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I think arriva hold the contract for all the merseyrail replacements but its just that its been hectic and was short so they got the sub contract for the late turns.

(28/09/2013 17:19)motormayhem Wrote: [ -> ]I think arriva hold the contract for all the merseyrail replacements but its just that its been hectic and was short so they got the sub contract for the late turns.

No and yes.

Arriva have to tender for every bit of engineering work that happens on Merseyrail along with several other Merseyside operators. Merseyrail might award 99% of the work to Arriva but they do have to tender.

If Arriva hold the contract for the work how come Abellio / Peoplebus worked the Liverpool Loop work the other month?? Yes, they won the contract.

I was informed that when Laird st are short of drivers for the rails they normally get lads from Bootle to cover the shortfall but due to Bootle covering the Hunts Cross - Central work tomorrow they are short of drivers hence the sub-contracting to Stagecoach.

Yes i work for arriva but not at laird st or bootle and im over there today and tomorow but arriva had the full contract for this as if you remember arriva bootle ended up finishing that contract off when peoplesbus was doing it but it was arriva who contacted stagecoach not merseyrail.

(28/09/2013 20:17)motormayhem Wrote: [ -> ]Yes i work for arriva but not at laird st or bootle and im over there today and tomorow but arriva had the full contract for this as if you remember arriva bootle ended up finishing that contract off when peoplesbus was doing it but it was arriva who contacted stagecoach not merseyrail.

The loop block the other month was split into 2 parts. Arriva won one and Abellio / Peoplesbus won the other. Arriva and Abellio / Peoplesbus both fulfilled there contracts as tendered.

I don't think I ever mentioned that Merseyrail contacted Stagecoach apart from sending them a tender. Arriva won the contract and it was them who sub-contracted some of the work out. If there are any problems with any of the work then the 1st (and only) port of call will be Arriva.

I understand what your saying,sorry for my confusion.

Merseyrail's allocation of capacity makes zero sense at the best of times. Last Sunday, they quite rightly provided 6 cars on the final day of the summer service of 4 trains per hour between Liverpool and Southport. These were well used and much welcomed. However, today they've again allowed a 75% drop in capacity to happen just seven days later, despite the weather again being excellent and equally bright and warm, if not more so, than last weekend.

The trains were overcrowded, hot and uncomfortable which really is very poor for a Sunday. The return journey had four bikes in one carriage at one point which couldn't use the cycle spaces, which were full of passengers. On the back of such a strong summer, with 6 cars across the board most weekends since the May timetable change and every weekend since the end of June, I expected they'd continue to provide them this weekend with the weather still excellent. Not to be - we're just fortunate to have such a quality bus route in the X2 as a viable alternative to reach Southport. No sardine treatment on this service.

Im surprised that the drop in the quality of the Sunday service has not been brought up with Merseytravel as the funder of the Merseyrail service , its not as if they don't have the sets for the service after all .

(29/09/2013 17:19)wirralbus Wrote: [ -> ]Im surprised that the drop in the quality of the Sunday service has not been brought up with Merseytravel as the funder of the Merseyrail service , its not as if they don't have the sets for the service after all .

I would assume that the dates of the 15 min service and the 6 car date WERE ALREADY AGREED with Merseytravel before the timetable started, so they're not doing anything that they're not supposed to, but I acknowledge your point about the good weather, however - it's sometimes difficult to predict the weather, and the numbers travelling, at short notice.

I think we need to find out from 507009 whether we are talking about a 30 min service with three cars or six cars on the Southport line .

There is a flourishing leisure and shopping market , with occasional big sporting events on Sunday's now .

I wonder what the Passenger Charter has as a top line for standing passengers.

It was 30 minute 3 cars, hence the point that capacity is reduced by 75% in the space of a week. I do agree with 507022 that Merseyrail aren't doing anything to concern Merseytravel, but the passengers shouldn't be subjected to overcrowding like that when the clear majority of the fleet was not in use today.

The winter Sunday service has been inadequate for years, but it really stands out on warm days like this. To me there's no doubt the 30 minute Sunday service should always be 6 cars, if a year-round 15 minute service isn't introduced on Sundays. The forecast was good all week for the weekend, but even if they did start out today with 3 cars, they should have been doubled up when the high loads became apparent. There were more than enough units stabled on the Northern Line to achieve this with minimum fuss.