway to Dublin without charge or facilitating the retrieval of a case left on Dublin’s LUAS tram system by myself and I half-asleep after an early morning flight from Manchester, and British adherence to process and procedure. While I cannot doubt Irish helpfulness, I am more inclined to attribute the differences in outcome to differences in legal systems.
Whatever the cause, non-carriage of bikes by buses and the paucity of accommodation for them on trains (a story for another time) has fostered the growth of my interest in hillwalking at the expense of cycling. Ironically, it is in the types of places where I go walking that there have been innovations when it comes to carriage of bicycles by buses. In the Yorkshire Dales, trailers have been attached to Dennis Darts for the purpose. In other places, you see the use of racks mounted on the back for the same purpose and the X94 that goes between Chester/Wrexham and Barmouth comes to mind but there are others. Having bicycle pens within the buses themselves is another way of achieving the same and I have vague recollections of this being done in Snowdonia and the northwest of Scotland. On the subject of vague recollections, I have another one of seeing a photo in Buses magazine where seats have been replaced by a place to put bikes on what appeared to be a double-decker.
Though none of those ways to carry bikes on buses are widely available, there is an argument in favour of making that happen. After all, having a bicycle in a wheelchair or buggy space on a low floor bus is likely to cause a nuisance and you couldn’t even get one on the older step entrance vehicles. Then, there’s the prospect of breaking up a bike to carry it on a National Express coach service and that sounds like something that you would do if you were carrying one on an airplane. Of course, there are those folding bikes that people sneak onto commuter trains at peak times as luggage but is that really ideal for that day out in the countryside exploring its quieter roads? All in all, it’s a state of affairs that encourages car use but remains a tough nut to crack whichever way you go about it.
Bosley, Buses, Cheshire, Connect 19, Cycling, England, Macclesfield, Monk's Heath, Prestbury, Road Safety, Upton Priory, Wilmslow
In Buses, Observations, Suggestions on October 22, 2009 at 12:23 pm
One of the things that amazes me about Cheshire is where you can find footways and traffic lights. Sometimes, these are as far from dense urban areas as you can hope to get. The traffic lights at Bosley Crossroads are typical of the type as perhaps are those at Monk’s Heath. That’s never to say that they are not needed but it is telling how dense traffic can get on Cheshire’s roads at times that even rural locations are afflicted by the malady.
On the other hand, it can amaze one where there aren’t any traffic lights either. For example, having one at the junction of Green Lane and Alderley Road (A538) in Wilmslow would surely help the 130 on its way to Macclesfield during the rush hour. The possibility that really comes to mind is the staggered junction between Priory Lane, Macclesfield Road (B5087) and Prestbury Road near between Upton Priory and Prestbury. I was reminded of this twice when come home from work on my bicycle because with busy filter lanes, someone could take a chance when they shouldn’t and anyone on a pedal cycle cut come off badly as a result. The Connect 19 passes the way too so visibility mightn’t always be what it should be. Of course, you should never pull out of a minor road onto a major one when you cannot see what’s happening but we all can make mistakes, can’t we? It’s not a particularly nice part of the road system of a dark evening or morning so I often wonder if anyone does come a cropper around there.
History, Ingleton, Sedbergh, Settle-Carlisle Line, Thornton-in-Lonsdale, Trains, Yorkshire, Yorkshire Dales
In Observations, Trains on October 20, 2009 at 11:54 am
There are times when we get to wondering how much better things might be if history had turned out differently. Of course, it always could have turned out worse too so we need to be careful with our wishful thinking. In that vein, sticking with change the present for the better rather than wishing that the past was different is the better path to be taking.
What has taken me down this train of thought is the sight of an unused viaduct in Ingleton over the weekend. Until 1954, there was a railway line that served places like Ingleton and Sedbergh and the path that it took eerily shadowed the Settle-Carisle (Ribblesdale) line. In fact, that should never have needed to be built but for a dispute between two railway companies disrupting passenger travel arrangements and Ingleton’s viaduct was at the heart of the dispute, so much so that passengers needed to walk from Ingleton to Thornton-in-Lonsdale and there a railway connection between them! Just imagine if you will what the uproar this would generate today.
