Posted 16th December 2013 | 10 Comments

Protests as train runs past 'closed' station

RAIL USERS in Nuneaton are protesting after a promised late night train from London proved to be an illusion -- because it is unable to stop in their town. The problem has apparently arisen because no staff are on duty when the train arrives.

In theory, the new timetable on 6 December should have included a stop at Nuneaton on the 22.50 Virgin Trains service from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly, with a booked calling time of 00.40. Virgin said the journey was longer than during the day, because of freight trains on the route.

However, slow or fast makes no difference to the people of Nuneaton, because when the 22.50 reaches the station it runs straight through.

The reason is that the station is closed by that time, and it appears that the station's manager London Midland was not aware that Virgin was planning an arrival after midnight.

Talks are now apparently underway between the two operators, and the outcome will probably rest on which -- if either -- is willing to pay for late night staff.

A spokesman for Virgin said: "We are looking for solutions to this issue. But in the meantime online systems have been amended to remove the stop at Nuneaton."

No one at London Midland was available for comment.

Reader Comments:

Views expressed in submitted comments are that of the author, and not necessarily shared by Railnews.

  • les burge, leicester

    Stations should not be staffed by Tocs. It does not work for the passengers best interest.This is another example of it.

  • John Paterson, Falkirk

    I worked in a station where if it was unstaffed then passengers could not get off the platforms.

    It was on a split level and they had to go downstairs, through the building to get out onto the street, not for the first time did a train arrive at the station when it was unstaffed, few hairy moments.

  • James Palma, London

    I bet the train ran on time, by not having to stop though. As an experienced railwayman who also has worked on buses and trams, many delays are actually caused by passengers!

  • Simon Walton, Fountainhall

    What utter utter utter utter utter incompetence. I mean how dare these insolent passengers attempt to interfere with the running of the railway. Leave it to the professionals you good-for-nothings, stop trying to tell experienced hands how to do their jobs. Honestly, when this gets out, every Tom Dick and Harry will want trains to stop at scheduled stations.

  • Tim, Sheffield

    If LM didn't know about VT's 00:39 stop at Nuneaton, how did they add it into their Crewe - Stoke - Stafford - London timetable available on their website?

  • Rudolph, London

    Bureaucracy in its worst form.

  • Chris Neville-Smith, Durham

    Would it be a stupid question to ask why you can't just stop the train at a station without staff, like we do for pretty much every station in the north-eat?

  • Thomas Allen, Albufeira, Portugal

    There are dozens, possibly hundreds, of stations around the country where trains stop late at night when no staff are present. What is the problem?

  • Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex

    Its time stations served by more than one train company were transferred to Network Rail or in London TFL I wonder if this was one of the reasons original private rail companies built their own stations and created the messy interchange we have inherited?

  • Tim, Devon

    Another reason why all stations should be owned and managed by Network Rail