We could all see this one coming a mile off. It's been happening since the December t/t change, but now summer's here and people are starting to open their windows at night...

I do feel sorry for the residents, too. It is quite a racket going all night long, bearing in mind the one power car left on is also providing the ETH and therefore working harder than a normal idling engine. The houses aren't right next to the tracks, but the noise carries in the dead of night. Two possible solutions; 1) Shore supply is fitted in the siding concerned, or 2) The HST^▸ (High Speed Train) stables in the platform for the night (which has already happened on occasions).

I would bet on it being option 2, as it doesn't cost any money and freight trains can be routed round the train if needed. If stabled in the station and the far power car is left running there's nothing much except industrial units - I dare say you would still be able to hear it from the nearest houses if you strained your ears, but at an acceptable level, and with the depot in close proximity running engines are the norm through the night.

Falling passenger numbers?     

To be fare, (erm I mean fair!) since the May T/T change the Cotswold Line service has run much more as advertised during the week and at weekends. Those trains that are supposed to be HST's (as advertised in the timetable) have nearly always been then. In fact on a Saturday the first up Turbo operated service of the day isn't until the evening - a bit of a paradox really as Saturday lunch time is one of the quieter times of the week for medium distance travel.

However, it will still happen from time to time due to failures, engineering work and so on, and I think your suggestion of a downgrade of the upgrade (so to speak) is a very sensible one.

Yes, Graham - I see what you mean. Perhaps I should have added a 'It's been a Roller-coaster Ride' option in the poll just for you! 

Thanks gents - hard work, but fun! I borrowed a copy of the timetable from a friend.


Yes, that's a very valid point. I didn't get into too much detail with the seasonal variations to avoid getting bogged down, but the ones you mention are indeed significant for the routes concerned. Come on people, get voting!

Of course it doesn't say anything in the official plans - it's not funded. However the route's safeguarded, Reading is being redeveloped with it in mind, and virtually everybody recognises it's the sensible thing to do, even within Government circles. Train frequencies plans could be adapted with very little thought - how about most trains that terminate at Maidenhead extend to Reading? There, job done! I'll wager a fiver with you that Crossrail is serving Reading within ten years.

Summary:
Well, it's taken nearly two months and getting on for 15000 words, but that's all the routes covered. I could have delved a lot deeper, but hopefully you have been given a good flavour of what's gone on and enjoyed reading? I have added a poll which I'd like as many of you to vote on as possible, so that we get a reasonably accurate impression of what the customers and staff think of things.

Obviously I've only covered the train times and not the many other things which make up a good/bad journey like fares, availability of seats, etc. In terms of the timetable, there have been two underlying trends. There are definitely more trains running on most routes now, and those that do operate nearly always take a little longer - either as a result of making extra stops or just being given more recovery time. There are exceptions to these trends of course; the reduction of trains between Oxford and Didcot and journey time improvements between Bedwyn and London are two that spring to mind.

The next ten years...
One obvious disappointment of the service development since 1999 is the lack of improvements to the infrastructure. There have been no really major projects, a few extra signals here and there, some minor linespeed increases, and the odd extra platform like at Swindon, but the only project of any size that I can think of is the Probus-Burngullow redoubling on the Cornish Main Line in 2004. The Penryn loop has of course just been finished and work has started on the Cotswold Line redoubling but that's a pretty poor list.

In 2019, as well as the Cotswold Line improvements, we will hopefully have a Crossrail network, IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) trains running over a hopefully expanding electrification area, a much improved layout at Reading, Swindon to Kemble double track, and reinstated services to Tavistock and Portishead. There are potentially many more. Perhaps I'll be sat at my keyboard commenting on them in ten years!

Have you actually read official plans for this, or are you making assumptions Btline? I would say a Crossrail extension to Reading (operating from day one) is more likely than unlikely, in which case the service can operate broadly as it does now. Even if it doesn't why do HST's have to make extra stops? I would imagine a diesel local service from Reading to Maidenhead/Slough to connect with Crossrail is more sensible and likely than HST stops on the Bristol/Cardiff's (which by then will be IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.)'s of course!). There's a good chance with greater acceleration and automatic doors that an IEP service could form an Oxford service calling at Slough and Twyford and do the trip as quick as they do now, so, again, I think that is much more likely!

I agree. As long as the 'save money' ethos doesn't mean 'clean less often' of course. Cross Country have failed to impress me in most respects after taking over from Virgin. The Bournemouth services are cleaned by contract cleaners (from ISS) who board the train at Reading and travel through to Bournemouth before doing the same on the return journey. In my experience a thorough clean of the train takes them no more than 30 minutes, so the rest of the time was spent sitting in a seat, looking out of the window and texting. Though on one occasion it was a very attractive blonde, so I wasn't too concerned that she sat next to me for so long...  

