No, they weren't timed to meet at Honeybourne, but they were able to set off from Evesham and Moreton without the signallers needing to worry where they would pass.

However, had they redoubled Pershore to Honeybourne - instead of Evesham to Moreton-in-Marsh - which you and others advocated, trains would get stuck due to still having 10 miles of single track between Moreton and Honeybourne.

In similar cases to the one I saw, hurried calculations would have been needed to work out whether both trains would get to Honeybourne at roughly the same time or whether, erring on the side of caution, one would get held to clear the single line for the other, instantly adding 10 or more minutes' delay to one train. The more bits of single track there are, the more risk of the timetable falling apart over an extended period when there is disruption.

I know which set-up is preferred by the people whose trains home to Honeybourne and Evesham now make an immediate departure from Moreton-in-Marsh every day.

It's not an "Evesham problem", it is the result of Cotswold Line services having to fit in with the regular interval timetable pattern between Oxford and London (which isn't going to change any time soon because of Reading, electrification, etc) and the limited capacity of the lines through Worcester (and from Malvern Wells to Hereford). All of which means there will still be less than ideal aspects to the Cotswold timetable for some time, whether we like it or not, but having already seen delayed trains make simultaneous arrivals and departures at Honeybourne, rather than one of them being stuck at Evesham or Moreton-in-Marsh waiting for the other, I'll take that useful improvement to be going on with.

No, book is by John Stretton, with help from Tim Maddocks, who is a member of the Network Rail project team. You need to be looking at the catalogue pdf for info about it. Title is Cotswold Line Past and Present

Before everyone gets quite so het up about the 08.58, maybe they ought to remember that it didn't exist before December 2008 (the equivalent train to the new 08.26 having started at Worcester for many years before that), that its introduction messed up the journeys of many more people further down the line, with the 30-minute later arrivals in Oxford and London that resulted, and ended up with an extra train being put in the timetable (09.29 from Moreton-in-Marsh) to try to compensate.

And those travelling from Great Malvern into Worcester (the majority of those actually using the 8.58 on the first 10 minutes of its journey, I would venture to suggest) will have departures at 8.05, 8.38 and 8.51 from September 12. Hardly the end of the world.


With a 10-minute connection? I hope not.

As for dealing with the dwells at Evesham and Moreton, sadly it's probably right to think in terms of having to wait until IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) (and Oxford and Worcester resignalling schemes solving capacity issues in those areas) before this can be dealt with, as you run up against the Olympic freeze on timetable changes next spring, the freeze on December 2012 changes because of the GW^▸ (Great Western) franchise bidding round, and Reading rebuilding/electrification effectively meaning no major changes on the GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) for four to five years.

Not great, but the key goal of redoubling was to get as many trains as possible off the Cotswold line and through Oxford on time to hit their main line slots at Didcot. In the other direction, redoubling will give trains a fighting chance of recovering time lost east of Oxford (or stuck at a certain signal outside Oxford station...) so they are at least on time into Worcester - even if things could be so much better.

Not really, the key issue at present is that there are severe speed restrictions with pilotman working.

There are indeed speed restrictions applied while the new track beds in but not crippling ones. When this was the case in West Oxfordshire in June, trains were having no problems keeping to time. Once the signals are sorted - fingers crossed should all be working on Thursday - then I can't see there being any problems keeping to time, given that until September 11 trains are still using the old timetable, with all the timing allowances built in for the token exchanges at Evesham and Moreton-in-Marsh.

PS: A pdf of the September timetable is now posted at the CLPG^» (Cotswold Line Promotion Group - about) website http://www.clpg.co.uk/FGW19-120911.pdf

Timetable alterations for Tuesday here http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Content.aspx?id=5012

Line has been open since 5am, but with no signals between Norton junction and Moreton-in-Marsh. As a result, pilotman working is in force, which limits speeds, so a couple of morning peak trains were diverted via Swindon, while others used the Cotswold Line, and buses used to cover for the missing trains. Off-peak trains are running but delayed.

The reason is that safety testing of the new signals around Evesham has not been completed. Extra staff are being drafted in to help but could take until Wednesday.

Alterations are being updated here http://www.journeycheck.com/firstgreatwestern/
The halts train will terminate at Moreton-in-Marsh today and the 18.22 is going via Cheltenham - with a stop there.