The outcome of all this was that the Ingleton-Sedbergh (Lonsdale) line became diminished in status with the Ribblesdale one taking over and surviving all attempts to close it (there were a few but it looks secure for now). In the former’s heyday, 6,000 folk descended on Ingleton of a day to wandering by its waterfalls. Mercifully, it’s a much quieter spot now and provides generous respite from the madness of modern life. If the Ribblesdale line never existed, the Lonsdale line might have survived and become the way to get to Yorkshire’s Three Peaks. You only can imagine how isolated places like Horton would feel with occasional bus services being the sole means of getting there; it could have made the Pennine Way feel so much more wild than it does. The Wensleydale line might still be there to allow trains to travel between Leeds and Carlisle via the East Coast Mainline.
All of this theorising might seem pie in the sky thinking but it’s decent fun to do stuff like this without taking it seriously and it allows an escape from the strictures of modern living for a little while too. It all goes to show how the non-existence of something bequeathed to us by history, even a single train line, can cause things to be so different. Taking out the Settle-Carlisle railway would have us going around by Lonsdale or Wensleydale rather the routes that we actually do take to get to immerse ourselves in peaceful countryside.
England, History, HS2, Improvements, Lancaster, Manchester, Northern Rail, Preston, Stations, Trains, Transpennine Express, West Coast
In Incidents, Observations, Suggestions, Trains on October 19, 2009 at 2:08 pm
A Saturday outing to the western end of the Yorkshire Dales had me travelling around by Lancaster and that meant my train journey was set to take in the striking bottleneck that is the Manchester Piccadilly-Oxford Road-Deansgate-Salford line. While I had admit that it may be a difficult and expensive thing to do but the restrictive approach to Manchester Piccadilly always amazes me. It is, I think, a consequence of history in that it is a hangover from a time when Manchester had more termini than it does now. For instance, what is now the Museum of Science and Technology was once the terminus for the Manchester and Liverpool railway right back at the start of the railway revolution. Then, there was Manchester Central and that train shed has become G-Mex. Manchester Victoria was the terminus of choice of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway company, a map of whose network still adorns its walls. These days it seems underused with its better western connections but it is a mile away from Piccadilly so I suppose that makes it less convenient for some though its situation next to the Arndale Centre is more central than that of Piccadilly.
What reminded me of all of this was a 20-30 minute delay that afflicted the 07:54 Northern stopping service to Preston. My plan was to use the 08:15 Transpennine Express departure that was to follow it but I tend to use what is at hand rather than sticking rigidly to plans; in fact, my train was retarded so as not to delay the progress of that 08:15. The cause of the disruption was a fright train in difficulty, not a good thing to have on the line between Piccadilly and Oxford Road. Though it may prove expensive and disruptive, I would like to see quadrification of the through line from Piccadilly. In reality, we are probably more likely to get an HS2 rather than this kind of meaningful advance. Small changes that don’t arouse much in the way of excitement are less likely when there is cash about than the shiny one.
Cheshire, Edinburgh, England, Gwynedd, Harlech, Lockerbie, Macclesfield, Machynlleth, Manchester, National Rail, Timetables, Trains, Wales, Wilmslow, Wolverhampton
In Observations, Timetables, Trains on October 14, 2009 at 11:45 am
With a fine weekend in prospect, the mind turns to getting out and enjoying what’s on offer. In that vein, I tried looking up train times for a return journey between Macclesfield and Harlech, all on the same day with one change in Wolverhampton and maybe another in Machynlleth, only for the National Rail Enquiries website to tell me that it was impossible. The workaround was to look for a single outbound journey and a single return journey, not ideal but I got the information that I needed. While this was a case of curiosity more than anything else, I might be nonplussed if I was after a bargain fare in preference to the standard Off-Peak Return; knowing that such a search would prove fruitless anyway would have meant sticking with a walk on fare so I wasn’t bothered.
While it has come a way since its original incarnation, the episode illustrates that creases still need to be knocked of the National Rail Enquiries journey planning algorithm. When the website first came on the scene, I was left wondering why they couldn’t have used the excellent engine that Network Rail had inherited from Railtrack; it was one of the few things that they got right. It was all the more puzzling when the new planning engine was nowhere near as good as its predecessor. Glitches like not being told about journey options via Wilmslow when engineering work disrupted the normal Sunday services between Macclesfield and Manchester was but one of the inconsistencies.
