Proposed May 2015 timetable changes

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Evesham Journal:

Train group hits out at changes and impact on Pershore

Pershore train station could see a reduction in the number of trains stopping there if plans by First Great Western come into force.

From May next year the train operator is set to axe four of the current stops at the station and is not including it in the programme of stops for three new services.

The Cotswold Line Promotion Group have hit out at the plans saying the station is faced with "the threat of downgrading in the level of train service" as First Great Western looks to speed up the service.

A spokesperson for the group said they believed the cuts were "unnecessary and unjustified" for the following reasons:

"Pershore's status as the second largest town on the line between Worcester and Oxford with a population of 8,000 and a further 5,000 living within a two mile radius of the station needs to be recognised by all trains calling.

"Continued and substantial growth in the level of usage from Pershore with a massive 22 percent growth in footfall last year following an eight percent growth the previous year deserves to be matched by improvements to the train service, not cutbacks.

"Future train service provision needs to reflect massive housing growth in Pershore which will see an increase of up to a third in the town's population with up to 500 homes to be built within half a mile of the station.

"Pershore needs its station to play a full role in supporting the local transport infrastructure and helping to reduce the massive increase in car traffic which this growth will undoubtedly generate."

Currently Pershore is served by all trains, 35 on weekdays, with the exception of a very early morning service to London just after 5am.

As part of the changes there will be peak journey time improvement by 21 minutes from Hereford and Worcester, two additional direct services from Worcester to Oxford and Paddington, a new morning HST^▸ (High Speed Train) from Moreton at 7.11am and an service extension through to Worcester in the afternoon.

A spokesman for First Great Western said: "These changes offer real improvements for the vast majority of our customers travelling on this line. Such timetable alterations are always about us striking a balance between providing faster services and providing stopping services, and it is not always easy.

"Thanks to our consultation process, we have been able to strike that balance to deliver more frequent, faster services for customers with minimum compromise and, importantly pave the way for further improvements once the electrification of the Mainline has been completed."

[Richard Fairhurst]

Looking at the proposed changes again, I spotted that Worcester gets its first sub-1hr service to Oxford for many years.

Before btline gets too excited, it's only the 15.50 (SH) to Didcot Krapway, a 180 which won't stop at Pershore, Honeybourne, Kingham or Hanborough. It's timetabled to do it in 58 minutes.

Still, it shows it can be done...

[IndustryInsider]

Well, the revised timetable, with no obvious changes from the original proposals, has now come into force.  Many improvements and the odd negative change.  Let's see how it is received, along with the controversial fares alterations!

One very welcome change that I hadn't picked up on is a new Sunday morning service at 10:23 from Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington (3-car Turbo, 6-car from Oxford) that plugs the 2-hour gap on Sunday mornings which has been a problem for many years.  Now, if only there was an earlier service to London, starting at least as far back as Moreton at around 09:10, then the Sunday service would be pretty comprehensive.