Great Western Coffee Shop

The new timetable starts soon with trains terminating here proceeding down to Morrisons to reverse as they do now but detraining at Exeter Central.

Under the new timetable it means the guard has to leave passengers at an unmanned station who want to travel on to the Exmouth line. This could be a child, disabled person, a drunk or other vulnerable person or a combination of both. I think this station will be a magnet for criminals or worse.

I have mentioned this before as soon as this timetable came out and I wonder what provision has been made.

Could the local instructions be

Alight at Exeter St Davids,or central subject to staff being there while passengers trains are running.

I'm sure all the Conductors will be encouraging people to change at St Davids or Central for Exmouth line stations.  Same platform connection at both.  Of course, only half the Exmouth trains call at St James' Park.

At a slight tangent to the main thrust of the OP, I notice that regular paths have been set up for these trains to run out to Pinhoe in order to reverse. Is it possible that the Exmouth Junction siding will be unable to cope for some reason?

for instance, 5Q78 1251 St James' Park to St James' Park (https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/Y96352/2019-12-19/detailed)

Pinhoe has seen a lot of growth in the last few years, with new houses built and being built and quite significant employers not far away.  A big desire to run these Barnstaple trains as passenger services to Pinhoe and, when a loop is built in the Feniton - Whimple area, out to Honiton and Axminster too. 

Don't I know it - as a Pinhoe resident since 1960!  >:(  Population in 1960 of 2,000 - estimated population of Greater Pinhoe at the end of 2020: 20,000!

In more detail, there's a full WTT entry for turning at Exmouth Junction (where RTT shows "Service reverses here, loses and gains coaches here"), plus for some of them a Q path - runs only if required - to Pinhoe to reverse (only).

Which is odd. You could understand an "understudy" path via Pinhoe for all of them if the siding(s) is not yet usable - for example if a small forest still needs removing. But for only some, it's hard to see shy.

But can you reverse at Pinhoe in any case? If the signalling is still one-way only on each track, don't you have to go past to the single-track section? (I'd expect RTT to show two passes through the station in that case, but maybe the reporting point isn't the station.)

Only one siding working and trains use it especially in the evening. The current google earth shows a four coach 143? in there.

(https://live.staticflickr.com/4886/32835253858_bd4f863e05_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/S2xg1w)East sidings at Morrisons (https://flic.kr/p/S2xg1w) by Robert (https://www.flickr.com/photos/revupminster/), on Flickr

Unless there have been very recent changes, there is no facility to reverse at Pinhoe without entering the single line.  I don't know how the signalling is configured as this is the interface between Exmouth Junction box and Basingstoke RSC, but reversal might be possible if the Waterloo services are east of Honiton.

There is a block signal at Feniton since the Basingstoke resignalling. Any reversal would need to enter the single line and would be OK if the preceeding up train had passed Feniton. Unsure if it is permissable to have an up train pass Pinhoe onto the single line with a down train between Honiton & Feniton though!

Dumb question ... is it plausible to make the "Q" runs into always, timetabled advertised ones?  (( Is it the same timing every hour?? ))

* Improved service to a location now with a signifiant population
* There's time in the timetable for it, it would seem
* It got through the platforms anyway

Apparently the  'Q' paths for empty units from St J Pk to Pinhoe and back are in the WTT to provide for when the points etc are relaid at Exmouth Jn in 2020 and when use of the Up Turnback sdg (and Engrs sdg) will temporarily not be available.

As for Barnstaple trains serving St J Pk for just the odd passenger; this is sensibly subject to review from next  May's TT, ie thus terminate and start from Exeter Ctl.

(https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1pI1qx3jPs6d6DZu97QaIBuYNA5C6PWKd)

A sample day of these reversals. After 1555, it appears that the Barnstaple services at St James' Park are still all planned to reverse at Exmouth Junction. I guess these will terminate at Central for the duration of the blockade?

I guess the 8 minute planned 'stop' at Pinhoe allows for the shunt onto and back off the single line as the junction is not a timing point.