From the report ...
Further advances in the transfer of rail passengers to normal local bus services have been made more recently.
Central Trains, in partnership with Staffordshire County Council, currently convey Norton Bridge rail passengers on a local bus service between Stafford and Stone. The train operator also entered into partnership with Staffordshire University and a local bus operator to modify a service which was originally designed to meet the needs of students. As a result, local rail passengers travelling between Stafford and Stoke (especially those boarding and alighting at Barlaston and Wedgwood) presently use this service rather than a dedicated rail replacement operation.
These developments have enabled the complete withdrawal of the “bespoke” Central Trains replacement services linking Stafford and Stoke, saving in excess of £250,000 a year.
This reads like a celebration of a saving of money ... with no reference to extended journey times, and the inconvenience to the passengers.
It may (or may not) surprise you to learn that the SRA proposed the closure of Norton Bridge , Barlaston and Wedgwood stations (links below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/staffordshire/4222561.stmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norton_Bridge_railway_stationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barlaston_railway_stationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedgwood_railway_station"Now the authority has announced it would prefer that Stoke-to-Stafford remained as a bus service."
However , that was under the current closure guidance , and not the "streamlined" version due to come into effect on 1 December 2006 (see links below.)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/F3641215?thread=2441627http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=446.msg1314#msg1314http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=577.msg1715#msg1715"Regrettably, the guidance once again raises the spectre of bustitution and makes clear that in addition to the money which could be saved by closure the potential value of the land which could be sold as a result of closure should be taken into account by the cost benefit analysis. Commenting on the procedures with specific regard to bustitution the highly respected Rail Business Intelligence journal recently said: "the fundamental problem is an underlying assumption that buses, which obviously incur negligible infrastructure costs, are in principle as good as the rail services they replace. The danger is that bustitution will inevitably emerge as the cheapest option for a substantial proportion of the network as the noose tightens".
Christian Wolmar June 2005 article "The spectre of cuts by stealth is stalking the railway" link.
http://www.christianwolmar.co.uk/articles/rail/516.shtml"The other way in which information about cuts will dribble out is through the Route Utilisation Studies, originally produced by the Strategic Rail Authority but now the province of Network Rail. A good example here is the Stoke on Trent – Stafford local service which serves local but, as the SRA puts it, ‘lightly used’ stations. Indeed, according to the SRA’s statistics, about eight to ten people on average use each of the 18 trains to get off at one of the four intermediate stops – Wedgwood, Barlaston Stone and Norton Bridge."
"Of course, in part this is a result of a reduced service. There is broadly about a train every two hours which is not enough to attract many people out of their cars. The journey takes 28 minutes, compared with 18 on the fast train and most of the trains in the middle of the day are virtually empty since the bulk of what passengers there are travel during the morning and evening peak. To make matters worse, because of a shortage of rolling stock the trains are currently being replaced by a bus service on which no fares are collected." (and now by a local bus service , rather than a dedicated rail replacement operation.)
"The SRA in the West Midlands Route Utilisation Study has argued that the service should be scrapped so that the rolling stock could be used to strengthen peak hour services in Birmingham, which, of course, also has the additional advantage of freeing up capacity for the London – Manchester services."
Here is a link to the recently - released West Midlands franchise stakeholder briefing document.
http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_railways/documents/page/dft_railways_613537.doc"Norton Bridge, Barlaston and Wedgwood stations will continue to be served by replacement bus services operating under contract to 2009. A review of bus and rail options to serve these stations will be undertaken with interested parties and the franchisee during 2007-8."
Norton Bridge station has no means of access since the footbridge leading to it was removed in 2004. It doesnt take a genius to work which of the above "options" is more likely to be adopted.
Save The Train warned of this in June 2006 (link below.)
http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/melkshamrailway/140_is_part_of_a_planned_war.htmlThe service between Avonmouth - Severn Beach is in a similiar position , in that the rail - replacement bus observes ALL stops between Avonmouth - Severn Beach (link below.)
http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=593.msg1772#msg1772Here is the answer :
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmhansrd/cm060426/text/60426w01.htm#column_1092Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether it is his policy to replace rail services with bus services on the (a) Par to Newquay, (b) Liskeard to Looe, (c) Totnes and Ivybridge to Plymouth, (d) Chippenham to Frome and (e) Severn Beach routes. [64774]
Derek Twigg: Other than the continuation of existing arrangements whereby buses provide some services between Avonmouth and Severn Beach, there is no policy to replace rail services with buses on any of these routes.
FROM THE CURRENT MONDAYS TO FRIDAYS TIMETABLE (up to December 2006) :
Train - Trowbridge 0736 - Melksham 0745 - Chippenham 0800.
Bus - Trowbridge 0740 - Melksham 0805 (schooldays) 0812 (non schooldays) - Chippenham Railway Station 0847 (schooldays) 0839 (non schooldays.)
Train - Chippenham 1759 - Melksham 1809 - Trowbridge 1823.
Bus - Chippenham Railway Station 1735 - Melksham 1802 - Trowbridge 1823.
Train - Chippenham 2227 - Melksham 2237 - Trowbridge 2246.
Bus - Chippenham Railway Station 2210 - Melksham 2230 - Trowbridge 2248.
