The message now is “Essential travel only”
This is the message on the TfW web site. Thank you to all our essential workers.Take care out there.
TfW cut weekday trains to Sunday services
TfW have today announced that they will be running only Sunday services from Monday 23rd March. This is in response to the virus pandemic and reduced footfall. There are a few additional trains running, but the list published does not include anything for the Crewe and Shrewsbury service. The earliest timetabled train out of Shrewsbury will be the 08.24 stopper getting to Crewe at 09.12, so this destroys the early commuter service. The TfW link is here
TfW on safety and wellbeing during the Coronavirus outbreak.
Transport for Wales are offering their advice on the virus outbreak. They say We’d like to reassure you that the safety and wellbeing of all our customers and staff are our top priority during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak throughout the UK. We’ve put measures in place to support your safety on our trains and to give you flexibility with travel plans. Current NHS guidelines indicate that most people can continue to use public transport safely for necessary travel. Please do consider your own health circumstances with respect to other public transport users and the NHS guidance. You can read more […]
Nantwich and Wrenbury volenteers win awards for station flowers
Nantwich has scooped another award in the Cheshire Best Kept Station Competition. Members of Nantwich In Bloom collected the Merseyrail In Bloom Award at a ceremony at the Grange Theatre, in Hartford. The awards were set up to celebrate and recognise the hard work of station adoption and community groups across Cheshire. Wrenbury Station also scooped an honour, winning the Roberts Bakery Award for most improved station. Crewe Station won TravelWatch North West Award for larger stations. The ceremony, attended by more than 150 guests, shines a light on improvements to stations, from gardening to arts projects and other community […]
TfW trains, a perfect storm.
TfW inherited a poor deal from Arriva in 2018, with no plans for new trains. Arriva’s long franchise anticipated no growth and had no requirement to look ahead. So one of TfWs early jobs has been to find additional trains. Unfortunately other franchises got in first and the manufacturers have full order books. The main order for new trains is with CAF for class 197’s, but these take time and will not be with us until 2022 at the earliest. They have also ordered refurbished suburban trains for Cardiff lines, converted from old London electric trains. These are 2 years […]
Jam tomorrow – new trains for our line!
With TfW taking over the operation comes a promise of new trains. But its going to be a while and we have to wait. No jam for tea tonight! All the class 150, 153, and 175 trains are planned to be withdrawn in the period 2022-24 but this is dependant on new trains being delivered and put to work. This sounds easy, nice new train, what could go wrong? But all UK train operators are finding that it does not go well, with combination of late delivery, long driver training programmes, and early life techncial problems all conspire to cause […]
Wem crossing down times
I have looked at the data from November 2018 that NR sent with the FOI response. There are 1500 readings in the month with a whole spread of times from 1 minute to the longest at 13 minutes. A good pass for a not stopping single train will be 2 minutes. For a north bound stopper a good pass is 4 minutes, and bit less for the south bound. For a good double pass, 6 minutes. For a bad double or triple with freight.it could be 10-13 minutes. The worst times are 14.30, 18.40 and 20.30 when two or three […]
Station footfall data updated 2018/9
A member has provided data for some stations including those on our line. Shrewsbury, Wem, Whitchurch Wrenbury, Nantwich and Crew all show significant growth. Yorton is level and Prees has dropped back. The headline station is Nantwich with an annual growth given as 9.72%. This will not be a surprise thto those who wait in the rain at the station for commuter trains in the rush hours to and from Manchester. So much for Arriva’s zero growth assumptions. We always said it was wrong. The question is “What will TfW do to move with the times?” Do they even know […]
KeolisAmey fined £2.3m for poor performance
It is widely reported in the local and national press that KeolisAmey have been ‘fined’ for poor performance. The Welsh Assembly Economy Minister Ken Skates is quoted and saying that the penalty notices were “vital”, saying the company had not lived up to what was agreed. Recent improvements must continue, he added. The company took over the £5bn franchise in October 2018. KeolisAmey apologised for the disruption of the last few months. It is not clear when the fines were imposed. Transport for Wales said it was a “overall sum” imposed over “different periods”, with fines issued on a periodic […]
Update on TfW new timetable December 2019
A new railway timetable started last Sunday. During the week there is little, if any, difference, but on Sunday there are major changes. For decades CASPA have been asking for an improved service on Sunday, with a mininmum of a train every other hour. We now have this. We lose most of the through Manchester – Wales services that now go non-stop Crewe – Shrewsbury (there are a few exceptions). In there place is a regular shuttle between Crewe and Shrewsbury calling all stations, similar to during the week. Hopefully this isn’t the last change to Sunday services, TfW have […]