See also link below.
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=885.msg3873#msg3873

And here is some good news for all those celebrating the end of the Portsmouth engineering works debacle (link below.)
http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2007/10/biggest_shake_up_in_southampto.html#more

Quotes :

"The work, due to start early next year and finish by 2011, will include improvements to the tunnel linking Southampton port and station with the rest of the network. The growth of rail freight has been hampered by the use of the larger containers, which are too big for certain sections of the network when fitted to standard rail wagons.

The project is likely to mean misery in the short term for commuters on road and rail,with disruption unavoidable.

Work to widen the major tunnel that runs underneath Southampton city centre is set to cause long-running disruption to services and to motorists."

If you think that disruption to Portsmouth - Cardiff services is bad enough under normal circumstances , just wait until this baby gets underway.

Further quote from Network Rail :

"We will certainly bear in mind any potential disruption the work could cause, and we will do our best to minimise that disruption."

Now where have I heard that before?

A community mural in Gloucester Station , commissioned by First Great Western , has been unveiled (links below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/gloucestershire/7067133.stm

http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/NewsItem.aspx?id=562

First is to fit laminated windows - currently only being installed in high speed trains - to every train it runs , costing ^8m (link below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7069133.stm

I think the chances are higher than they were , with a Greater Bristol Strategic Transport Authority very much on top of the political agenda at present. Recent Transport Innovation Fund proposals put forward by the West Of England Partnership also contain some similiar plans , which is a good sign.

Realistically though , the proposals should be seen as more of a road map towards a better network. If we can make significant progress towards implementation within the next 5 - 10 years , then I would be happy.

As far as what we are doing to push them forward , they get fed into every relevant consultation that comes up , and the official responses we have had have been broadly positive.

Account of a recent FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) visit to Pilning (link below.)
http://www.fosbr.org.uk/Pilning.htm

Here is a Gloucestershire Echo article on this (link below.)
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=231771&command=displayContent&sourceNode=231774&contentPK=18814207&folderPk=108867&pNodeId=231888

And also one from the Tewkesbury Admag (link below.)
http://www.tewkesburyadmag.co.uk/news/tanewslatest/display.var.1793266.0.signatures_needed_to_support_petition.php

Letter to the Gloucestershire Echo :

Madam,
 
I urge Echo readers to support Lee Fletcher's 10 Downing Street on line petition calling for the Prime Minister to stop Arriva from reducing its direct rail links between Ashchurch and Birmingham (Echo 30 October).
 
If we let Arriva get away with this, railway passengers will be forced to take the train from Ashchurch to Cheltenham Spa and then catch another train from Cheltenham Spa to Birmingham going past Ashchurch. This is ludicrous at a time when we should be promoting rail travel due to its environmental benefits.
 
The petition web site can be found on http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ashchurchtrains/
 
Yours faithfully
 
Alistair Cameron
Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Tewkesbury

I Hate FGW^▸ (First Great Western) link.
http://ihatefirstgreatwestern.blogspot.com/2007/10/save-ashchurch-train-services.html

Although the name is indeed provocative , I think that closer inspection of the I Hate FGW site reveals that Helen & co have more respect for the staff than they are given credit for.

More FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) / Haines correspondence :

Thank you for your further email.

The 0703 and 0741 services on Monday 15 October were cancelled due to no driver being available. The initial performance investigations are carried out on my behalf and I am very sorry that I misinformed you as to the reason for this cancellation. I am also concerned that the information regarding this disruption was not available from the train tracker. I understand how important it is to keep customers up to date so that they can make other arrangements and I realise how annoying it is when this is not the case.

On Tuesday 16 October, the 1435 and 1503 services were cancelled due to a mechanical failure. The 1635 service was formed of a one carriage 153 unit instead of a 2 carriage 143 unit and this was due to stock shortages as a result of the earlier problems.

On Thursday 18 October, the 1535 and 1603 services were also cancelled due to mechanical problems. On Friday 19 October, the 1235 and 1303 were cancelled due to driver shortages.

I also note your comments regarding the cancellations on Saturday 20 October and I am sorry. This level of cancelled services is unacceptable and I can fully understand why customers travelling on this line are so frustrated.

These mechanical issues are something that we are very keen to resolve and we are working on this. I realise that there is little I can say to reassure you that things will get better but I hope that you will bear with us. As explained, we are refurbishing the entire Ex Wessex fleet, including the replacement of the engines, which will help to reduce cancellations considerably. Of course, this will not happen overnight and I cannot promise an immediate solution. However, I can promise that we will continue to do all we can and as soon as more of the refurbished trains start to enter service, you will notice things starting to get better. Once we have a more reliable fleet, we can look towards delivering the right train, in the right place at the right time.

As you know, we are also recruiting additional staff, including drivers and this will mean that we have a more robust workforce. Therefore, when there are late notice absences, we will be more equipped to replace the staff member concerned, meaning fewer cancellations.

Thanks again for contacting me and again, I am very sorry for the inconvenience caused.

Yours sincerely

Andrew Haines
Chief Operating Officer

I have to say that I am coming round to the view that Andrew Haines seems genuinely concerned at what's happening on his patch.

If Class 142 units do end up in Bristol for use on the Severn Beach Line , then even reliability permitting , I doubt that as many as 6 will be required.

If anyone knows more on this though , feel free to correct me.

Yes and a "full" train service is due to return to Atherstone as well (timetable link below.)
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/pi/wcml/wcms2008timetables/wcmsgoviatimetable

No evening service though , and only one train each way for Polesworth (link below.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polesworth_railway_station

No train service at all for the following stations near to Stone (links below.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norton_Bridge_railway_station

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barlaston_railway_station

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedgwood_railway_station

I note that there is a DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) consultation currently being conducted on these timetables (link below.)
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/pi/wcml/wcms2008timetables/wcmsbriefingpdf2

However , the outcome looks rather prejudged. Quote :

"The basic specification is fixed"

Would that be the same aspiration that Network Rail denied a couple of years ago (I recall that I was branded a "conspiracy theorist") , after I gathered a vast amount of circumstancial evidence?

