Greater Anglia has announced some changes to its intercity train times from this week as part of the preparations for autumn.
The changes are brought in to make sure that passengers still arrive in London on time by allowing train drivers more time to brake and accelerate in slippy conditions.
Leaves on the line pose problems for the railway as they stick to rails and then trains compress them into a black slippery layer on the rails that acts like black ice.
This means that drivers must slow down earlier for stations to avoid overshooting them.
From this week, Greater Anglia trains leaving Norwich, Diss, Stowmarket, Ipswich, and Manningtree before 7.30 am will depart up to five minutes earlier, Monday to Friday only.
Greater Anglia trains use an automatic sander to leave a layer of sand on the rails, cleaning any mulch on the rails.
Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia's Managing Director, commented: “We are pleased to be taking action in partnership with Network Rail this Autumn to help passengers continue to travel with confidence.
“The last six months have seen excellent levels of punctuality across the network, and we will be doing everything we can to maintain this during what has traditionally been seen as a difficult season for the railway.”
“We will be doing all we can, as ever, to make lives a little easier for our passengers, getting them from a to b reliably, safely, on time and in comfort.”
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It’s also the same thing with black ice on roads that accidents happens and drivers fail to spot the hazard.
Would it be possible for Greater Anglia to allow some of the Class 745s to stop at Shenfield, Witham and Marks Tey heading to & from Norwich. If they were to introduce a new timetable that could allow some of the Class 745s to pause at those stations. Or when the Class 720s have begun service and do go to Norwich then they could operate a stopper service that would include these stops.