I last visited Pilning station in July 2006. Here is whats changed (and what hasnt) :
Pilning station is currently served by stops in the West Country - Weston - Super - Mare - Cardiff Central service.
This service does not appear in the final FGW December 2006 timetable and neither do any trains that call at Pilning.
The Weston - Cardiff service is to return , but the Monday - Friday Pilning stops wont be making a comeback.
Pilning has 10 car parking spaces available.
And still does today. Thats 8 more parking spaces than the number of trains that call at Pilning per week.
A very recent independent assessment of the Pilning station facilities found that the nameboards had not been First Great Western "re-branded , " unlike the vast majority of stations on the FGW network. First have been there , because they have put up a FGW poster and taped over the Wessex Train logos.
The nameboards on the footbridge are now FGW - branded , but the one on the former station building still has "Wessex Trains" written on it. FGW have now put a poster up stating "there is a very limited train service from this station" (!) and which also lists the 2 trains per week that call there. To give them credit , the shelters are in good condition (better than at Melksham , for example) and the usual no - smoking / train tracker signs are on display. The information point (for what its worth) is also in working order.
Pilning has a telephone box but it is in a very poor state , and it was suspected that the telephone itself had not worked for some time (emergency calls only.)
Its still not working.
The sidings are still up for sale , but the coal yard has now been sold.
I can't see loadings being very high on a Pilning train. It is in the middle of nowhere!
Heres an interesting fact :
I was at Mottisfont & Dunbridge station very early the same morning.
Did you know that there are less houses within 5 minutes walk of Mottisfont & Dunbridge station than there are within 5 minutes walk of Pilning station?
Yet Mottisfont & Dunbridge will have a 2 - hourly (rising to hourly in the peak) service from December 2007 , while Pilning will remain on 2 trains per week! This is bizarre , when a study of the timetable tells us that there is virtually no time penalty to be accrued from calling at Pilning (same principle as STJ on the other side of the tunnel.) As if to prove my point , a totally unannounced 1508 service called when I was there waiting for the 1541 to Cardiff (anyone know why?)
While I wouldnt begrudge Mottisfont & Dunbridge their improved service for one moment , I do feel that some consistency (even if only in the form of a Monday - Friday commuter service) is called for regarding Pilning.
There is a lively Coffee Shop debate on this subject in the link below.
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=814.msg3251#msg3251
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