Of course, any system is only ever as good as the data supplied to it. A striking example of that was the carrot of having an early Sunday morning rail replacement coach to Wilmslow for a day out in Wales. The advised coach service turned out to be a work of fiction so my travel arrangements had to change as did any plans that I had. A good day was enjoyed but not in the way in which I had envisaged it. The same sort of thing may explain the lack of available fares sometimes when there is engineering work ongoing and that between Lockerbie and Edinburgh earlier this year comes to mind.
While I can deal with this and find my way around the rail network anyway or even turn to other journey planning services, what must it all seem to someone who isn’t so savvy? I can see it looking very offputting and that’s a pity because public transport needs all the support that it can get in these leaner times. Taking this further, public transport needs to sell itself better and easier journey planning is part of this. Websites that don’t deliver may not cause someone to pick up a phone or visit their nearest staffed train station but set them to choose to drive or even fly instead, hardly the type of thing that should be happening. The National Rail Enquiries website may have won awards and offer the option to sort out accommodation along with your train ticket but what use is all of this if the journey finding algorithm or the information supplied to it aren’t up to scratch? After all, that’s why people go to the website so both of those need to take precedence over any other fancy features that some might care to add.
Buses, England, Powys, Timetables, Veolia, Wales
In Buses, Observations, Timetables on October 11, 2009 at 8:19 pm
Most bus companies offer collections of timetables on their websites but Veolia Transport doesn’t bother, merely telling everyone to go Traveline instead. When the rest of your competition offers the more complete service, this looks lazy and makes your bus enterprise look like an afterthought bolted on to your environmental services, water and energy divisions. Going further, it gives the impression that the organisation is a jobsworth utility company, surely not what it wants to do at all. It wouldn’t be such a problem if all of the areas where Veolia operates took up the baton and compensated accordingly but that in’t always the case. Until recently, Powys was such an example but a new website seems to address this so it is a case of giving credit where it is due. Veolia probably still needs to make more of an effort though, even if it makes a good job of providing the actual services. For example, it operates LUAS, Dublin’s tram service, very well and I can vouch for the quality of the provided customer service but that needs to make its way onto the web for all to see.
130, 42, Arriva, Buses, Cheshire, Congleton, Crewe, D&G, Holmes Chapel, Macclesfield, Manchester, Timetables
In Buses, Observations, Timetables on October 9, 2009 at 12:13 pm
A thought struck me while looking at the service frequency for D&G’s service 42 between Congleton and Crewe via Holmes Chapel. It is hourly Monday for the full route and two hourly on Saturdays for the same (it runs only between Leighton Hospital and Crewe on the intermediate hours); there is no Sunday service. Arriva’s 130 exhibits the same type of behaviour with an hourly daytime frequency on Saturdays and Sundays while it is half hourly during the other days of the week. Intuitively, you would have thought that, away from the rush hours, less folk would be using buses on a main work day in comparison to Saturday when the shops are open for the same hours and there are more folk off work to visit them. However, it doesn’t seem to go like that. Confounding factors might include folk spending their free time at home and not travelling about or people using services that are closed at weekends. Both of those could explain why the streets of Macclesfield are next to empty of an evening; if there is nowhere to go then nobody comes. Another thing to remember is that there is an inclination to spend a whole day going somewhere for some activity rather than dividing it up into short chunks. All of these must affect patronage and might explain why the service level of a Sunday simply drops over a cliff. All in all, the behaviour of hoards can be very odd and I suppose that it has its effects on bus timetables too.
Appletreewick, Barden Bridge, Bolton Abbey, Grassington, Ilkley, Pride of the Dales, Wharfedale, Yorkshire, Yorkshire Dales
In Buses, Happenings, Observations on October 1, 2009 at 7:01 pm
Part of last Saturday’s journey to Burnsall had me using service 74 from Ilkley to Grassington. It is a subsidised service operated Monday to Saturday by Pride of the Dales on behalf of North Yorkshire County Council. The route travelled ensures that only small single decker buses are used with Optare Solos being the mainstay these days. An arch over the route at Bolton Abbey precludes the use of double deckers while the narrow road from Barden Bridge to Burnsall by Appletreewick (pronounced as “app-trick” by the locals) is challenging enough for a Solo driver let alone that of a larger vehicle.
