Worcestershire Parkway Station project - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[Surrey 455]

Wonder how long Worcestershire will last. Like the Lizze line

Or Crossrail as I will stubbornly insist on calling it.

[simonw]

Rather complicated development, but it appears that rail users in Pershore,

http://www.eveshamjournal.co.uk/news/15166809.Pershore__39_s_train_services_are_under_threat__says_rail_users__39__group/

area concerned that improve rail services to Worcester with the advent of the Worcestershire Parkway station will severely affect the viability of their local station.

The failure to upgrade the track from single to double limits the number of stops that trans can make, and the lack of local parking ... suggests that Pershore Rail station may be severely effected.

[chuffed]

One of my bugbears... as a fully paid member of the pedants society.

Affect and effect are different in meaning, though frequently confused. Affect is chiefly used as a verb and its main meaning is 'to influence or make a difference to', ... Effect, on the other hand, is used both as a noun and a verb, although is more commonly used as a noun.

Which one did you intend to use Simon ?

[Richard Fairhurst]

Rather complicated development, but it appears that rail users in Pershore are concerned that improve rail services to Worcester with the advent of the Worcestershire Parkway station will severely effect the viability of their local station.

Well, yes...

The Worcestershire contingent wants sub-2 hour trains from Worcester to London. It also wants a new stop to be inserted into existing schedules (i.e. Worcestershire Parkway). And it wants service levels to be maintained or improved at Honeybourne and Pershore.

Those three don't go together. The way to get 2-hr Worcester-London timings on the Cotswold Line is by missing stops, yet one is being added. And a cursory look at station usage figures shows that if any stops are to be dropped, the first two to go will be Honeybourne and Pershore.

In the very long term, I suspect the answer for the Worcestershire stations is a Birmingham/Stratford/Worcester circular via a reopened Long Marston line and redoubled Evesham-Norton. But that's a long time in the future. For now, Worcestershire probably needs to realise it can't have it all.

[ChrisB]

And Pershore is hardly in the middle of town, with few or no buses to use, pax need to get in their cars to get there - and if Parkway gets hourly services & Pershore doesn't, they are likely to carry onto Parkway. Especially if Pershore car park is full.

Hard on Pershore, but political pressure is probably taking the stops there out of GWRs^▸ (Great Western Railway) hands,.

[brompton rail]

But rather counter intuitive to drive from, say Comberton to Norton to travel back on train to Evesham, Oxford or Paddington. May as well drive to Evesham.

I suspect that the trains are used by people who walk to station, or dropped off, for journeys to Worcester Foregate Street as traffic and parking in Worcester is dire.  Many, too, will be school pupils and College students. There is quite a lot of housing on the station side of Pershore, not too far from the station. I believe there is an hourly bus too (Worcester - Pershore High Street - Lower Moor) passing the station, half hourly between Pershore Three Tuns and Worcester (not passing station).

[ChrisB]

Indeed, Parkway or Evesham - either way, it will reduce usage at Pershore, which is counter-productive. But the operator won't see it that way & may cut further services if political pressure for faster services avails.

[grahame]

Indeed, Parkway or Evesham - either way, it will reduce usage at Pershore, which is counter-productive. But the operator won't see it that way & may cut further services if political pressure for faster services avails.

There are similar concerns at Ashchurch in terms of abstraction of passengers, and whether trains will want to stop everywhere.

[ChrisB]

Worcestershire CC may have something to answer for in coming years....

[simonw]

Out of curiosity, I thought that the Cotswold line was due to be 're'-doubled a few years ago, so why is the line through Pershore .. Worcester still single track?

Being a regular M5 traveller, I have noticed for 15+ years stretches of road works in the Worcester area, and if anything could encourage more train and public transport use, it is permanently clogged motorways.

[ChrisB]

Not the ends, just a few miles in the middle.

[ellendune]

Passed through the site today.  Work is very much under way.  Car Park clearly visible and footbridge over the XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) lines under construction.

[Lee]

From the Bromsgrove Standard:

A sneak preview of the new Worcestershire Parkway Rail Station has been released by the county council.

Work on the station is progressing well with external steelworks and glazing nearly finished.

The footage gives the very first look inside the building, which is still under construction, and also aerial views which show the sheer scale of the project.

Coun Ken Pollock, Worcestershire County Council’s Cabinet member for Economy and Infrastructure, said: “I’m very pleased and excited about the progress being made on Worcestershire Parkway Rail Station.

“With the construction of the station building nearing completion, you can really get a sense of the enormity of this infrastructure project that is set to transform rail travel to and from the county.”

Later this month, work starts to install the three platforms, each being built in sections onsite but away from the track and then fitted into place.

It will take nearly 70 sections to build each of the 265 metre long platforms.

Following installation of the platforms, work will then concentrate early in the new year on paving the car park and the landscaping and planting around the site whilst the internal elements of the station building continue to take shape.

[brompton rail]

However ‘nice’ Worcestershire Parkway station is the train service is what will make it a success or otherwise. A 2 car class 170 to Birmingham every hour isn’t going to be much of an attraction..

[ChrisB]

Actually, if it's non-stop or one-stop (likely University), it'll attract passengers....