2008

The End is nigh!

Page last updated 02/01/2009

1979

1980

1981

1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995 no contents yet
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004 no contents yet
2005 no contents yet
2006 no contents yet
2007 no contents yet
2008
Links no contents yet
Home
 

INTRODUCTION:

December will see the end of through services from the Sussex Coast to Birmingham and beyond after nearly 30 years. The current service is very imbalanced to early morning departures northbound. On Sundays there even some ECS moves between Three Bridges depot and Bournemouth and v/v!  All services are substantially slower than 30 years earlier largely due to poor pathways on the Brighton line and the Great Western mainline. The promised speed up of services failed to materialise.

 

Update 15/9/08 In theory engineering works permitting the last northbound service would have been the 1422 Brighton to Manchester Piccadilly on Saturday 13th December and the last southbound service would have been the 1754 Manchester Piccadilly to Gatwick. Cross Country introduced a revised timetable on the 8th of September which has affected the Brighton services.....yes there's less. On Saturday 13th December the last northbound service will be the 1422 departure from Brighton which now only goes as far as New Street. The last southbound service will now be the 1833 New Street to Gatwick. Both are of course subject to engineering work alterations.

There is now no southbound service on a Sunday and most trains on Saturday have been cut back to New Street. The 1754 departure from Manchester has been withdrawn completely on Saturdays.

 

Update 6/12/08. LAST DAY OF SERVICES 13th December 2008.

XC have done it again. The last day trains to Brighton have been altered....for the worse.

Northbound:- normal Saturday service runs.

Southbound:-

0933 New Street to Brighton runs as booked.

1633 New Street to Brighton terminates at Reading stock then ECS to Eastleigh.

1833 New Street to Gatwick cancelled.

Back in October I booked seats on the 1633 departure through to Brighton so this is not a good move as far as any fare paying passengers are concerned.

 

But there is a final fling.............well sort of!

This was copied from the Southern Electric Yahoo Group.

Following the cessation of the Arriva Cross Country train service from the 14 December timetable on the route up from Reading through Kensington Olympia to Brighton has I am told caused a problem with three sections of line no longer directly used by passenger trains. ( Factory Jct to Latchmere Jct, Mitre Bridge to Acton Wells Jct and Acton Wells Jct to Acton Mainline )

Thus, to keep the "track rights" active, a "parliamentiary train" or to be more precise a rail replacement bus service,is apparently being run by Arriva XC. All vaild National Rail tickets accepted. As XC trains no longer go east of Reading. I can only presume that the bus will run empty for many years. I can't see much call for XC passengers.

Tuesdays only:-
Ealing Broadway 09.45 via Olympia 10.25 to Wandsworth Road 10.55
Wandsworth Road 13.15 via Olympia 13.45 to Ealing Broadway 14.25

 

The service does not appear in any timetable paper or on line it is alos not in TRUST or the TSDB and is operated by Tellings Golden Miller. The double deck coach seen on the service has a window board showing the bus operating on behalf of Arriva XC although I believe the DfT are actually paying for it.
Also see the bottom of this page for questions in the House of Commons.


TIMETABLE and ROUTE:

Northbound The first two departures from Gatwick are routed via Redhill and Guildford as is the sole Sunday service. The other two trains run via Clapham Junction, Latchmere Junction, Mitre Bridge Junction, West London Junction, Acton Wells Junction and then a slow trundle down the West of England mainline to Reading. The route after Leamington is as per 1979, via Solihull, Bordesley Junction, St Andrews Junction, Proof House Junction and into Birmingham New Street. From Sunday 14th September the 0940 Brighton to Birmingham New Street is now routed via Coventry and Birmingham International.

Southbound routing has no surprises apart from 1O23 which after Latchmere Junction is routed via Longhedge Junction, Factory Junction, Brixton, Herne Hill, Tulse Hill, Streatham and Streatham Common before regaining the Brighton mainline. This is for route knowledge purposes but as there is no northbound equivalent it must be of little use. What happens more often than not is that if the train is late it is routed via Clapham junction to regain time by East Croydon.

 

 

 

December 2007 to 13th December 2008

M-S M-S

M-S

M-S

SUN

SUN

Headcode

1M02 1M03

1M11

1M21

1M11

1M11

Notes

B B

 B

 B

 BC

BE

Brighton

   

0921D

1422

0940

0940

Haywards Heath

   

0933D

 

0952

0952

Gatwick

0515 0545

0946

1451

1012

1012

Redhill

0533 0604     1033 1033

Guildford

0600 0651     1102 1102

East Croydon

   

1009

1509

   

Kensington Olympia

   

1037

1536

   

Reading

0640 0740

1140

1640

1140

1140

Oxford

0706 0806

1206

1706

1207

1207

Banbury

0725 0825

1225

1725

1225

1225

Leamington Spa

0743 0843

1243

1743

1243

1243
Coventry           1303
Birmingham International           1314

Birmingham New Street arr

0818 0918

1318

1818

1315

1330

Birmingham New Street dep

0818    

1818

   

Wolverhampton

0839    

1839

   

Stafford

0854    

 

   

Stoke

0913    

1913

   

Macclesfield

0932    

1932

   

Stockport

0946    

1946

   

Manchester Piccadilly

1002    

2002

   

B = Buffet.

C = Until 7th September 2008.

D = Saturdays only from 13/9/08 departs Brighton 0915, Haywards Heath 0934.

E = From 14th September 2008.

 

 

December 2007 to 13th December 2008

M-S

SO

M-S

SO

M-S

SO

M-S

SUN SUN

Headcode

1O09

1O09

1O23

1O23

1O27

1O27

1O29

1O23 1O29

Notes:

 BA

BC

 BA

BC

 B

BC

 BA

BD BD

Manchester Piccadilly

0754

 

1454

 

1654

 

1754

1555 1655

Stockport

0803

 

1503

 

1703

 

1803

1604 1704

Macclesfield

0816

 

1516 

 

1716 

 

1816 

1616 1716

Congleton

0824

 

1524

 

1724

 

1824

   

Stoke

0839

 

1539

 

1739

 

1839

1635 1735

Stafford

0857

 

 

 

 

 

 

1653 1753

Wolverhampton

0913

 

1613

 

1813

 

1913

1709 1809

Birmingham New Street arr

0930

 

1630

 

1830

 

1930

1728 1828

Birmingham New Street dep

0933

0933

1633

1633

1833

1833

1933

1733 1833

Leamington Spa

1000

0958

1700

1658

1900

1900

2000

1800 1900

Banbury

1019

1017

1719

1717