I have realised though , that both martyjon and I have done readers of this forum an enormous disservice.

We havent told you what things are like in the opposite direction.

Birmingham New Street depart 0940 , arrive Cheltenham Spa 1022.
Change at Cheltenham Spa.
Cheltenham Spa depart 1048 , arrive Ashchurch for Tewkesbury 1055.

OVERALL JOURNEY TIME - 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES

Birmingham Moor Street depart 0909 or Birmingham Snow Hill depart 0913  , arrive Worcester Shrub Hill 1010.
Change at Worcester Shrub Hill.
Worcester Shrub Hill depart 1036 , arrive Ashchurch for Tewkesbury 1053.

OVERALL JOURNEY TIME - 1 HOUR 40 MINUTES - 1 HOUR 44 MINUTES

Birmingham New Street depart 1140 , arrive Cheltenham Spa 1222.
Change at Cheltenham Spa.
Cheltenham Spa depart 1248 , arrive Ashchurch for Tewkesbury 1255.

OVERALL JOURNEY TIME - 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES

Birmingham Moor Street depart 1109 or Birmingham Snow Hill depart 1113  , arrive Worcester Shrub Hill 1209.
Change at Worcester Shrub Hill.
Worcester Shrub Hill depart 1236 , arrive Ashchurch for Tewkesbury 1253.

OVERALL JOURNEY TIME - 1 HOUR 40 MINUTES - 1 HOUR 44 MINUTES

Birmingham New Street depart 1340 , arrive Cheltenham Spa 1422.
Change at Cheltenham Spa.
Cheltenham Spa depart 1448 , arrive Ashchurch for Tewkesbury 1455.

OVERALL JOURNEY TIME - 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES

Birmingham Moor Street depart 1309 or Birmingham Snow Hill depart 1313  , arrive Worcester Shrub Hill 1416.
Change at Worcester Shrub Hill.
Worcester Shrub Hill depart 1436 , arrive Ashchurch for Tewkesbury 1453.

OVERALL JOURNEY TIME - 1 HOUR 40 MINUTES - 1 HOUR 44 MINUTES

Birmingham New Street depart 1540 , arrive Cheltenham Spa 1622.
Change at Cheltenham Spa.
Cheltenham Spa depart 1648 , arrive Ashchurch for Tewkesbury 1655.

OVERALL JOURNEY TIME - 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES

Birmingham Moor Street depart 1509 or Birmingham Snow Hill depart 1513  , arrive Worcester Shrub Hill 1608.
Change at Worcester Shrub Hill.
Worcester Shrub Hill depart 1635 , arrive Ashchurch for Tewkesbury 1651.

OVERALL JOURNEY TIME - 1 HOUR 38 MINUTES - 1 HOUR 42 MINUTES

With the final example , bear in mind that there is currently a 1530 train from Birmingham New Street direct & non - stop to Ashchurch for Tewkesbury (arriving at 1606 , 36 minute journey time.) However , the Ashchurch stop will be withdrawn as part of the proposed service cuts.

I dont think that I can be accused of selective examples , as all of the "martyjon option" timings appear to be significantly worse.....

That said , all of the non - direct examples above are far worse timing - wise than a direct Birmingham - Ashchurch service would be.


Personally (without wishing for one moment to detract from Chepstow and Lydney) I think that there is enough potential , for all the reasons that Graz & I have put forward , to justify an additional stop in this particular case.

We were all taken off the 1922 Bristol - Portsmouth service at Westbury due to "a fault that cannot be rectified." However , we were then transferred to a refurbished Class 158 unit , and very nice it was too!

Congratulations Graz , and welcome on board.

The example I quoted is a typical one , because it is in the middle of the period where there are no direct Ashchurch - Birmingham services , and there are no alternatives of any kind for 2 hours either side. You also havent answered why you think that your "via Worcester timings" are adequate as opposed to 40 - 45 minutes for a direct service.

As it happens , I never intended to do this all myself. You may be interested in the following press release :

"Alistair Cameron, Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Tewkesbury urges everyone to sign the 10 Downing Street on line petition calling the Prime Minister to reverse the planned train service cuts from Ashchurch Railway Station direct to Birmingham.
 
The on line petition was set up by Mr Lee Fletcher following proposals by Arriva in their Cross Country Franchise to cut direct services to and from Birmingham on weekdays from 7 to 4 northbound services and from 4 (5 on Fridays) to 2 southbound services.
 
Without these services, passengers will have to travel south to Cheltenham Spa, change onto a northbound train, then return northwards, passing through Ashchurch without stopping.
 
Alistair Cameron said: "Ashchurch has a large car park, a wide catchment area and a bus service every 15 minutes to Tewkesbury. To allow Arriva to cut this already sparse service would make a nonsense of the government's claim that it is encouraging integrated transport and taking more cars off the road.
 
The Prime Minister should use the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)'s powers to require Arriva to provide more, not less, stops at Ashchurch. With passenger numbers rising at the station, along with the growth in population in the area, the demand will justify it."
 
The petition can be found at the following web address  http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ashchurchtrains/
 
For more information, contact Alistair Cameron on 01242 584081 or 07901 564616."

As grahame and others will testify , I have done this sort of thing before....

Perhaps now would be a good time for you to reflect on the perils of jumping in feet first without checking the facts , and also for you to bring this particular "trolling session" to an end.