Worcestershire Parkway Station project - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[JontyMort]

The GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) timetable shows it and I suspect most people will use that.  It is interesting to note that not all GWR trains stop there

I agree fair play to GWR, who got their new timetables out very early. Nevertheless, the full timetable is definitive, and one expects it to be correct.

Not all the trains stop there, as you observe. There are two in the down direction in the middle of the day. In the up direction it is three in the late afternoon/evening, plus the morning Oxfordshire halts service - which is now Foregate Street to Didcot and presumably a 165 - and even that does not leave a huge gap between services. Admittedly, this fails to exploit the pent-up demand for direct trains between the middle of Worcestershire and Coombe/Finstock, but then again...

[IndustryInsider]

The station itself looks practically complete.  Protective covers on the benches and some signage to still be done, including ‘Worcestershire Parkway’ signs on the platforms, and I’m sure there’s a whole host of other little snagging works to do.  The important stuff such as lights all working now though.

So, will certification and other red tape be cut through in time...?

[JontyMort]

The station itself looks practically complete.  Protective covers on the benches and some signage to still be done, including ‘Worcestershire Parkway’ signs on the platforms, and I’m sure there’s a whole host of other little snagging works to do.  The important stuff such as lights all working now though.

So, will certification and other red tape be cut through in time...?

Let's hope so. Meanwhile the online journey planners have established a strange relationship with the new station. Put Cheltenham to Worcester Shrub Hill at 1745 on 16 Dec into East Coast, and you get d 1759 a WOP 1813 d WOP 1852 a WOS^» (Worcester Shrub Hill - next trains) 1912. But put Cheltenham to WOP in, and it knows nothing. Maybe they've made a last-minute decision to abandon the car park and have an interchange-only station (a la Cornbrook on Metrolink) 😊

[Reading General]

Or closer to home (but a long time ago) Abingdon junction.

[stuving]

... Meanwhile the online journey planners have established a strange relationship with the new station. Put Cheltenham to Worcester Shrub Hill at 1745 on 16 Dec into East Coast, and you get d 1759 a WOP 1813 d WOP 1852 a WOS^» (Worcester Shrub Hill - next trains) 1912. But put Cheltenham to WOP in, and it knows nothing. Maybe they've made a last-minute decision to abandon the car park and have an interchange-only station (a la Cornbrook on Metrolink) 😊

Try asking for after 15th December. It warned me multiple tickets were needed, then quoted a £4.60 off-peak day single - on a single train, obviously. So while BRFares has a sensible-looking set of fares, so that's on the data feeds, I suspect "the system" doesn't yet have the rest of the data it needs, e.g. covering the routeing guide inputs to OJPs^▸ (Online Journey Planner).

[TonyK]

The station itself looks practically complete.  Protective covers on the benches and some signage to still be done, including ‘Worcestershire Parkway’ signs on the platforms, and I’m sure there’s a whole host of other little snagging works to do.  The important stuff such as lights all working now though.

So, will certification and other red tape be cut through in time...?

Indeed, II. I came through WOP tonight on the Crosscountry service from Manchester to Temple Meads, and noticed the lack of platform signage. The structure itself looked impressive, looming as it did out of nowhere.

[JayMac]

No official announcement yet but it would appear that the opening of Worcestershire Parkway has been delayed until the New Year.

https://twitter.com/every_station/status/1202167302285860864

Also a few replies from @GWRHelp to queries about the opening day which say no news yet. I'm pretty sure they were tweeting it would be 15th December until recently.

[IndustryInsider]

Red tape obviously too thick again!   

Still, it gives a bit of a performance buffer to help the introduction of the new timetable go a bit smoother I suppose.

[Richard Fairhurst]

(Posts on “train station” vs “railway station” moved to http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=22544.0 )

[ChrisB]

Statement from Worcestershire County Council

“Worcestershire County Council and its Rail Industry partners have agreed that the best time for the new Worcestershire Parkway station to become fully operational is in the new year and the date for this will be confirmed as soon as possible.

We are nearing the conclusion of the standard rigorous rail industry “Entry into Service” process where all the new equipment and facilities are tested and commissioned. This process is complex involving a wide range of stakeholders and it has not been possible to achieve the final sign-off for the station to become operational until early in the new year.”

What GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) haven't said is where that late-night alst train will now terminate - it was going to be Parkway station.

[JontyMort]

What GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) haven't said is where that late-night alst train will now terminate - it was going to be Parkway station.

My money is on Paddington.

[ChrisB]

No chance - unless you mean it'll run ECS^▸ (Empty Coaching Stock) after journeying along the North Cots....my bet is Evesham with bus forward. The stock needs to end up in Worcester sidings for the following day

[IndustryInsider]

Or Pershore.

[ChrisB]

Hmmm - quite hard to get a bus in there...

[Richard Fairhurst]

Earwigged a conversation on board yesterday where the conductor thought it would be Evesham. The customer host pointed out she’d then need to be taxied back from there to Worcester.