OPSTA

Our campaigning is evidence and data based and repeated passenger counts has helped us greatly in this regard. We plan to resume in March. We are also working in close collaboration with Edge Hill University on the development of a travel survey which is close to fruition.

@willydunn One of many examples why GBR must be well designed new organisation, a fully managed implementation with the right people and not just a migration of the as is to new offices. We have lots of local bad examples!

The train pictured can carry at least 589 passengers. At 7am it's £193 per *standard single* ticket. How could possibly make sense to run it EMPTY for 200 miles! In rush hour!

Important thread and more every point in reply is valid: unreliable, costly with cliff edge fares outside GM, failing & inadequate train fleet, excessive journey duration not direct to Piccadilly & airport. Another year without a fair seven day working arrangement/ timetable

@patrick_hurley Thank you, for existing and new followers access latest newsletter here opsta.org. We post more on bluesky @opsta81 but will be doing a few replies here. For email updates on our efforts and to channel your feedback message here or email opstasurveys@gmail.com

The good folk at the Ormskirk, Preston and Southport Travellers' Association ( @opsta15 ) have been fighting the good fight on the terrible service on this line for years. Give them a follow, both here and on Blue Sky.

Residents often get in touch with me to complain about the Southport to Manchester railway service. It's been substandard for many years, but I'm hoping to try to get that changed. So to experience it for myself, I've got myself a return ticket today to live tweet the journey.

@SouthportQlocal @patrick_hurley @SouthportLabour we know many Southport residents notably commuters pay a premium price to have the option to travel via Liverpool just to be sure of getting to work and home, on paper a longer journey time but ...

Patrick had a 'ticket to ride' on the Northern Line #southport @patrick_hurley @SouthportLabour qlocal.co.uk/southport/news…

posting more on bluesky now as @opsta81

We will be conducting passenger counts on four of the next five days on the Ormskirk-Preston and Southport-Wigan lines

Comprehensive data gained from last month's passenger counts which will be repeated this month. Before that meeting with Edge Hill Uni to discuss pilot survey

@RAIL will that free up any desperately needed diesel units for Northern?

Chiltern Railways Mk 5As in service from early 2026 - how fleet will allow for more services railmagazine.com/news/chiltern-…

Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday we will be on the Preston Ormskirk line conducting passenger counts and piloting an online passenger survey.

@alexhornbyrail @BRTANorthernEng @northernassist @ponterail @PontefractCivic Alex, I do find your statement incredible. Is or will the schedule be published with times as we have a lot of people that would like to speak to the senior management of Northern?

@BRTANorthernEng @northernassist @ponterail @PontefractCivic All stations are covered by the leadership team within 12 months, but happy to prioritise others. Aware of the issues you describe though, complex but very much in hand to rectify.

As part of our duties to visit every property and station on the network, and review & create improvements, I’ve spent my day in Middlesbrough to meet our crew depot team and customers here. Thanks to Conductors Standards Coach Karl for hosting.

@do27941932 @meolscop1978 @BRTANorthernEng @AndrewBrownEdit @BRTACampaigns In 2021 Network Rail confirmed they own the alignments and did not identify any impediment. OPSTA has always advocated a ground survey however none of the civil engineers we have sought advice from foresee any serious issues.

@meolscop1978 @BRTANorthernEng @AndrewBrownEdit @BRTACampaigns @opsta15 No housing has been built on them

Reopening of the #Burscough Curves is one of several reopening campaigns @BRTACampaigns supports. Reopening these two short lengths of abandoned railway would enable direct services to Southport from Preston & Ormskirk. @opsta15 @BRTANorthernEng

@Coast1079 @BRTANorthernEng @CllrDeFreitas @BRTACampaigns Exactly

@BRTANorthernEng @CllrDeFreitas @BRTACampaigns @opsta15 And that’s why the new Merseyrail sets have batteries too !

@AlanJi73069669 @BRTANorthernEng @BRTACampaigns Cost depends on how this is done but very modest; the two intact alignments are each just 6-700 metres. Based on a number of inputs including one time modelling by Steers there would be a million journeys annually.

@BRTANorthernEng @BRTACampaigns @opsta15 Cost? Predicted passengers?

@charliemansell @BRTANorthernEng @BRTACampaigns Yes if as implied with ironic humour this got them reinstated, we would expect more services to be operated over them than the Ordsall chord which was many times more expensive 😄

@BRTANorthernEng @BRTACampaigns @opsta15 Could they be called Chords rather than Curves? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordsall_C…

@mitchell_hurd @northernassist Couldn't say 'well' but better as a lot of services need improvement. To be fair Northern desperately need government backing on seven days working arrangement in the west region and more reliable diesel/hybrid trains

@opsta15 @northernassist Oh I thought Northern were doing well now?

Positive meeting with @northernassist this afternoon and hopefully making some headway on addressing our service deficiencies

@DavdotFo @JBN268 @northernassist @AndyBurnhamGM @TFGMBeeNetwork Southport and Stockport often misread for each other. In fact both this line and Southport -Wigan corridor could benefit from active @TFGMBeeNetwork backing.

@JBN268 @opsta15 @northernassist @AndyBurnhamGM Almost correct Jake. It's Stockport, Reddish South, Denton and Manchester Victoria. The line, stations and all the infrastructure is there. So come on @TFGMBeeNetwork Give us a service

@PaulFosterMP @ThatsTVLancs How did you get on with @northernassist trains at the drop-in yesterday and any headway on getting a station at #midgehall?

Always good to chat with @ThatsTVLancs...

@ColinWareing1 There is a lesson in this

@opsta15 what do we reckon for the Burscough curves then???