FROM THE DECEMBER 2006 MONDAYS TO FRIDAYS TIMETABLE :
Train - Trowbridge 0708 - Melksham 0717 - Chippenham 0726.
Bus - Trowbridge 0701 - Melksham 0721 - Chippenham Railway Station 0739.
Train - Chippenham 1858 - Melksham 1908 - Trowbridge 1917.
Bus - Chippenham Railway Station 1834 - Melksham 1856 - Trowbridge 1915.
Looks like its SOMEBODY'S policy to me.
It is also my view that those who decide these matters have decided to "do a Calne" on the Melksham train service (see quote below.)
This is one of the aspects of the Melksham issue that concerns me most. It looks to me like First were conducting a usage survey.
Journey Statistics Link.
http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=233.msg589#msg5895% from and to Chippenham.
Here is Map 3 of the original Beeching Report.
http://www.shropshiretransport.info/beeching/report1/maps/Map03.htmDean , Dilton Marsh & Dunbridge all appear as red dots (£0 - £5000 per annum) yet none of them appeared on the closure list. They have survived to this day.
Despite this , as Graham and others are aware , I am just as concerned about the future viability of the stations above as I am about Melksham.
Melksham appears as a blue dot (£5000 - £25000 per annum) yet it both appeared on the closure list and was indeed closed.
However , the most facinating line in the Southampton - Swindon area that was closed in the Beeching era was Chippenham - Calne.
Calne appears on Map 3 as a green dot (over £25000 per annum)
Have a look at the link below. Pages 2 & 3 show how Beeching assessed passenger train services. Interestingly , just as the DfT do today , Beeching used the average passenger per train method as part of the assessment process.
http://www.shropshiretransport.info/beeching/report1/15%20Appendix%202.pdfThe information below comes from Page 4 of the link above.
The Chippenham - Calne line contributed a massive £56900 per annum to the revenue of other services (the highest on the list) yet Beeching concluded that only £5700 of this would be lost if the line closed.
This is because he was certain that the Calne line passengers would use the bus or other forms of transport to connect with trains at Chippenham instead.
Here is a link to the North East Regional Planning Assessment.
http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_railways/documents/page/dft_railways_611452.pdfPage 41.
"It is a feature of the North East that a significant number of people will drive some
distance to join an express service on the East Coast Main Line, even where they
have a local station in their own area, this practice is called ‘rail heading’. Railheading
refers to driving further than necessary to reach a rail station in order to reach a more
convenient service."
Its a feature of Melksham passengers , for example , driving to Chippenham & elsewhere as well , especially if the service isnt as reliable as it could be. It will become more so if the proposed service cuts go through.
Here is a link to a visionary November 2002 parliamentary presentation by David Redgewell of Transport 2000 (link below.)
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmselect/cmtran/125/125ap06.htmOne quote in particular stands out :
"A degree of regulation should also be specified, for instance, that the train arriving in Chippenham from Bristol shall be met in the forecourt by a linked Rail bus—true bus/rail integration."
One of the things that I have noticed recently is that we seem to be concentrating on post - December Melksham - London connections. However , the top destination for ticket sales both into & out of Melksham is Bristol. Here is the proposed peak - time bus / rail timetable from December 2006. This involves catching bus service 234 from Melksham - Chippenham Railway Station & then taking the train to Bristol.
OUTWARD JOURNEY :
Melksham depart 0721 - Chippenham arrive 0739 depart 0741 - Bristol arrive 0810.
This connection looks tight , but judging by the rest of the 234 timetable , it looks like a few minutes recovery time has been built in to the schedule. The Bristol arrival time is , strangely enough , EXACTLY the same time as you would arrive in Bristol catching the 0717 train from Melksham.
RETURN JOURNEY :
Bristol depart 1700 - Chippenham arrive 1723 depart 1735 - Melksham arrive 1802.
Bristol depart 1800 - Chippenham arrive 1823 depart 1834 - Melksham arrive 1856.
No such luck for Melksham passengers who want to do the whole journey by train. They have to hang around in Bristol until 1830 to catch a train that will get them back to Melksham at 1907 , with a change at Chippenham.
Passengers are likely to take the rail / bus option instead.
Will Swindon - Westbury passengers get a Christmas (and preferably year - round) Special as well?
When I wrote the above , a special weekend 'park and ride' scheme for Christmas shoppers in the Chippenham and Wiltshire areas wasnt quite what I had in mind........
From the First Great Western Website :
"Customers will benefit from a special 'park and ride' offer which, for just £10, includes car parking for one car at Chippenham railway station; and a day return train ticket between Chippenham and Bath Spa for up to five people."
"The Christmas park and ride offer is available on all services from Chippenham to Bath Spa on Saturdays and Sundays from Saturday 11 November until Sunday 24 December."
"Anne-Marie Delrosa, First Great Western's Marketing Manager, says: "This is a great way for local people to enjoy a Christmas shopping day out to Bath without the hassle of driving and parking in the city."
"Tickets for the Christmas park and ride offer are available from the ticket office at Chippenham railway station."
Melksham passengers are being encouraged to railhead to Chippenham , and those who either choose or have to use public transport will been given bus services timed to run at the same time as the current train services. Those few trains that remain after December 2006 will also be "shadowed" by the 234.
Will the 234 bus times be included in the December 2006 rail timetable when it is finally published?
Author
Logged