[EnigmaticStar]

LP – the connection isn;t set to one hour – it’s just that it may only be any hourly service on the route you’re connecting to so if, for instance, your traina rraives at xx:00 and the connecting train departs at xx:02 but the minimum connection time is set to 5 then it then automatically directs you on to the service one hour later if you make a through journey enquiry or book an AP ticket with a connection.

The minimum connection times are not standard because:

A) Stations have different layouts.
B) Some locations there is no “choice” over which platform you go ih. Some stations have only an Up and a Down Platform whilst others may have Bi-Directional Platforms or Terminal Bays.
C) Operators can choose to have the minimum connectional allowance reduced for where the service is infrequent or if it would breach maximum journey times

A lot of the time you will find that where connections don’t work, it’s not because we do it on purpose. It’s because of other things which have to be considered such as platform re-occupations, train crew diagramming, other operators services, and so on.

Some instances will have connections at both ends of a line and it may not be possible to make it work at both ends without then using an extra unit (which we generally don;t have, extra train crew – same story or paths for the train to run in) so then we have to reach a compromise and have the connection for the bigger flow whilst sacrificing the other.

[SimonRowberry]

Both XCountry and Virgin were good today. No real delays, despite the really poor weather.

I was only on the former for about 10 mins. Nice First Class host – checked my ticket and then insisted that I did have time for a coffee, which was immediately brought to my seat.

On Virgin I was offered sausage and/or bacon rolls (still nice and hot) immediately I got on board. Ticket only checked once. Pleasant staff with two runs of tea and coffee, as well as cold drinks, on a 45 minute trip. Comfortable seats as usual and it was good to sit in a nicely warm train watching the blizzard outside.

The Advance Purchase First ticket was £82, but worth every penny, especially on a day like today.

All the best, Simon

[tiggerbrown]

I’m delighted to see that the Train Manager was doing their job correctly by checking the tickets on board. One reason for the frequency is the change of TM (usually at Preston), and because they can’t always remember who they’ve seen before, and also because they do a “call over” for those passengers who’ve joined at intermediate stations – this is the point where you normally don’t proffer your ticket unless specifically asked to. However I see no issue with that – would you rather that any old standard class ticket holder could sit in First without paying the requisite fare?
And just because you show your ticket/shove it in a machine to get onto the platform at many UK stations there is no way to verify that you have the appropriate ticket for your journey & your class without a physical inspection.

[Author]

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