Great Western Coffee Shop

Consultation Question 14

a) Do you think these are the right priorities for stations in the new franchise?
b) Which priorities would you change or add, and why?
c) At which stations do you think co-ordination between transport modes could be improved?
d) How do you believe these areas could be improved, e.g. through timetabling connections or through physical works at the location?
e) What do you believe are examples of best practice elsewhere which could be relevant for stations on the Great Western franchise network?

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Explanatory text

Stations, and the journey to and from them, are a key component of passengers’ overall journey experience. Stakeholders have highlighted a number of areas where the franchise specification could focus attention:
●● Improving station facilities. This includes the provision of seating, shelters, accurate, up-to-date information, improving accessibility for those with disabilities to and within the station, improving designs to allow a greater throughput of passengers, and maintaining safety and security.
●● Improving car and cycle parking, particularly where a shortage of car parking spaces may be acting as a barrier to future growth, and a greater provision of electric car charging points.
●● Improving access for pedestrians and cyclists, with clear direction signs and safe, well-lit routes.
●● Improving accessibility, physical interchange and co-ordination between rail services and other modes of transport.
●● Working with local communities to bring disused station buildings back into community use, e.g. as cafes or community hubs.
●● Co-operating with local authority schemes for station improvements and redevelopment of the areas surrounding stations.

We will consider the case for requiring the franchisee to set aside funds for station improvements, as we have done in some recent franchise competitions, and whether a portion of this should be dedicated for improvements at smaller stations.

We would also expect the franchisee to co-operate with locally-promoted schemes for station improvements and improvements to the areas around stations, and to continue work on developing station ‘master plans’ for some stations.

We expect to require the franchisee to develop proposals for better co-ordination with other transport modes, building on the approach used in recent franchise competitions, and will consider the case for encouraging the franchisee to develop and update more Station Travel Plans and make better use of them, in consultation with passengers and other local stakeholders. We will consider whether we should require the franchisee to provide more electric car charging points.

We will expect the franchisee to continue to improve security at stations, including areas such as staff awareness, availability of CCTV coverage and engagement with the Secure Stations Scheme.


See http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=19037 for the background to this topic

I am - astonished - that no-one has followed up on this section.   But then there are so many topics within the section that perhaps is too much to bite off all at once?    Here are some starters:

1. I am going to boldly suggest that accurate and up to date information should be really cheap to provide and should be a high priority.    And keeping people fed with that information - especially at unmanned stations.

From my mailbox:


2. We are developing a master plan for Melksham - lots of us working together.


But should the franchise include a requirement to facilitate the implementation of the master plan - otherwise we're going to end up with Corsham or Portishead disease, where the whole thing in consulted on and planned and that takes to long that when it's completed it's already out of date and it needs to be consulted on and planned again!

3. On planning station access


Yes, yes, yes ... I'm astonished to see local authority plans in Chippenham around the station that appear to look at the area as ripe for development yet don't consider the flow of passengers through.   Hiding the lovely old station behind office and residential blocks may make commercial sense, but isn't it going to clog the who area up bearing in mind the number of people who have to pass through?

4. Improving use of near-station buildings for transport use


Why on earth limit it to disused station buildings?   Why not disused buildings at or near the station?  And why not add a requirement to look at building that come up for sale or let near the station and consider if they have new rail or community use?


Tying points 4 and 5 together ... rail passenger numbers have doubled in the last 20 years and there are a lot more people around - should it not be part of the TOC's responsibility to act as guardian of the development for the future - a future where we are being ever-more encouraged to use public transport, and where the social stigma of using the bus or train because we can't afford a car is fading?

Most of the points are mother hood and apple pie. It's the HOW to do it is the problem considering althougyh the most asperations apply to most stations each station will have its own unique solution. Therefore local consultation is vital.


Re co-ordination. We've never been very good at this. One point taking Erfurt as an example there are guaranteed bus connections off the last trams at the edge of town terminals. Why not have, where appropriate, guaranteed bus connections off the last train?




Edit note: Quote marks inserted, for clarity. CfN.

Not sure if this would be within the remit of a rail franchise ... but I was looking at cruises from Avonmouth an hour or two back and seeing how close the terminal is to the station - doesn't took too bad.

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/bct_noroute.jpg)

As an afterthought, I asked for the best walking route

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/bct_footroute.jpg)

Ouch!

It's even worse than that - ther's something else you're not being told:

But that's probably outwith the franchise however you look at it.

(From https://www.bristolport.co.uk/sites/default/files/documents/Cruise%20Map%20to%20Terminal_2.pdf (https://www.bristolport.co.uk/sites/default/files/documents/Cruise%20Map%20to%20Terminal_2.pdf))

My goodness - thanks for that ...


... and they're not even right.  It's just 600 metres as the crow seagull flies, and only a bit over 2 miles according to Google maps on foot by road.

The Port of Bristol has not got good press from apparently being less than helpful in getting passenger services up and running again via Hallen ... and here seems to discard / want to put people off green / public transport with a crusader's zeal (the sort of zeal that makes telling porkies acceptable if it helps make your case).

Newton Abbot could do with some work on the station canopies, they are in a right messy the roof is very fragile. The canopies themselves could do with a good sanding down and repaint, so maybe if they did, they could repaint the station into the new GWR colours too?

Exeter St David's footbridges could do with some repair, large amount of corrosion are starting to appear, of course nothing will be done and then Network Fail will turn around and say "we're replacing the bridges with plastic ones because the old ones are in bad state of a repair" (Because of poor station maintenance)

Same could be said about the footbridge at Bodmin Parkway

Meanwhile Poor old Pilning has no bridge at all 😢

The fate of the old footbridge at St Austell comes to mind.....