| Checking on your train running just before you set off Posted by grahame at 06:41, 15th September 2026 |     |
From another thread - good question - I would be guessing at a general answer
I think its an excellent idea,but how many travelers would check their booked train is not cancelled before they leave home?
Personally, leaving from home, I usually check. I need to allow 25 minutes from home before the train's departure and I would rather plan an alternative if my train is cancelled or seriously delayed. I do not really want to be waiting / sorting stuff out when I get to the station, as there is usually a very long wait for the next train, even assuming that's running. With a shuttle up and down, staff, infrastructure or train problems tend to mean that if one train's cancelled, there's a higher chance that the next one(s) are as well. Sometimes, 1 train cancellation will result in my aborting a whole day's travel
If a train is shown as delayed, with a new estimated time before I leave home, I will tend to leave home anyway as the train may leave before the estimate. For example, the 05:11 from Gloucester calls at Melksham at 06:29, but if it is advertised at being 10 minutes late from Gloucester, that will show up as 10 minutes late at Melksham too on Journeycheck, but that's only an estimate and it may well make up most of that delay by a quicker reversal at Swindon.
Travelling home from elsewhere, I inevitably keep an eye in on what's happening ahead. At this point, journeys cannot realistically be aborted (except in extremis) and I look to amend plans if something is going wrong. Unlike the outward journey, poor performance of more frequent services inbound to connecting stations make a difference - outbound, I can often realistically wait for the next train, but inbound a longer distance train cancellation of delay makes a big difference - between catching and failing to catch a connection. Also inbound / afternoon train services are more prone to cancellation.
That's just personal - based on experience and the metrics of my local station. What about others?
| Re: Checking on your train running just before you set off Posted by Phantom at 10:12, 15th September 2026 | |
If I have planned in advance to travel, I will always check Realtimetrains before travelling, but if a spur of the moment thing I would just turn up, but that would mainly be because I would be on route that I know there are regular services available
