Saturday HST to Weymouth

[whole diary]

[dorsetbeachcomber]

The Summer Saturday special from Bristol to Weymouth will be an HST^▸ (High Speed Train) this year.

[bradshaw]

Article online in Dorset Echo

http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/11079265.All_aboard_for_new_high_speed_train_service_between_Bristol_and_Weymouth/?ref=mr

[Lee]

"Slick express trains", eh? - Love it   

[brooklea]

Fair play to the Dorset Echo for the highly appropriate picture chosen to illustrate the story - such accuracy will never catch on....

[dorsetbeachcomber]

The Saturday HST^▸ (High Speed Train) from Bristol to Weymouth is a named train "The Weymouth Wizard"!  Will there be a magician on board?

[Timmer]

The Saturday HST^▸ (High Speed Train) from Bristol to Weymouth is a named train "The Weymouth Wizard"!  Will there be a magician on board?

Couple of questions. Is anyone able to explain the connection between Weymouth and Wizards 
Secondly, The timetable shows not conveying First class accomodation. Is St Philips Marsh removing the 1st carriages, first class declassified or a weekend first type buy on board offer being made?

[dorsetbeachcomber]

Secondly, The timetable shows not conveying First class accomodation. Is St Philips Marsh removing the 1st carriages, first class declassified or a weekend first type buy on board offer being made?

It's not showing first-class accommodation as there are no first-class fares between Bristol and Weymouth, so assume first-class seating is available to standard-class ticket holders, as happens when a hired-in SWT^▸ (South West Trains) class 158 is used on the line.

[Alan Pettitt]

'The Wizards' used to be the name of the Weymouth speedway team, could be a connection?

[dorsetbeachcomber]

The HST^▸ (High Speed Train) is also booked to operate this Saturday for the Bank Holiday weekend:

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/V22276/2014/05/03/advanced
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/V06901/2014/05/03/advanced

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Dorset Echo:

Trains on track for a summer of seaside outings



Observers had a glimpse of the high speed train that will be bringing tourists to Weymouth this summer.

First Great Western ran a special service to the resort at the weekend featuring the HST^▸ (High Speed Train) power cars and eight carriages usually seen on main lines between London and major cities.

It will be used for the ^bucket and spade^ summer Saturday service from Bristol Temple Meads to Weymouth, with the first one running on May 24, arriving at 11.45am and making the return journey at 5.28pm.

Offering much more room than the two-car trains that run on the route, the HST will operate until September 6. Despite its capacity to operate up to 125mph, it will not be travelling at high speed.

The introduction of the longer, prestigious train for summer comes after complaints the rail operator did not provide enough carriages on the Bristol line over Easter.

Borough council tourism spokesman Ian Bruce heard reports of passengers being turned away from packed-out trains. He said: ^It is farcical having only two carriages on. Railway companies are supposed to cater for the demand and they have the knowledge that demand to come to Weymouth is high. First Great Western is simply not doing what they are employed to do. To cram people into two carriages is not acceptable and it would put people off from coming to Weymouth.^

The rail operator apologised and said it regularly adds additional carriages to accommodate increases in demand.

A spokesman said extra carriages will be added to weekend services with the start of the summer timetable on May 19, plus there is the Saturday-only HST service which will have eight carriages.

First Great Western is naming this service the ^Weymouth Wizard^ but the summer Saturday-only train is traditionally known as the bucket and spade train as it brings people to the coast.

Heart of Wessex Rail Partnership volunteer Andy Hutchings, from Weymouth, said the HST service was ^good news for Weymouth^.

He added: ^It means many people will be able to travel in comfort to Weymouth.^

Mr Hutchings was at Weymouth station to witness the train come in last Saturday and said it drew many onlookers.

[IanL]

This annoys me somewhat, on the Cotswold line we used to lose a HST^▸ (High Speed Train) on friday afternoons during the summer to run the seaside trains (specifically the 1552 Paddington departure to the Cotswolds), we have now lost this semi-permanently due to shortage of HST sets and maintenance/refurb  issues yet the seaside trains run as normal. The 1552 is still massively overcrowded for a class 180.

[Southern Stag]

This is only running on Saturdays, when there are plenty of spare HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) available to operate the service. There are more services in Cornwall which will be operated by HSTs on Summer Saturdays this year too.

[Alan Pettitt]

Interesting that it will pick up at Frome on the way to Weymouth, but not on the return trip, can I take it that FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have made the assumption that after escaping Frome we shall not want to come back!

[Andrew1939 from West Oxon]

FGW^▸ (First Great Western) says that it does not have any spare HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) over the summer because they are all needed for the high summer holiday supplementary services. I know this from FGW as the CLPG^» (Cotswold Line Promotion Group - about) tries to run a charter service to somewhere attactive, mainly for members, but we cannot obtain an HST until after the summer timetable ends. Incidentally our 2014 charter will be from Worcester, Oxford, final pickup at Swindon and then on via Melksham and Westbury to the West Country, main set down points though Devon terminating at Plymouth on 20 September and by a circular return via Bristol to Swindon and thence to the Cotswold Line. Public booking opens 1st June.

[grahame]

This is only running on Saturdays, when there are plenty of spare HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) available to operate the service. There are more services in Cornwall which will be operated by HSTs on Summer Saturdays this year too.

FGW^▸ (First Great Western) says that it does not have any spare HSTs over the summer because they are all needed for the high summer holiday supplementary services. ...

Sounds like all the HSTs that are usually on Monday to Friday diagrams may be running in place of / addition to 15x turns on Saturdays - that would explain both statements above.  And perhaps the released 15x units will strengthen other 15x services?