Why is the rail route between Peterborough and Norwich so unreliable?

Question

I travel between York and Norwich quite often and EVERYTIME there is a delay between Norwich and Peterborough, one way or another, sometimes involving changes at Ely.. It's very annoying because then I often miss my connecting trains from Peterborough and York! Does anyone know why it happens so much around that area, what I can do to help plan my journey better, or if it's just the English rail system?

Just a note - My Dad works for Network Rail so I'm well aware of the state of the nation's railways.

Also, I'm 16, so driving is beyond me at the moment :) and since I tend to go down just for the day, my parents refuse to drive me :P

And another note - It costs me nothing to travel by rail, I have a pass.. I was merely wondering why I seem to experience a lot of delays in that area.

Answer 1

It doesn't take much to throw the timetable in to chaos.

On the route you mention, there are numerous level and farm crossings. All at takes is for a farmer to forget to 'phone back the signaller to tell him that he's completed his movement, for trains to be cautioned. Other things like animals on the line, vandalism, temporary speed restrictions or signalling failures can contribute to delay.

Although your train may be delayed, this is the result of the high standard of safety procedures on Britains railways (despite the bull***t you read in the newspapers).

Answer 2

It is a secondary route. My apologies for being cynical, but all the money, since privatisation, has gone into the trunk lines such as London to Newcastle/Edinburgh, London to Manchester/ Preston/Glasgow - the lines where air competition is most valid, especially for the busines traveller.

When I travelled for business, London City to Manchester using VLM was a much better alternative than Virgin from Euston, and I would still pay business prices to fly from City to Manchester (VLM) or Glasgow (Scot-air), than risk sitting in some train listening to someone elses walkman/cd/mp3 player and the caterwauling children so common on the cheap tickets.

Peterborough to Ely features sections of single track - fine if everything runs on time and thus in sequence, but when things go awry, even by a few minutes, operations get rapidly out of synchronisation as one's (previously on time) train awaits the passage of a late runner in the opposite direction on the single line.

I was a railwayman for 32 years, and the system, even the trunk routes, is much worse than when I first started on the rail in 1974. The trunk routes themselves have deteriorated, despite their flash image and tilting trains (Pendolino). The routes where air competition is not viable, such as London to Cardiff and Bristol are operating trains that were beginning to enter service in 1976 (Inter-City 125).

Much is said about there being too many trains and the lines being overused, but this is nonsense. Until about 1990, the railways handled immense amounts of coal and mineral traffic in addition to passenger work, and yet trains ran on time on safe track. Deltic-hauled express passenger trains ran at 100 mph under 100 year old semaphore signalling between Doncaster and Retford and south thereof. The West Coast Main Line (London-Manchester/Crewe/Liverpool/Preston/ Carlisle/Glasgow) was thoroughly updated in the 1960s, and , in my book , needed no more work doing, except for the fact that the neglect of the track and signalling in the first ten years after privatisation destroyed a functioning infrastructure. This destruction was exacerbated by the wholesale clearing out of experienced railway staff at ground and mid-levels on the basis that their ideas were old fashioned and outmoded, and that track maintenance skills could be effectively replaced by management yuckspeak such as 'leveraging the advantage' and similar bullshit.

I rest my case.

Answer 3

Methinks you do exaggerate. or have been particularly unlucky. Services between Peterborough and Norwich are provided by Central Trains and a look at their website reveals that on inter-urban services the punctuality target is 91% and the actual has been 92.8% in the last 4 weeks with the annual average at 92.1%. the reliability target for the same period was: target 99.5%, actual 98.7% with the annual standing at 98.6%. See:- http://www.centraltrains.co.uk/templates/performanceIndex.aspx?id=2508

Answer 4

because it was built in the Victorian times.

The rail companies make Billions from us every year and just think about hteir lavish lifestyles and not the safety and comfort of the passengers that use the train services.

Many delays are caused by power lines failing because they dont replace them - they only do repairs.. you can easily see all the joins when looking carefully!!

I get delayed every two days atleast travelling to London - it's either signalling faults, train faults, suicide attempts of youths chucking stuff on the rails.

Like i do - when you travel long journey's go by car .. it is much cheaper !!!

Answer 5

Its english rail
would be better for you to drive :)