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| Running extra services 15/07/2013 at 13:50 #47169 | |
John
884 posts 
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Probably one for the controllers: Fabulous warm sunny weather at the weekend with many heading en masse to the beach or to concerts etc. So when a TOC wants to run additional services to relieve overcrowding, what is the process? Obviously you need stock and crews, but what about permissions / charges? Is it simply a case of the NR train running controller and TOC train service manager getting together and sorting out pathways with the TOC getting billed accordingly, or is there more to it than that? Log in to reply |
| Running extra services 15/07/2013 at 22:08 #47206 | |
guyh
54 posts |
John, Depends where you need to run it and why. Many operators run additional empty workings for stock movements, but it's much less common for an additional passenger train to just pop up. Special events will sometimes be handled by having "hot spare(s)" (hot means the train also has a crew on board) which can be slotted in where necessary. Theoretically though, NR should only permit an extra train to run if there is a slot available that won't affect any other planned working. This can sometimes be extremely tricky - if the planning headway is 4 minutes and two trains are planned 9 minutes apart, then theoretically you can't slot another one in between. That's why extra trains are better when they are pre-planned, as the NR/TOC/FOC train planners can adjust the timings of other trains that are in the way (with permission when they are someone else's). On the day (actually VSTPs can be done the day before too), the process is:- - TOC / FOC thinks it necessary to run another train - TOC / FOC works out what crew and stock it has and what to do with it when it gets to the other end - TOC / FOC must already have a track access contract to run this type of stock on this route - TOC / FOC submits a VSTP (Very Short Notice Train Plan) to Network Rail, either with detailed timings, or just an outline that the NR Train Running Controller / VSTP section will then flesh out into detail. - NR either rejects the request, or enters a path into TRUST. Theoretically this path should be conflict free, but discretion can be applied if necessary. - If it's to be a passenger train, the TOC will use (for most TOCs) the Tyrell system to create the additional train in online information systems (goes to National Rail Enquiries etc, via the DARWIN system). Most TOCs would then have to enter it separately into one or many Customer Information Screen systems so that it appears on platforms (a couple of TOC's CIS feed directly from DARWIN, some have links direct from Tyrell, most CIS have no links from other systems and would have to manually create the extra train). - Billing for the path is automatic via the train existing in TRUST, and would be charged at the standard variable track access rates that each TOC has per vehicle per mile. You can pretty much guarantee that running an extra train will cause a problem somewhere - no free platform at a busy terminus for example, and relies on having both the crew and stock handy so it isn't very often done. Also, if the overcrowding is temporary, you probably can't react quick enough. If you have 10 coaches worth of people and an 8-car train, there's no use telling them you'll get another 4-car ready within 20 minutes, they'll just pile on the 8-car and disappear. Most additional trains are really where a scheduled train is terminated somewhere, and a new one starts up in its path further along the route - that's a different and much simpler process by the way. Guy Log in to reply The following user said thank you: John |
| Running extra services 16/07/2013 at 15:58 #47231 | |
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clive
2789 posts |
" said:John,Which reminds me ... Back in the 19th century you could turn up at a railway station and order a special train - if there was a loco, driver, and rolling stock available (as there would be at a major station) you could be on your way to wherever you wanted in a few minutes. Does anyone have any idea what these cost? I guess they would be charged on a per-mile basis, but how much? Log in to reply |