Northern Rail

[SK15 GZG (Moderator)]

RE: Northern Rail

(10/06/2015 19:10)wirralbus Wrote:  I would actually like to see a more useful service than what is presently on offer between Ellesmere Port and Helsby , only one of the services having a connection with merseyrail services at Ellesmere Port in the morning . You actually do wonder who does the train planning .

If the number carries such a low number of passengers as you have previously stated - then I really can't see why it would make any sense whatsoever to put on a more frequent service with such low passenger numbers. The Helsby-Ellesmere Port route is a low frequency service for a reason - if the passenger numbers were high enough to justify having a more frequent service then it would be more than the twice daily weekday frequency it is at the moment. Whilst connections to other services are indeed useful this can't always be achieved even with planning - especially if the unit is diagrammed to operate elsewhere before or after operating the service. In this case as SprinterDriver has said - the unit has to run light from Lime Street presumably after operating another service

It would be a poor use of resources and it would cost the franchise operator more money to run any additional service(s) than they would make in fares. Unless something like a pair of Parry People Movers a bit larger than the Class 139s on the Stourbridge Branch Line were brought in to operate the route - then I can't see this service frequency being increased any time soon