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  • Go Op AGM, Chippenham: July 18, 2015
  • Go-Op Cooperative AGM: June 23, 2016
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Author Topic: Go-Op Cooperative - update  (Read 77793 times)
TeaStew
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« Reply #30 on: March 23, 2015, 14:07:44 »

First news since last summer: http://www.go-op.coop/workspace/uploads/files/going_forward_issue_9.pdf

Of interest is

Quote
By 1848 the line heading
south that Go-op services will use was open to Westbury as part of the Wilts
Somerset & Weymouth railway, which remains open and increasingly busy

and

Quote
Westinghouse's successors Siemens (for signalling) continue on the
same site, with Knorr-Bremse (for brakes) nearby in Chippenham.

 Wink these hams, all very similar!
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grahame
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« Reply #31 on: March 23, 2015, 14:31:37 »

I'm very sad to read of the passing of Tim Pearce - a real gentleman and very much committed to and passionate about the cooperative movement and its venture into rail.  He will be much missed.

Quote
It is with great sadness we must report the death of GO-OP (Original Poster / topic starter) founder member Tim Pearce. Tim died peacefully in St Austell after a long and courageous fight against cancer. He is survived by his wife Maggie and daughter Eleanor.
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grahame
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« Reply #32 on: April 06, 2015, 11:36:17 »

AGM (Annual General Meeting) - Saturday, 18th July 2015, Chippenham.
http://www.go-op.coop/info/ (currently includes link to financial statement, posted 1st April 2015)
http://www.go-op.coop/info/go-op-newsletter-spring-2015/
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« Reply #33 on: July 10, 2015, 19:01:31 »

Warning ... guest speaker amended for the AGM (Annual General Meeting) (18th July 2015, Chippenham)   

About the talker

Graham Ellis runs a business in Melksham, and President of the Chamber of Commerce. He is vice chair of the Melksham Railway Development Group, and Community Rail officer with the TransWilts Community Interest Company.

About the talk

Passenger services from Chippenham, via Trowbridge to Westbury were a victim of the Beeching axe in 1966, but reopened with a very limited commuter service in 1985 which stumbled along for the next 20 years.  Franchise changes in 2005, with a new austerity, meant that what little traffic remained was driven away with trains running at times to meet the contract, rather than at times they were needed.

In his talk, Graham will summarise the history of the line, then concentrate on the last 10 years. He^ll tell you how the line has moved from a sleepy backwater service carrying fresh air into a line with a train running up and down all day, and with some services full and standing.  And finally he^ll look forward to where we may be in a further ten years.

About the venue and agenda

The Citadel Hall, First Floor, The CitadelBuilding, Bath Road, Chippenham, SN15 2AB.
* 2 p.m. Light refreshments
* 2.15 Welcome and speaker
* 3 p.m. AGM
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ChrisB
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« Reply #34 on: July 11, 2015, 12:12:16 »

Oh shame, I now can't make this, too many other places to be
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grahame
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« Reply #35 on: June 16, 2016, 17:29:59 »

The Go-op Co-operative's Annual report (in preparation for their AGM (Annual General Meeting)) is online at http://www.go-op.coop/workspace/uploads/files/go-op_2015_annual_report.pdf .

The board report - I'll quote it completely rather than picking out any key paragraphs:

Quote
As we began 2015, our task seemed clear: Network Rail were able and willing to put their support behind our proposals, as long as we could demonstrate that the capacity existed on the network. With that support, we could at least prove our standing in one crucial respect.

As our members know, the process did not meet our expectations. A combination of industrial action, policy changes and personnel changes imposed delays and compromised the quality of the feedback we received. Frustratingly, these very delays meant that new timetables were coming through which we had to adapt our thinking to.

Finally, in September, we concluded that we had no realistic way of securing Network Rail support within a reasonable timeframe. While we have continued to consult with them, and take account of their view of capacity, we decided to proceed with an application to the ORR» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) directly based on the evidence we have that our timetable does not cause disruption to any other scheduled services and adds value to the rail network.

