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Topic: December 2006 Timetable To Be Published On Friday 10 November 2006 (Read 5944 times)
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Lee
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First Great Western Customer Services :
"I regret that I am unable to provide specific information regarding the December timetable as this is currently being finalised. We expect this to be available to view or download from our website from Friday 10 November."
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Nick Field
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First Great Western Customer Services :
"I regret that I am unable to provide specific information regarding the December timetable as this is currently being finalised. We expect this to be available to view or download from our website from Friday 10 November."
Any idea what exactly is [/i]currently being finalised[i]? |
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rogerco
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Since the timetable has been available to advance bookings for the last 8 weeks or so I am at a loss to know what is currently being finalised. I thought it had been published. Julian Crow was flashing reams of final version printouts at various meetings in Plymouth and St.Germans a month or more ago. RogerCO Saltash Rail Users Group www.srug.org.uk |
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Lee
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Since the timetable has been available to advance bookings for the last 8 weeks or so I am at a loss to know what is currently being finalised.
I thought it had been published. Julian Crow was flashing reams of final version printouts at various meetings in Plymouth and St.Germans a month or more ago. I know what you mean , Roger. Originally , we thought that the "final" December 2006 timetable had been published in July (link below.) http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=357.msg1078#msg1078Good luck with the Saltash meeting. |
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Graz
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That's not all of them, is it? Either FGW have laid them out extremely poorly, or they aren't up yet, but I couldn't find any Melksham or Oldfield Park timetables...  |
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Lee
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I noticed that , Graz. Hopefully , they are being posted as we write.
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Graz
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After a quick look at the new timetable I must post an opinion on it:
Pros:
Compliments the South West trains services better, with fast SWT semi-fast services now running before the slower FGW-local ones. This means we can expect an increase in ridership on SWT trains from Waterloo-Bristol around Westbury, Trowbridge and especially Bradford-on-Avon.
More services to/from Frome at peak which is a good thing. I've always thought trains should be terminating at this station instead of Westbury more often as there is a lot of untapped demand.
Better services to Cam & Dursley and extensions to Great Malvern which were not in the original timetable.
Westbury-BTM trains are better timed. They now connect with the xx:28 northbound Virgin services, a large benefit.
Cons:
The 2-hour gap is still there at Keynsham, Oldfield Park, Freshford and Avoncliff so users of these stations were also (as well as Melksham users) effectively LIED to by the Government/FGW who PROMISED this would not happen. There is also a long gap of over an hour in the morning: 08:49-10:06 at Oldfield Park.
Some questionable gaps in services. For example, there are services in the morning from BTM to Gloucester arriving at 06:38, 07:02, and 07:22. The next service to Gloucester does then not arrive until 08:37 leaving a gap of over 1 hour at PEAK. Not good, FGW. Also, the same can be said for Keynsham/Oldfield Park. 16:38, 17:04, 17:48 and 18:04, then not until 19:04.
Of course I must comment on the awful times FGW dreamed up for Melksham. It's not compliant with SLC2 and should definitely be changed.
Pilning is almost wiped off the map completely, but there seems to be some instances in which Westbury-Cardiff trains wait a long time at Bristol TM. Why not make them call additionally at Pilning, leaving 2 minutes earlier?
Finally, there is one service in particular I must comment on. It starts from Westbury 17:55 and calls only at Bath Spa, Oldfield Park, Keynsham and Bristol TM. Just what is the point of this one? If I can be honest, this would be put to better use serving Melksham departing slightly earlier for a sensible and SLC2-compliant Melksham evening peak service.
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Lee
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Finally, there is one service in particular I must comment on. It starts from Westbury 17:55 and calls only at Bath Spa, Oldfield Park, Keynsham and Bristol TM. Just what is the point of this one? If I can be honest, this would be put to better use serving Melksham departing slightly earlier for a sensible and SLC2-compliant Melksham evening peak service.
I am assuming that you mean the 1655 from Westbury - Bristol , Graz. The service does what it does in order to form the "key commuter" 1748 Bristol - Weymouth service. |
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Graz
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Oops! Yeah, the 1655, my mistake! After a closer look, it seems as if this service is formed from the 16:04 BTM-Westbury, arriving there at 16:50 which leaves a 5 minute turnaround. Still, I don't know why it doesn't call at Trowbridge and Bradford on Avon as there surely is ample time to call at these stations for a slightly later arrival into BTM.
I quite like the little sections at the back for Melksham, Severn Beach and Weymouth. It's a lot clearer than trying to cram them in with everything else. It does emphasise, however, how bare and empty the Melksham timetable is compared to everything else. If only there was a service in every one of those columns...
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Graham Ellis
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I quite like the little sections at the back for Melksham, Severn Beach and Weymouth. It's a lot clearer than trying to cram them in with everything else. It does emphasise, however, how bare and empty the Melksham timetable is compared to everything else. If only there was a service in every one of those columns...
I took a deep breath when I saw those tables separated out. BUT ... For the purpose of more local travellers, it's a good idea, and for the longer distance traveller that makes up a high proportion of TransWilts traffic, perhaps it's a good idea gone too far. It's always struck me as rather odd that you had to look up "Portsmouth to Cardiff" and skip over many stations and trains if you wanted to travel from (say) Trowbridge to Chippenham, or Melksham to Swindon. So - two cheers fot the changes. But I do wish that the "from" connections and "to" connections shown had gone a little further in the new timetable - good heavens, the table is so sparse that there would have been plenty of space. Connections (Southbound) from Paddington, Reading, Oxford and perhaps Cheltanham / Gloucester at Swindon, and from Bath and Bristol at Chippenham. And ongoing connections from Trowbridge to Bath and Bristol, and from Westbury to Reading and London, Warminster, Salisbury and Southampton, Frome, Yeovil and Weymouth. Actually, those aren't ALL connections; 3 of the 4 services are through to / from Gloucester / Cheltenham, at least one of the Sunday trains runs through from Southampton, and I suspect that the 07:02 arrival at Westbury goes forward at 07:05 to Southampton, but in this crazy setup, First aren't actually allowed to admit that or they'll admit to a breach of the service requirement as such linkage isn't permitted. Why did I take a deep breath? For two reasons: 1. It maginalises the Weymouth, Severn Beach and TransWilts services by taking them away from the main timetable. There's been so much dreadful news for the TransWilts especially of late that I have a great fear that the changes will make it easier for the powers that be to make further non-positive changes without effecting other timetables 2. Though onward routes of through trains are shown on most appropriate columns in the new timetable - even the Waterloo service is shown as "through to Waterloo" - there is no such marking on some (All?) of the TransWilts trains which appear to be a local Westbury - to Trowbridge shuttle. I'm scratching my head and looking for a good reason for this omission. |
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