Routes 39 & 40: Truro to Falmouth Docks and St Erth to St Ives

Truro to Falmouth Docks
Good news, to all but the most desperate local newspaper it seems, is that a long closed passing loop at Penryn has been re-instated to allow a more frequent service along the branch. There is now a half-hourly service in operation from 6am-7pm, usually operated by two single Class 153 units. After 7pm the trains run hourly (coupled together?) until the last service at 22:06 from Truro and 22:33 from Falmouth Docks. All trains stop at all stations en-route, except Perranwell which is now a request stop on an hourly basis (half hourly at peak times). This gives a total service on the route of 29 trains per weekday each way.

On Saturdays the service is virtually identical, and on Sundays trains start up with the 10:45ex Truro with a service at least every 1h 30m running through until 10pm which gives a total of 10 trains each way.

Back in 1999 a much less frequent service was offered by Wales & West. Gaps of 1h 45m existed at certain times of the day, and there was a total of only 12 trains a day on weekdays. There were only two possible commuting services to Truro from Falmouth at 06:45 and 07:57. Now there's twice as many. The last service from Truro was at 20:42 which is nearly an hour-and-a-half earlier than now. The Saturday service was the same. The only day that hasn't had an improved service, frequency wise at least, is Sunday's which also saw 10 trains each way per day.

Connections onto the main line don't always work quite as smoothly as you might like, that's unavoidable when you have a clockface timetable connecting into one which is far from clockface on the main line, but there are a total of 12 daily journey possibilities from Falmouth to London with either one change at Truro, or an extra one at Plymouth. The quickest you can do the through journey is 4h 54m off of the 08:50 service. Through trips typically take around the 5h15m-5h30m mark. The additional trains now operating mean that there are also many more possibilities for travel to other Cornish towns too.

St Erth to St Ives
A similar half-hourly frequency now operates on the St Ives branch, giving a total of 28 trains a day between 06:45 and 22:00. There are two trains a day that continue through to/from Penzance, one of which is the 08:19 from St Ives which forms a commuter service to Penzance and has the effect of opening up the gap to hourly for that hour. There is no return direct service though, and other through trains are basically stock positioning moves early morning and late evening.

Saturday sees a total of 25 trains a day. The same frequency as weekdays, except the service reverts to hourly earlier in the evening. Hi season Sundays see no less than 19 trains a day each way from 9am to 7:30pm, but this drops down to 13 in September as services don't start until nearly midday.

Back in 1999 there were only 21 services operating each weekday at a mix of half-hourly and hourly frequencies. This did however enable a total of 6 trains per day to travel through to/from Penzance. A practically identical morning commuter service operated from St Ives reaching Penzance for around 08:40, but the return trip had options of a 17:30 with a change at St Erth and a through train at 18:38. Both trains took between 20-25 minutes to get there. Now regular hours commuters only really have the option of the 17:37ex Penzance with a poor connection at St Erth leaving you with a journey time of nearly 50 minutes. I'd be interested to know if there was much of a commuter market into Penzance and if these changes has affected it?

There's been a similar increase in weekend services since 1999 too, though one interesting change is that there used to be a couple of trains that started/terminated at Lelant Saltings which is the park and ride station for St Ives. Now all services run through to St Erth.

Connections to/from London are varied. The first train at 13:40 into Paddington is actually the worst of all the Cornish and Devon branch lines, but then again it is the furthest away. I can't help but think starting the service 30 minutes earlier would be beneficial though as it would make a 12:25 arrival in London possible, which is the same as the other Cornish branch lines.

Commuting opportunities to/from Redruth and Truro also exist, though they're rather spoilt by the fact that the ideal return train from Truro and Redruth just before 6pm only runs from 29th June until 4th September!

Not only that, but at Falmouth Docks how long is the terminating platform these days? Long enough for a HST^▸ (High Speed Train) power car and how many coaches? 1? 2? It would have to be a slow old trundle from Waterloo if anything.

Not really connected I know, but good news for regular travellers on the 'Donkey' from Bourne End to Marlow as the two crossing by the marina at Bourne End are being converted from Automatic Open to Automatic Barrier crossings which will result in a linespeed increase (up direction only) from 15mph to 20mph! Watch the journey times get slashed... 

I agree - advise staff of the arrangements internally, and the small number of off-chance punters could be accommodated. Though if it's given an official press release (I assume that's what happened for it to appear in your article) you may put the idea into many peoples heads and demand will soon outstrip availability.

The sentence in the article "The company is also planning to make extra cycle storage spaces available in the power cars of High Speed Train services operating between Oxford and London Paddington tomorrow, to help commuters who want to cycle to work in the capital" , might be interpreted to mean that several dozen extra bikes could be catered for? I hope I'm wrong.

That's a pretty safe bet I reckon. There's a lot of civil engineering to be done to turn two single track fed 8-car platforms into three double track fed 12-car platforms. That would be my guess as to the first part of the project to be scoped down if there happens to be a funding crisis!

Most unlike the LES to be misleading when reporting on the railways! I remain open minded about these changes, though it will put even more pressure on the barriers at Paddington on the overbridge leading along to platform 8. This already struggles badly through the peak hours, especially when a LUL^▸ (London Underground Ltd) and LTV^▸ (London [and] Thames Valley) train arrive at the same time. People queueing for tickets near the barriers also leads to congestion - those machines really need to be moved, or at the very least queuing barriers put in place.