In support of that, we launched a competition for a fresh exercise in demand forecasting, and we were most impressed with the submission from the Railway Consultancy. By the end of the year, they had begun work on a complete update of our revenue projections using the most recent ticket sales data and meeting the standards set by the ORR. This has now begun to deliver some very interesting results, and has prompted a radical reworking of the intended route: instead of Westbury – Birmingham Moor Street, we have now changed origin and terminus stations so that it runs Taunton – Nuneaton. This longer route requires four rather than three diagrams, and so rolling stock – already an issue that had seemed irresolvable throughout the early part of the year – now becomes critical.

Fortunately, in December a highly significant announcement was made regarding the Northern franchise. Its award would lead to a major investment in new diesel rolling stock – the first such order for many years. These units would, moreover, be identical in specification to our requirements: 100mph capable, and in 2 or 3 car formations. We could now ride on the coattails of this order, our modest requirements made much more cost effective by the huge scale of the Northern franchise.

This still left an outstanding problem. Delivery of these new units would not take place until 2019. How could we begin a new operation before then? We have developed a plan for a transitional service, operating between Taunton and Swindon only, using the 'D-train' being manufactured (or remanufactured, as they are based on old London Underground trains) by Vivarail. While these are relatively slow vehicles, this section of the route is suitable for their use and they will enable us to build up traffic on the western section (where the need for service enhancement is most pressing) prior to the introduction of a full service from 2019.

As we approached the end of the year, it became clear that these opportunities would come to nothing if we did not put our finances on to a stronger footing. We consulted with our members: should we acknowledge that the project had run its course, and write off the investment we had made? Or should we make every effort to take our proposal to the ORR and at least give it the chance of success? We were humbled by the solidarity and determination displayed by our members, and we gratefully accepted the further investment that would enable us to turn these developments into a comprehensive business case. We will overcome the systemic inertia and the practical challenges to make a serious and detailed case for a major enhancement to the rail network that is financed, owned and controlled by the people who use it.


AGM is:

Room 4Q07
(Room 07, Q Block, 4th Floor)
Frenchay Campus, University of the West of England Coldharbour Lane, BRISTOL BS16 1QY
2pm Thursday 23rd June 2016

Agenda at : http://www.go-op.coop/workspace/uploads/files/go-op_agm_2016_agenda.pdf

In my CRP (Community Rail Partnership) role these days, I must admit that I've become far more concerned with getting extra passengers onto the (now) existing trains and their incremental improvement - little changes, big difference stuff ... so I had rather lapsed in looking out for the cooperative's activities.

Undoubtedly, there is still passenger growth opportunity on the Swindon to Westbury section of their route, and the Oxford to Swindon run is another hole.   Frome could really do with a rather better service from Westbury, and the service linking it to its county town of Taunton must be one of the worst train services from any town of 20,000 plus to its county town in the UK (United Kingdom) - so there's another gap.  All along, the organisation has done a fine job in identifying gaps where services are sadly lacking, but have a good case.   Headed north to Nuneaton, I'm limited in how I can comment as I don't know their route nor the area.  Melksham to Motherwell with a change at Nuneaton would be attractive personally rather than other change options.
« Last Edit: June 16, 2016, 17:45:27 by grahame » Logged

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ChrisB
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« Reply #36 on: June 16, 2016, 18:16:37 »

Hmm.

D-stock on the 125mph Taunton-Westbury? And how do they fet to Nuneaton? If via the obvious Leamington-Coventry-Nuneaton corridor, no chance until Kenilworth is open *and* the part-doubling is conplete. Even then, current XC (Cross Country Trains (franchise))/NR» (Network Rail - home page) thinking is that XC won't be able to route their second service that way & will still need to go via Bordesley Junction.

I s'pose they could go that way too? But the Didcot/Oxford line is full until electrification speeds the current services up & releases a couple more

I doubt they'll get started with D-stock, even to Swindon. They'll be waiting for the build off the back of the Northern order I reckon
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« Reply #37 on: June 16, 2016, 20:15:39 »

This whole thing has an air of unreality about it. I must admit when I read of their aspiration to use D-stock I could not contain my mirth. An alternative might be running every day from Exmouth/Exeter - Okehampton.
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« Reply #38 on: June 16, 2016, 21:11:47 »

I've been very sceptical of them for a while now, and the proposed use of D-Stock has completely blown their credibility now in my eyes.  60mph on the main lines, even as far east as Swindon?  Shurely not...
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« Reply #39 on: June 16, 2016, 21:31:24 »

I've been very sceptical of them for a while now, and the proposed use of D-Stock has completely blown their credibility now in my eyes.  60mph on the main lines, even as far east as Swindon?  Shurely not...

