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All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: IETs into passenger service from 16 Oct 2017 and subsequent performance issues
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on: March 11, 2020, 08:19:21
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I got the 1716 from temple meads last night (one of the Weston stopper IETs▸ ). Now I haven't got this particular train in a while (I've switched to a later one over a year or two Go) but used to use it regularly when it was a 8 car HST▸ .
5 carriages turned up the train was full and standing down the full length of the aisle. Compare that to my previous HST experience where generally everyone got a seat. Not great on one of the principal commuter trains.
The following 1816 and 1914 service is generally a 9 car IET but is much quieter.
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Journey by Journey / Bristol (WECA) Commuters / Re: Bristol's Temple Gate layout change planned in £21m revamp
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on: January 02, 2020, 15:49:39
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The timing of the pedestrian crossing going from the Grosvenor hotel to the Temple Meads side (comes out next to the car park) is woeful. It prioritises cars way to much.
Just before Christmas I was stood for a good 2-3 minutes waiting for the green man to apear. It meant my walk for a certain train went from reasonably leisurely to somewhat rushed. There isn't even a central reservation so it's more difficult to take your life into your own hands and cross halfway. Probably worth walking a bit further to cross opposite the station ramp instead.
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All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: December 2019 timetable recast
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on: September 26, 2019, 20:52:23
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Disappointed with the changes to Bristol/Yatton (and by extension Bristol/Weston services).
A particularly annoyance is the loss of the 2121. This moves half an hour earlier meaning there is only ~10mins between trains but then an hour gap between 9 and 10pm. A second 1 hour gap to 11pm also remains (the 2306 is always a busy service).
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Journey by Journey / Bristol (WECA) Commuters / Re: Bristol Clean Air Zone proposals
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on: August 06, 2019, 09:14:13
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Indeed. I live in south Bristol and have an old VW camper van that I drive infrequently.
Unless they exempt them, the way that things stand, I'm going to have to pay £9 or indulge in some extensive detours, and if they go for the larger zone, I won't even be able to drive it along York Road to be serviced in Bedminster. I know I'm a niche case, but along with a lot of people I know, I'm a responsible car driver, only driving infrequently for journeys that I can't do by public transport, and I feel like I'm being penalised.
I can see that people are worried about pollution, but at the same time, there is a big financial and environmental cost of enforcement. Over time it's going to get better on its own anyway as older vehicles will inevitably be scrapped (oh yes, and the scrappage scheme they are touting will only include those who work in town, not if you're a carer who lives on Knowle West and works in Filton). If you really want to make a difference, why not impose a workplace parking levy on workers in the city centre and reduce the numbers of on-street parking places in favour of shared spaces? Surely if you remove a load of car-based commuters you'll make a massive improvement?
Is your van diesel? I'd be able to drive in in my 1971 vw beetle but unable to drive in in my newer diesel car. |
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Journey by Journey / Bristol (WECA) Commuters / Re: Bristol Clean Air Zone proposals
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on: July 01, 2019, 23:16:47
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I can't imagine option 2 being popular with locals (I'm not a fan either) so suspect it will be option 1 (or atleast delay option 2 implementation).
There are some funny areas including in the zone though. For example Brunel Way and the bridge over Cumberland basin appears to be included even if a lorry just wants to continue on the A4.
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Journey by Journey / Bristol (WECA) Commuters / Re: Temple Quarter, Bristol
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on: May 18, 2019, 15:46:40
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Protracted delays with the lorries insurers?
Exactly that, I understand. Yes I remember that problem when I worked for a county council it took months to get them to agree and then it was only a few weeks before another lorry hit it and we had to do it all over again. Fortunately the second time we managed to get the money to raise it a little bit and I don't think anyone has hit it since. Just to be clear, in this instance someone drove a lorry over a pedestrian/cycle bridge and wrecked the deck. I suspect that the bridge will be better-protected now! It definitely is, new bollards have been put in place at each end (and on the ends of the neighbouring bridge). It also lasted many years before it happened the first time so not exactly a common occurrence. Is the neighbouring bridge you mention the snakey one that makes a rattling sound when anyone cycles, or even pulls a wheelie case, over it? (I think it's officially called the Valentine Bridge but no one seems to use that name in practice.) Yes, that is the one. I also find the surface very easy to trip on. I witnessed one lunchtime a fire drill for the Burgess Salmon building (yellow one). It looked like the assembly point was the other side of the bridge. I hope the bridge was designed well as it was completely rammed with the hundreds of people from that office trying to get through the single file cycle barriers on the other side. The poor people coming the other way stood no chance. |
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Journey by Journey / Bristol (WECA) Commuters / Re: Temple Quarter, Bristol
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on: May 18, 2019, 09:57:03
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Protracted delays with the lorries insurers?
Exactly that, I understand. Yes I remember that problem when I worked for a county council it took months to get them to agree and then it was only a few weeks before another lorry hit it and we had to do it all over again. Fortunately the second time we managed to get the money to raise it a little bit and I don't think anyone has hit it since. Just to be clear, in this instance someone drove a lorry over a pedestrian/cycle bridge and wrecked the deck. I suspect that the bridge will be better-protected now! It definitely is, new bollards have been put in place at each end (and on the ends of the neighbouring bridge). It also lasted many years before it happened the first time so not exactly a common occurrence. The length of time it has taken to fix has been amazing. Even this week they only had one, or perhaps two pole working on it at any one time. At least it should stop the continuous arguments between cyclists and pedestrians. Interestingly the diversion costs me around 3 minutes per day, over 18 months that has added up to 16.5 hours going the extra distance to the next door bridge. And peope wonder why productivity is lower in the UK▸ ... |
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All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: GWR Performance Figures
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on: January 18, 2019, 16:56:54
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I've certainly noticed the uptick in Bristol punctuality - the number of text delay warnings I get has gone down significantly.
I note several Paddington high speed services from Bristol towards Weston/Taunton have had there timetables tweaked and the train departure put back several minutes at Bristol. So while they now might meet punctuality, no time saving for the user...
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Journey by Journey / Bristol (WECA) Commuters / Re: Bristol Temple Meads Station redevelopment
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on: September 26, 2018, 19:13:25
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So installation of the new gate line is going ahead up near the bike racks, with the exit direct onto the main approach. Gates are installed and they remove the adjacent bike racks next week so I suspect it could be operational in the next few weeks.   My only thought is that all the gates face the opposite way to the stairs, so the approach is from platform 4. Seems bizarre unless it will only be used by cyclists. |
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