Llandudno railway station

[Bri Roberts]

  It's absurd that people can't get directly between Liverpool and Llandudno in a single train trip.

Even better if North Wales was linked up to Liverpool Airport.

[SDQ]

  It's absurd that people can't get directly between Liverpool and Llandudno in a single train trip.

Even better if North Wales was linked up to Liverpool Airport.

Just out of interest, where are you going to conjure up the extra trains and staff to operate these new services & who will fund it?
Who's to say if they did run a direct service from North Wales to Liverpool that they would start from Llandudno? It's possible they would run from Holyhead to Liverpool so that would still involve a change at Llandudno Junction so you'd be no better off. If they did run direct from Llandudno it would probably be to the detriment of the long established Manchester service. Then you would lose your connection to the more popular Manchester Airport.

[Ian]

I suspect the train companies will always be able to find the rolling stock and the drivers / guards, etc.  But to  the second point surely the service would be demand-led?  After all, the train companies are private, so if they thought there'd be sufficient demand they'd arrange things accordingly. And Liverpool and Manchester airports cater for different travellers: Liverpool is largely short-haul, low-cost travel, while M/c is mainly long-haul big name fleets, such as Swiss Air.

[DaveR]

Then you would lose your connection to the more popular Manchester Airport.

Is there a direct connection to Manchester Airport at the moment, or do you have to change anywhere?

[SDQ]

Then you would lose your connection to the more popular Manchester Airport.

Is there a direct connection to Manchester Airport at the moment, or do you have to change anywhere?

The 07:56 arrival and 18:44 departure are the only airport trains, all the others involve a change to get to the airport. Not sure if this is for operational reasons or not as I don't work for ATW.

[Fester]

Then you would lose your connection to the more popular Manchester Airport.

Is there a direct connection to Manchester Airport at the moment, or do you have to change anywhere?

The 07:56 arrival and 18:44 departure are the only airport trains, all the others involve a change to get to the airport. Not sure if this is for operational reasons or not as I don't work for ATW.

Don't you know anything about trains SDQ?     

[Cambrian]

Arriva Trains Wales have always been keen to run all their North Wales services to/from Manchester Airport.  The two SDQ mentions were the result of a previous application by ATW which was objected to by Northern Rail/Transpennine. ATW have applied for more paths but this has again been blocked for the present. ATW are pursing some sort of appeal to the Regulator. ATW services wait in a siding just east of Piccadilly for around 50 minutes before making the return journey. This time could usefully be spent running to the Airport and back.

The privatised rail service is very complicated - if ATW get more services into the Airport, they would be entitled to a greater %age of the fares booked to and from that station.  Clearly other operators do not want to see some of their income shared with another!
 
Although privatised, the rail network in not particularly competitive.  Just remember what happened to Wrexham and Shropshire's service to Marylebone because Branson & Co would not allow them to pick up at Wolverhampton and effectively banned them from Birmingham altogether.

[Cambrian]

Just a quick up-date on the airport services.  Apparently the other two operators have withdrawn their objection but there still remains one from Network Rail.  Earliest these could begin would be the December changes provided the NR objection can be resolved.

[SteveH]

Chancellor George Osborne said the Government wanted to ‘look at’ rail electrification to North Wales on a visit to the Airbus wing making plant in Broughton.

Mr Osborne toured the site - which employs 6,000 people - with Secretary of State for Wales Stephen Crabb as he announced a Chinese export finance deal that could help support Airbus’s growth in the Far East.
During the visit he spoke to the Daily Post about infrastructure investment and North Wales’s place in the Northern Powerhouse.

Rail electrification is going ahead in South Wales but there has been no firm commitment in North Wales.
Businesses, the Wales Office and Welsh government are working to press the case for the investment.
Talking about rail investment, he said: “We are investing in infrastructure, we have done that by investing in the Halton Curve which helps connections with North Wales.

“We want to look at rail electrification here, a key part of that is the plan for HS2 and potential rail hub at Crewe which greatly strengthens the case for electrification into North Wales.
“That is the next stage of the plan, we need to get HS2 plans nailed down.

“If Crewe is the big rail hub for this part of the United Kingdom, North Wales will be a huge winner.”
He added: “North Wales is connected to the Northern Powerhouse, this is not just for England.

MORE....http://www.dailypost.co.uk/business/business-news/george-osborne-look-at-north-9681614

[Bri Roberts]

We caught the 14.57 from Blaenau Ffestiniog this afternoon arriving into Llandudno at 16.17.

I was grateful to find the toilets still open with its extended summer hours and so did many other passengers.

However, the closing times displayed outside both the Ladies and Gents are still displaying 2.30pm.

Oops !

[DaveR]

Great news! 


The number of train services running from North Wales to Manchester Airport will triple from today.

An application from Arriva Trains Wales to extend their existing agreement has been approved by independent regulators, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).

The move will see the number of direct trains from North Wales and Chester to Manchester Airport increase from 17 to 57 weekly.

Trains will start at Llandudno.

Arriva say the extension will bring “strong economic benefits,” as well as improved access to the airport for many North Wales residents.

Vale of Clwyd MP, Dr James Davies said: “This is a victory for common sense – Manchester Airport is by far the most important international airport serving North Wales and is easily reached by road but for most, travel by rail has been a non-starter. From Monday, rail will be a real option, with hourly direct services.

“This is good news for those seeking holidays abroad but I hope will also assist in boosting the North Wales economy.”

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/arriva-triple-number-trains-running-11335267

[Bri Roberts]

I had a look earlier and found that a direct service to Manchester Airport took longer that another train with changes at Chester and Crewe.

[Bri Roberts]

and cost more.

[DaveR]

I had a look earlier and found that a direct service to Manchester Airport took longer that another train with changes at Chester and Crewe.

It does seem to go round the houses a bit, but I suppose we must be grateful for anything!

[SDQ]

I had a look earlier and found that a direct service to Manchester Airport took longer that another train with changes at Chester and Crewe.

It does seem to go round the houses a bit, but I suppose we must be grateful for anything!

The Llandudno to Manchester service takes longer because it stops at all stops where as the service via Crewe is more of a limited stop service. You can't have everything your own way and if it didn't stop for passengers what would be the point?