Pictures from Honeybourne at http://www.flickr.com/photos/willc2009/

All looking good for a smooth resumption of services tomorrow. Still seemed to be one or two signals to get working in the Vale of Evesham yesterday but all the track work visible from lineside vantage points was ready and Honeybourne's new platform is ready. Handrails were being fitted to the footbridge, which is now all fitted together, with exception of the steps section on the car park side, which has not been attached yet.
Some pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/willc2009/

No one is questioning that, just the time taken to achieve it.

I have been observing the emptying of Turbos at Oxford for 10 years now and with the previous, simpler, quicker procedure, of dispatchers walking through the train from the back to the front, never, ever saw anyone overcarried, nor indeed saw anyone develop a sudden urge to get back on board behind the dispatcher, which would have meant reopening a set of doors to do so - providing a bit of a clue there was someone on board when the dispatcher looked back down the train before telling the driver to lock the doors and move off.

The odd person running down the footbridge steps in the belief they are missing a train towards Worcester or Banbury always lunges for the door nearest the steps, ie the last one the dispatcher closed when leaving the train under the old method, so again anyone boarding at that point would be spotted and removed.

The competency team may be highly delighted with their preferred procedure but if four minutes is allowed per train, then on the basis of the public timetable, regular delays to the arrivals and departures of a number of Cotswold Line trains are near-inevitable.

And is it competent to operate a procedure that blocks a platform for up to 16 minutes an hour (even longer if the shunt signal is not cleared promptly) at a station with just two through platforms to start with?

It might be okay if trains were more evenly spread across an hour but they aren't, they are bunched up by the timetable in both directons, often with freight trains thrown into the mix as well. Addressing any of these would likely assist punctuality more effectively than inflicting a hike on FGW^▸ (First Great Western)'s passengers, just in case an XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) service is late.

Because the A46 is a trunk road.

A word beginning with j springs to mind.

An empty ballast train returning to Hinksey sidings at Oxford was slotted in among the passenger services back from Moreton-in-Marsh this evening. I was on the 17.22 from Paddington which passed a long train of box wagons just south of the site of Adlestrop station about 18.50. Not sure whether it was sprightly enough to get a clear run through to Wolvercot junction or would have had to wait for the 18.22 at Charlbury.

Which would suggest that it still took five minutes or so to get an empty Turbo off the platform. Not good enough, wherever it pulled up.

Few photos from Sunday and this evening now online at http://www.flickr.com/photos/willc2009/

Seems to have been a bit of problem with fitting the latest footbridge ramp sections which arrived at Honeybourne today but looks as though adjustments are in hand.

The derailment involved the transporter units carrying the track panels for the new single to double track point into place west of Evesham. One panel was placed in position overnight but the other partly slipped off the transporter due to the derailment. It survived unscathed and was successfully positioned later in the day.

There are posters around the station making very clear it is only FGW^▸ (First Great Western) terminating services that are affected, which describes the trial as a joint effort involving FGW, XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) and Network Rail. Should you have thoughts on the arrangement, you are invited to pass them on to the station staff...

Another nonsense that has resulted from this is the dispatchers having to go all the way up to the end of the platform to check a Turbo is empty, walking back down the platform to their office next to the footbridge, then re-emerging moments later to go all the way back up there when the following Cotswold Line service - ie the trains that in reality are usually the ones delayed by terminating services, wherever they stop on the platform - is an HST^▸ (High Speed Train).

And should the glorious moment arrive when a Voyager actually does roll in behind a terminating Turbo, it will still have to sit waiting for the dispatcher to trudge back down to the footbridge area to check the doors are closed before the XC service can be sent on its way.

All seemed to work well today, thought there was much confusion ahead of the deaprture of the 08.20 from Moreton-in-Marsh with people bamboozled by the idea that when the departures summary screen said the train was departing from platform 1 - and had the number flashing just to ram the point home - people kept coming back into the booking hall and asking if it was the London train.

The crossover is being traversed at walking pace for the time being but the 20mph restriction which applied on the down line where the old goods shed siding point was removed has now been lifted, with the track passed for 60mp. The down refuge siding is still out of bounds to trains, with the fishplates missing at a rail joint just beyond the point.