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166
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Journey by Journey / Heart of Wessex / Re: Weymouth front revamp and ripping up (not used) rail lines
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on: August 15, 2022, 14:47:01
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My partner caught a train from Bath to Weymouth last week, which arrived an hour late, and said that when she tried to get off at Weymouth, the platform was so crowded by people waiting to board it, that it became dangerous to try to walk down the platform, and especially beyond where the end of the train was, as she felt she would get pushed off the platform by the crowds.
Although I haven't experienced it that overcrowded, there have always been large crowds on the platform when I have got off, and it does make it awkward to get out of the station easily. The platform certainly doesn't feel like it has enough capacity for the demands on popular services.
Is this an issue that is being addressed at all?
Is this platform 1 that you are referring to froome? If so, I agree that there isn't much capacity on this platform when there are passengers waiting for the incoming train on a busy summers day. Probably, it is the one on the left if you stand in the station foyer. |
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167
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Journey by Journey / Heart of Wessex / Re: Weymouth front revamp and ripping up (not used) rail lines
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on: August 15, 2022, 10:53:21
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My partner caught a train from Bath to Weymouth last week, which arrived an hour late, and said that when she tried to get off at Weymouth, the platform was so crowded by people waiting to board it, that it became dangerous to try to walk down the platform, and especially beyond where the end of the train was, as she felt she would get pushed off the platform by the crowds.
Although I haven't experienced it that overcrowded, there have always been large crowds on the platform when I have got off, and it does make it awkward to get out of the station easily. The platform certainly doesn't feel like it has enough capacity for the demands on popular services.
Is this an issue that is being addressed at all?
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168
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: Walking distance between platforms.
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on: August 14, 2022, 16:08:06
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Research ...
1. What is the MAXIMUM walking distance between platforms at the SAME station (main network and or underground) - now or historic. And, yes, provide plenty of examples; I am not looking for an absolute record
If SAME station means those named the same but in different locations, then I posted about Canary Wharf here a couple of months ago, when my walk from the Elizabeth line station of that name to the DLR▸ station of that name took 40 minutes, due to complete lack of useful signage and not very helpful information from those who I asked. I suspect the actual distance is well over a quarter of a mile, maybe nearly half a mile, but no direct route or anything remotely like it between the two, so probably at least 10 minutes to walk (though the one person who offered an opinion on this told me it would take 3 minutes, which I'm sure could not be the case). |
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169
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Journey by Journey / London to Kennet Valley / Re: "Lineside" fires
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on: August 14, 2022, 16:01:53
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Out of interest, are statistics kept of fires that take place alongside railway lines? Presumably some assessment of how each fire happened is also made?
Given the state of the ground, it seems very likely the coming days will see many, so perhaps it is fortunate there is a rail strike this Saturday after all!
I think Radio 4 news said this morning there had been 150 reports of wildfires to the fire service this week (presumably of all sorts, so obviously very much fewer rail related) compared to 250 in the whole of last year up to this point of the year. So not surprisingly a lot of fire activity this week, and presumably more to come. |
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170
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Journey by Journey / London to Kennet Valley / Re: "Lineside" fires
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on: August 11, 2022, 22:00:26
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Out of interest, are statistics kept of fires that take place alongside railway lines? Presumably some assessment of how each fire happened is also made?
Given the state of the ground, it seems very likely the coming days will see many, so perhaps it is fortunate there is a rail strike this Saturday after all!
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171
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Journey by Journey / Portsmouth to Cardiff / Re: From a correspondent in Dilton Marsh
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on: August 11, 2022, 20:23:59
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I was on the 08.34 train this morning from Oldfield Park heading to Southampton, which was 3 carriages. It not only had many commuters in it, but apparently there is a festival in Winchester, which explains why it was completely rammed with people with very large rucksacks for the whole journey.
The trains I caught coming back were both 2 carriage trains, and busy.
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173
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All across the Great Western territory / Buses and other ways to travel / Re: Low Traffic Neighbourhoods
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on: August 04, 2022, 14:59:17
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I feel compelled to speak in support of Jeevan's, who definitely have the best samosas south of Birmingham and north of Baghdad, and are not closing. In fact I think I might get some today... on Stapleton Road in Bristol.
I have long suspected that quite a bit of usage of Stapleton Road station is from people travelling to St Marks Road and Stapleton Road for the shops and take-aways. I certainly know of people who travel a very long way to do so. |
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176
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All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: GWR line closures this Sunday
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on: July 30, 2022, 22:53:11
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GWR▸ have confirmed there will be no service at all on the north (Oxford-Worcester) or south (Swindon-Gloucester) Cotswold lines this Sunday. From https://www.gwr.com/strike: Sunday 31 July
Trains will continue to be disrupted. Please make alternative travel arrangements and only travel if absolutely necessary.
There will be no service on the following routes:
Swindon to Gloucester
Oxford to Worcester/Hereford
I don't think I've known this in 20+ years of living on the (North) Cotswold Line - the TOC▸ just deciding to give up providing a service when there's no strike or engineering reason. I do understand that drivers are going to choose not to work overtime on Sunday given that they have a rare opportunity to enjoy a weekend off. But it's entirely GWR's decision to concentrate cancellations here rather than running (say) a 1tp3h service and chopping a couple of Bristol services as a result. There are no buses to Charlbury on a Sunday, and I'm guessing probably not many from Kingham, Moreton et al either; so if you want to go somewhere, let's hope you have a car. As these are the two lines that cross the Cotswolds, and also passing through some obvious tourist destinations like Oxford, Cheltenham and Stroud, I would imagine they have a particularly high leisure usage, which would suggest a high demand for summer Sunday services. So this will inconvenience a lot of potential users. |
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179
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All across the Great Western territory / Diary - what's happening when? / Re: Bristol Parkway Redevelopment - A Living Station?
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on: July 28, 2022, 09:53:01
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One feature of Parkway is the very narrow platforms. Could this be addressed in this masterplan?
Yes, I was going to make this very point. I really hate having to use Parkway precisely because it feels very uncomfortable waiting around on many of the platforms. Regarding Red Squirrel's comment about South Glos council seeming to have had a Damascene conversion, I know some of the officers there and yes, I think there has been, though it has been a long time in coming. |
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180
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Journey by Journey / Bristol (WECA) Commuters / Re: Bedminster and Parson Street users question
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on: July 26, 2022, 09:33:49
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FoSBR» has done some work in this area. We have listed local stations in the West of England and made suggestions on improving access. You can see details of this here: https://fosbr.org.uk/campaigns/better-stations/Following an event earlier this year where FoSBR drew attention to poorly signed bus/rail interchanges, we have met with WECA» and may be making progress with improvements to signage at bus stops https://fosbr.org.uk/interchange-between-buses-and-trains/As they currently stand, Parson St and Bedminster are both difficult places to install access ramps because of the width and length of the platforms. However if Network Rail's aspiration to reinstate four tracks from Temple Meads to Parson St were to go ahead (see here: https://fosbr.org.uk/weca-strategic-rail-investment-plan/) then both stations could potentially be remodelled. That could lead to access improvements, which might mean ramps or lifts. Given the current economic and political climate, there probably isn't much prospect of this happening soon. I thought Bedminster's platform was pretty long and quite wide. I've alighted there a few times, and it has always seemed to me one where disabled access ought to be relatively easy to accommodate. |
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