Passengers asked about future of small stations
Trains on branch lines in Bath and North East Somerset and Wiltshire could stop calling at every station to speed up journey times.
It is one of the options mooted in a government consultation shaping a future deal to run services on the Great Western network, which serves Bath Spa, Keynsham, Bradford on Avon, Oldfield Park, Freshford, Avoncliff, Chippenham, Melksham, Trowbridge and Westbury.
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A passenger campaign group says the move has the scope to improve services but stressed the need to take account of the interests of all rail travellers.
The Government “fired the starting gun” at the end of last year on selecting a new operator to run services on the Great Western route.
Existing operator First Great Western (FGW) announced in May it would be exercising a break-clause in its franchise in April 2013 after seven years of a ten-year deal, saving it £826 million in repayments to Government.
The Government wants the new franchise to run for 15 years, allowing for increased long-term investment.
The consultation document is seeking people’s views on the specification to be provided to shortlisted bidders.
One of the questions asks: “Should branch line services continue to call at all branch line stations, or could the needs of most passengers be better met by omission of some of the intermediate stops on some or all of the trains, so that the final destination is reached more quickly?”
The question is highly relevant in the Bath area, where trains call at halts such as Freshford and Avoncliff.
Chris Irwin, chairman of passenger group TravelWatch South West, said of the consultation: “It’s a way of improving local services without driving people crazy.
“It’s all about service improvement for the greatest number.”
He added: “My main concern is where that sort of analysis doesn’t take account of all passenger interests.
“There are genuine needs of people locally that have got to be addressed too.
“You need to programme it so you do a bit of a compromise between the two.”
This could include providing stopping services at branch stations at times of peak demand.
The closing date for the franchise consultation responses is March 31. It is expected bids will be received in August 2012, with the successful operator being announced in December.
The new franchise is expected to start in April 2013.
Launching the Great Western franchise consultation in December, Rail Minister Theresa Villiers had said: “The franchise will be one of the first to be let on a 15-year term. We will expect the train operator chosen to run the franchise to provide high quality services, deliver improved levels of passenger satisfaction, roll out smart ticketing for thousands more journeys, and invest in improvements that will benefit passengers.”
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by airhellair
Thursday, February 02 2012, 12:10AM
“Obviously has no idea bout costs of buses either if he/she imagines a regular service would be cheaper thsn couple of unstaffed stations.....
That's the second funniest thing I've heard this week. The first was that bath uni was trying to get more "diverse and socially inclusive" students. Both are rich coming from people in bath. Thanks. :-)”
by Codicil
Wednesday, February 01 2012, 8:15PM
“Seems airhhellair wants faster journeys for him/herself even if it means others suffer and get dumped on a bus. Obviously has no idea bout costs of buses either if he/she imagines a regular service would be cheaper thsn couple of unstaffed stations. Clueless or maybe just trolling.”
by Mr_Nemo
Wednesday, February 01 2012, 7:26PM
“"There wasn't a need to add stops to a journey that was going from one terminus to another."
On which basis, no train going from Paddington to Penzance (or vice-versa) would stop at Bath or anywhere else inbetween.
""I was, of course, referring to Weston-super-Mare...."
In which case, why not say so? After all, there is a difference between Bradford (in Yorkshire) and Bradford-on-Avon, so why be 'sloppy' about Weston-super-Mare....or is there a reluctance to use Latin words ??? :-)”
by rogerh3
Wednesday, February 01 2012, 5:42PM
“Not sure why I put residents instead of passengers!”
by rogerh3
Wednesday, February 01 2012, 5:41PM
“I was, of course, referring to Weston-super-Mare (and you could add Portishead, assuming they can re-open the line to residents).”
by airhellair
Wednesday, February 01 2012, 5:28PM
“Interesting point Mr_Nemo. People from Tenby and LLanelli could have had an additional service which called at these stations. There wasn't a need to add stops to a journey that was going from one terminus to another. Infrequently, there was a fast train from Carmarthen which didn't stop till swansea. That reduced journey times considerably.
Llanelli is a 'keynsham' sized-station which serves a similar area. However, I don't see why the 2 little stations at St Clears and Burry port - between llanelli and Carmarthen, -are necessary. A regular bus service could easily connect the 2 places and would be cheaper than maintaining 2 underused stations.
In the days of puffy choo choo trains, it might have been nice to stop at every little station. From my experience, most people I know, dont want to spend any longer than they have to on trains or buses. This includes me, even with the lure of free wifi and tv.”
by Mr_Nemo
Wednesday, February 01 2012, 4:26PM
“Anil asks "Surely train travel is about getting quickly from departure point to destination?" But Anil, when you were commuting from Swansea to Pembroke, what about those people who might have wanted to go from (say) Llanelli to Tenby - did you expect them to have a seperate train, just so that yours did not have to stop on the way?
As for Saltford, rogerh thinks that "presumably many trains to Abbey Wood, Bristol Parkway, Weston .....could also stop there." I'd like to know what trains he thinks still go to Weston, given that it closed down in 1965 and the track was lifted in 1972 !!!
.”
by airhellair
Wednesday, February 01 2012, 12:40AM
“Yes, I agree that small stations are a waste of time. My feeling is that it's better to run feeder bus services to larger stations nearby. These wont be nearly as costly as maintaining small stations. The ones I've used haven't been maintained in a long time.
Commuting by rail from Bath to Bristol by rail at one time, I was dismayed at how long it took a train that left bath, crawled to Oldfield pk, then Keynsham and finally Bristol TM. These 'trains' sometimes were 2 coaches or less. In london, anything less than 3 coaches is called a bus or tram.
Some years ago I regularly commuted between swansea and pembroke, a distance of about 120k. A reasonable journey time would be about an hour or just over. The journey took double that. Partly it was as some sections were single track. Some of the time however, was spent stopping at every little station, unprotected crossings and hooting. Why, I asked Arriva Trains Wales, were they still continuing a practice which would have seemed outdated a 100 years ago. They didn't seem to get that the longer a train journey took, the less attractive it would be. I soon discovered that a national express coach took 20 minutes less, despite taking a longer route. It was also a lot cheaper.
Surely train travel is about getting quickly from departure point to destination. If you want to pootle along stopping at every little place, then isn't it better to drive or ride a moped?”
by capndave
Tuesday, January 31 2012, 9:57PM
“June yet again we are in a minority of just the two of us.
I can't wait for petrol to reach a tenner a gallon, the motorway speed limits dropped to 30 mph, all trains stopping at every station, milk, bread and groceries delivered by horse and cart.
When will people wake up and realise that they're on this earth for threescore and ten if they're lucky. Going faster, cutting corners and hedging bets ain't gonna make you live any longer than your numbers got on it. So slow down, take a long hard look at the river. It's been running nice and slow and steady for hundreds of years without a sign of stress. And funnily enough it's still there.”
by MoeXXX
Tuesday, January 31 2012, 9:50PM
“I'd like to know the reasoning behind the proposed extension to a 15-year franchise. Surely this just means that the operator who bids the lowest initial price by shifting the most risk back to the government gets an even longer monopoly.
Is this a case of 'privatisation didn't really work so we need to privatise it a bit more'?”