The use of smaller vehicles would lead you to think that not many use the service and I was surprised to see the extent of the patronage of the 11:35 from Ilkley last Saturday. In the event, I was lucky enough to get on first and find a seat right at the back so that my rucksack didn’t get in the way of anyone and allowed others to sit around me because I knew that we’d struggle with the numbers. In the end, there was standing room only (with any of these looking unsteady on the legs being offered a seat) and I was inclined to wonder if my getting off at Burnsall would involve displacing standees from the vehicle only for them to have to re-embark afterwards. However, enough left us at Bolton Abbey to ease that possibility although there was a dog owner sat in the middle of the floor later on. Neither was I the only one to leave at Burnsall either so that made things easier and no more disturbance was caused than was needed.
130, 27, Arriva, Bowers, Buses, Cheshire, Edinburgh, England, Knutsford, Lothian Buses, Macclesfield, Manchester, Scotland, Timetables, Traffic
In Buses, Observations, Suggestions, Timetables on September 16, 2009 at 2:58 pm
I was up in Edinburgh for the last weekend of August and noticed that a goodly number of bus stops were supplied with display boards showing when the real number of minutes until the arrival of the next bus(es). The arrangement of the information seems to be by service number rather than time with there being two slots per service. There is some sense to this if you are after a particular service but, if you are of a more flexible mindset, it may seem a little strange at first. Another peculiarity is that the very useful offering only applies to Lothian Buses and not other operators in the city like First or Munros. In fact, Lothian’s services can be so regular that you wonder why satellite tracking is used for them at when it would make far more sense for longer distance services entering and leaving the city while plying their way to destinations like the Borders or Fife. The counterpoint to that is that it saves you having to inspect bus timetables attached to bus shelters and people standing or sitting right in front of them.
The relevance of all this to Cheshire is pertaining to its current piloting of bus tracking services 27 and 130. It is needed especially badly for the 130 with its propensity for getting delayed along its route, particularly at busy times. As if to remind me of the point, the one taking me to work this morning was the most of twenty minutes late. However, my impression is that you need to start up a computer to get the information, as useful as even that it. However, the last thing that you really need to being on going out the door in the morning is going through of starting a computer up to see when the next bus is due and then shutting it down afterwards. That sort of thing can cause you to leave it on all of the time, hardly an environmentally friendly practice. An obvious alternative to this is delivery via mobile phone (text messaging would be handy for those without web enabled handsets) or displaying the time until the next arrivals at well used bus stops like what is in place in Edinburgh. In reality, I can see this type of installation having to await the outcome of the current pilot but I still feel that it’s where things should be headed.
Aviemore, Birmingham, Caledonian Sleeper, Cheshire, Crewe, CrossCountry, Edinburgh, Ireland, Irish Rail, Rolling Stock, Scotland, Scotrail, Trains
In Observations, Trains on August 18, 2009 at 8:44 pm
Last week saw me travel to Aviemore for a few day’s stay by way of the Caledonian Sleeper and I perhaps foolishly stuck with seated accommodation in the spirit of thrift. Scotrail seem to use Mk 2 carriages for that role and the roar when the brakes are applies cannot be missed. Might I suggest earplugs for a more peaceful night’s rest? The same din was to be heard from Mk 1 Craven carriages used by Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail) until not so long ago but I reckon that they have been banished by newer coaching stock. In the days before the introduction of the Voyagers, the same metallic sound pervaded a cold December nighttime journey from Birmingham to Edinburgh after a job interview. In this day and age, it just makes me wonder why no one ever thought to change the bogies on the Mk 2 coaches to quieter ones like what are common on their Mk 3 and Mk 4 successors. However, that may have had something to do with the money available for such work when they were more commonly used. Replacing them with Mk 3 rolling stock is probably more sensible now that there has been an influx of new trains over the last decade and that the SuperExpress is in the offing. That leaves me to wonder when Scotrail might get to releasing the Mk 2’s from overnight duties. With the economic environment right now, that well may be a matter of money, a scarcer commodity in these troubled times.