...err why not? Its all about timetabing and pathing.  A lot of freight trains on that section don't exceed 60mph.
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John R
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« Reply #40 on: June 16, 2016, 21:51:56 »

Fair comment, although they often sit around for ages along the route awaiting a suitable path.  Which would be less acceptable to passengers.
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« Reply #41 on: June 16, 2016, 21:58:12 »

Well I would rather sit stationary in a loop for 10 mins to let a fast train pass than have to make an awkward cross country journey by changing trains.  It used happen all the time in the olden days you know Wink
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« Reply #42 on: June 16, 2016, 22:31:11 »

I have just been on the phone while writing this and when I posted it said "Warning - there have been five more posts since you started writing this".  I'm tired ... posting anyway and will review!

Hmm.

D-stock on the 125mph Taunton-Westbury? And how do they fet to Nuneaton? If via the obvious Leamington-Coventry-Nuneaton corridor, no chance until Kenilworth is open *and* the part-doubling is conplete. Even then, current XC (Cross Country Trains (franchise))/NR» (Network Rail - home page) thinking is that XC won't be able to route their second service that way & will still need to go via Bordesley Junction.

I s'pose they could go that way too? But the Didcot/Oxford line is full until electrification speeds the current services up & releases a couple more

I doubt they'll get started with D-stock, even to Swindon. They'll be waiting for the build off the back of the Northern order I reckon

Good questions ... and I don't know the answers; something to ask at the AGM (Annual General Meeting), perhaps?   I wish I could go, but having overlooked (? assuming informed) the meeting I'm committed to both running a course and voting in a referendum that day.

The "Somerset Circle District Line" team - http://somersetdistrictandcircleline.com - have also looked at the D train or similar, and concluded that services on Berks and Hants from Taunton are sufficiently spaced to allow for the speed differential. I'm not convinced on paths from Royal Wootton Bassett into Swindon though when there are 6 or 7 much faster passenger trains sharing the line ... not convinced, but I have not done the work.  Gut instinct suggests that 60 m.p.h. trains coming up from Westbury would be better turned in a bay at Chippenham, but that's an unanalysed comment and anyone with inside Go-op Cooperative is welcome to comment / fill us in.

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« Reply #43 on: June 16, 2016, 23:10:14 »

Well I would rather sit stationary in a loop for 10 mins to let a fast train pass ....

That's called "Frome" in Berks and Hants terms  Grin

I'm going to suggest that if trains have WiFi and are a good working environment, speed of journey is no longer the vital component it once was ... rail journey time is no longer wasted time.    I know I will have difficulties pitching this view to the folks who want to get from Xxxxx to Yyyyy in less than three hours, even if they have to wait some considerable time at source / destination for the next service or for their appointment at Yyyyy.
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« Reply #44 on: July 05, 2016, 20:36:49 »

http://www.somerset.coop/2016/06/going-places-co-operative-transport.html

Quote
Thursday, 30 June 2016
Going places: co-operative transport solutions



Our events for Co-ops Fortnight will conclude tomorrow with 'Going Place' in Taunton. We will have two presentations - one from Alex Lawrie on GO-OP (Original Poster / topic starter), the new co-operative rail operator proposing a new route form Taunton to Nuneaton (an ambitious plan, that still requires the consent of the Office of Rail and Road); and one from Mark Hodgson of Co-Cars who will bring their hi-tech car club operation to Taunton soon.

These two projects show how grassroots activism in communities can meet real needs and give rise to fast growing, technologically sophisticated social enterprises. What's more, those enterprises can remain firmly connected to the communities that gave rise to them, using membership participation to continually improve and adapt to the changing world.
Come along to 10 East Reach between 1pm and 3pm to find out more - and please stick around for the Annual General Meeting of SCS CIC (Community Interest Company ) at 4.30pm.
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