Hello one and all.
As I said in the "Say Hello" thread, my main interest with railways are their timetables, especially those relating to G
NER, Hull Trains, GCR (whenever they decide to start operations), Virgin (VWC & VXC), MML and FGW. I'm concentrating on long distance routes, approximating to what used to be called the "InterCity Network" immediately before the TOCs took over. In Passenger Timetable (PTT) parlance, I'm looking at Tables 26, 51, 53, 65, some of 66, 125 and 135.
Before I veer off on another tangent, I've put this thread under "Passenger Operations and Observations", as it seems the most logical place to put it. However, if the moderators disagree, and want to move it elsewhere, please let me know, and we'll do something about it. I've also put something under the "Wanted" section, as I'm after specific information.
In my opinion, most of the timetables
SUCK! 
My principle criticism is that they are inconsistant and irregular. I also reckon it is possible to increase the frequencies on most services. As an example, on Table 26, if you look at the train times from Edinburgh to Newcastle on a weekday afternoon, you'll see that there's a GNER train that leaves on the hour (1300, 1400, 1500, etc),
BUT there are also VXC trains that leave at 1305, 1405, 1505 etc) Surely it is logical to have the VXC trains leaving at 30 minutes past the hour (or the GNER trains at 35 minutes past the hour). That way, you get a train every 30 mins, rather than 2 trains every hour, 5 minutes apart. Which would you prefer?
Also, another thing that bugs me are the irregular times that a train service calls. By this, I mean a service where trains leave at varying minutes past the hour. A good example are the departure times for northbound GNER trains at York. By my reckoning, they should arrive and depart at regular times past the hour. This is called CLOCKFACE TIMING, which should be endemic throughout the time table. There is a continental practice called TAKTFAHRPLAN, where trains, on different routes/services, arrive and depart the station at the same time. I don't think this is a good idea, as it means the station is packed one minute and totally empty for some time later.
What do you think? Discuss.
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