#service update

This is due to animals on the line.

As this is the last train of the night, you are well and truly fucked if you were supposed to catch this train. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause you.

In light of what happened earlier, I've decided to update my pinned post here (and over on @reds-self-shipsafterdark).

I would like to make it very clear that:

I maintain a scorched earth, zero tolerance whatsoever, policy towards any hurtful or harmful messages or content sent to this blog – without exemption.

If you deliberately go out of your way to send me anything hurtful or harmful (e.g. deliberate hate anons, deliberately sending stuff to try and trigger or otherwise upset me, etc.), you will be blocked on sight and without exemption from this blog and any others that I operate now or do so in the future for the sake of my own protection and safety.

Thankfully, this applies only to a very small portion of people who view this blog and/or choose to interact with me.

To those who continue to show kindness, thank you! 😊 I look forward to interacting with you and seeing you again on the Dashboard/on Discord soon!

And for those who choose to be mean, wise up and take notice.

Hello everyone, 

I’m sorry for my unscheduled absence and for not answering any of your lovely ‘ask’ questions recently. Just a couple of RL issues keeping me away currently. Looks like they’re set to go on for a little while longer. But don’t worry, I’ll be back soon. 

Take care everyone. 

Love, peace ‘n’ Beatles. 

Alright guys, college is about to commence for me again, so I thought it might be prudent to give a small writing update.

This is what I have planned for the rest of 2017.

Fanfic:

I plan to continue Fanfic Friday.

Adventures in Faerie will have seven, maybe eight, chapters, so that fic is about to end.

After that, I’ll probably be back to one-shots. I have some prompts that have been in my ask-box forever (sorry about that guys), which I will try to get to in due course.

Original writing:

I currently have two different projects going on in the original fiction department:

1.       The novel. I have finished the first two drafts. I intend to start working on it again in October. I won’t look at it in the month of September, so I can look at it with fresh eyes. I hope to have the final draft finished before 2018 commences.

2.       Tales of Faerie. This is a collection of short stories. All are fairy tale retellings. You can find it on Wattpad. I will try to update this baby every Monday ,meaning that every Monday, a new chapter of roughly 2000 words will be uploaded (that is usually not an entire story). The stories I’ve planned for this collection are (in random order):

-          Greens, a retelling of ‘Rapunzel’ (completed)

-          Gingerbread, a retelling of ‘Hansel and Gretel’ (completed)

-          Thorns, a retelling of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ (completed)

-          Pale, a retelling of ‘Snow White’ (first part should be up next Monday)

-          Rouge, a retelling of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’

-          Salt, a retelling of ‘The Little Mermaid’

-          Blue, a retelling of ‘Bluebeard’

-          Pumpkin, a retelling of ‘Cinderella’

-          Seven, a retelling of ‘The Six Swans’

-          Slumber, a retelling of ‘Sleeping Beauty’

-          Pea, a retelling of ‘The Princess and the Pea’

Maybe I’ll get heartily sick of fairy tales before reaching the end of this list, and maybe I’ll be enjoying myself so immensely that I’ll add more (on that note: if you guys think I’ve missed an important fairy tale, let me know!)

We understand the frustration this has caused to our passengers, particularly owing to the necessity of employing rail replacement buses at a large scale for the duration of the upgrade. This costs us a lot of money to contract as well, and as we are a publicly-owned operator, this expenditure does not earn us any favours with the powers that be either.

Instead, we would like you to direct your irate comments at @network-rail, who are responsible for delivering the Transpennine Route Upgrade as the infrastructure manager for our railways, and not us, TransPennine Express, who are supposed to operate trains. We would also encourage affected passengers to write to their MPs about High Speed 3, the cancellation of which precipitated the necessity of this upgrade as a consolation prize for the North. We cancel and short-form our trains because we are TransPennine Express, and not because of infrastructure issues.

The Transpennine Route Upgrade programme is a major, long term project that will reduce journey times, improve connectivity in the North, as well as contribute towards the national strategy of decarbonising rail transport. Once the upgrade has been completed, passengers will be able to enjoy faster, more frequent train services between Manchester and Leeds, as well as TransPennine Express destinations farther afield for business and leisure alike, subject to design and capacity limitations on our existing trains.

The programme will involve full electrification of rail lines between Manchester and York via Huddersfield, additional lines east of Huddersfield, improvements to stations including Stalybridge and Leeds, as well as a new through platform at the Grade I listed Huddersfield station, and redesign of many locations where roads meet the railway. The upgrades will be sustainable and efficient to the maximum degree within the remit of the public procurement process.

Planned engineering works may result in significant changes to your journey plans, and we recommend that you review the service alterations described herein and adjust your plans (and expectations) accordingly.

South Route

Due to works on the Hope Valley line, the usual through service from Liverpool Lime Street to Cleethorpes will instead run in three segments:

Between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Oxford Road

Between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield via Huddersfield

Between Doncaster and Cleethorpes

Journeys between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield will take significantly longer due to having to take a different route, and will not serve Stockport.

North Route

The East Coast Main Line will be closed through Darlington for engineering works, and rail replacement buses will run between York and Newcastle, calling at Darlington, Durham, and Chester-le-Street. On Sunday 8th March, trains will not call at Northallerton due to engineering works. A rail replacement bus service will run between Darlington and Thirsk via Northallerton.

The usual route between Leeds and York will be closed for Transpennine Route Upgrade works, and revised services will run as follows:

The service between Manchester Victoria and Scarborough will be extended to Manchester Airport

An hourly service will run between Liverpool Lime Street and York

Services to/from Redcar Central and Saltburn will only run as far as York

Services to/from Hull will only run as far as Leeds

Services between Manchester Piccadilly and York via Wakefield Kirkgate will only run between Manchester Piccadilly and Huddersfield on the western end and between Wakefield Kirkgate and York on the eastern end. Passengers travelling between the two segments should use the service between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield described above in the South Route section

These services will take longer between Leeds and York on a diversionary route.

Additionally, ticket holders may travel on @northern-fail replacement buses calling at all stations between Leeds and York via Micklefield. Passengers may also choose to travel on the 840 or 843 buses, but please note that this is not included in your rail ticket as we do not negotiate with our competitors.

Good news: our Children’s Room is open again!