Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
Travel & transport from BBC stories as at 23:15 28 Mar 2024
- Bus plunges off South Africa bridge, killing 45
* Easter getaways hit by travel disruption
- Where Baltimore bridge investigation goes now
- How do I renew my UK passport and what is the 10-year rule?
- Easter travel warning as millions set to hit roads
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]
 02/06/24 - Summer Timetable starts
17/08/24 - Bus to Imber
27/09/25 - 200 years of passenger trains

On this day
28th Mar (1988)
Formal end to carrying coffins by BR (link)

Train RunningCancelled
20:56 Worcester Foregate Street to London Paddington
22:30 Gatwick Airport to Reading
22:47 Newbury to Bedwyn
Short Run
18:03 London Paddington to Penzance
20:03 London Paddington to Plymouth
21:04 London Paddington to Plymouth
23:04 Reading to Bedwyn
23:17 Bedwyn to Reading
Delayed
21:30 Gatwick Airport to Reading
21:45 Penzance to London Paddington
23:45 London Paddington to Penzance
PollsOpen and recent polls
Closed 2024-03-25 Easter Escape - to where?
Abbreviation pageAcronymns and abbreviations
Stn ComparatorStation Comparator
Rail newsNews Now - live rail news feed
Site Style 1 2 3 4
Next departures • Bristol Temple MeadsBath SpaChippenhamSwindonDidcot ParkwayReadingLondon PaddingtonMelksham
Exeter St DavidsTauntonWestburyTrowbridgeBristol ParkwayCardiff CentralOxfordCheltenham SpaBirmingham New Street
March 28, 2024, 23:16:19 *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Forgotten your username or password? - get a reminder
Most recently liked subjects
[104] West Wiltshire Bus Changes April 2024
[103] would you like your own LIVE train station departure board?
[78] Infrastructure problems in Thames Valley causing disruption el...
[56] If not HS2 to Manchester, how will traffic be carried?
[41] Return of the BRUTE?
[25] Reversing Beeching - bring heritage and freight lines into the...
 
News: the Great Western Coffee Shop ... keeping you up to date with travel around the South West
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Pages: [1]
  Print  
Author Topic: Bath Spa Station  (Read 13593 times)
Eliza
Full Member
***
Posts: 87


View Profile
« on: December 11, 2016, 11:32:22 »

Does anyone know which is the westbound platform at Bath, as in,"the westbound platform has a severe step between the train and the platform from the front 3 train carriages".  (Description taken from National Rail's "Stations and Destinations" webpage).  I and elderly husband will be alighting from coach L at Bath on a Paddington-bound train and returning in coach L for Taunton.  I am just wondering how severe this step is.  Would it be National Rail that I should contact to ask to have the description amended to platform X or Y, as, to me at least, westbound is not helpful.
Logged
froome
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 901


View Profile Email
« Reply #1 on: December 11, 2016, 11:39:37 »

The westbound platform is the one on the south side of the station, which is the side away from the city centre.

It is a large drop, especially at the front end of the train (ie at the western end of the platform), substantially larger than most stations, and at 64 I find it difficult at times, especially with luggage. The station has ramps for wheeled access that can presumably be pre-booked through Great Western, who run the station.
Logged
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40690



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #2 on: December 11, 2016, 11:54:30 »

The front end westbound platform will usually be coaches A B and C of high speed trains from London, headed for Bristol, Weston-super-mare, or beyond.

Most trains from other starting points are shorter and don't use the front of the platform.

Major works at Bath Spa station next Easter (April 2017) should re-align tracks and platforms and I would anticipate the situation would be improved after the works are completed.
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
John R
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 4416


View Profile
« Reply #3 on: December 11, 2016, 12:44:30 »

Would it be National Rail that I should contact to ask to have the description amended to platform X or Y, as, to me at least, westbound is not helpful.
That's a moot point. If you are not familiar with the station then you are unlikely to know which is platform 1 and which is 2.  However, I would have thought it is reasonably clear which is east and westbound - as an example in your case a train travelling towards London is going to be using the eastbound platform.  (I acknowledge that it is probably less clear if you are travelling to Weymouth and are unfamiliar with the geography of the rail lines in the area.)
Logged
Chris from Nailsea
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 17865


I am not railway staff


View Profile Email
« Reply #4 on: December 12, 2016, 01:02:03 »

Hi, Eliza.  Wink

I've found a generic picture on the internet to show that 'westbound platform':



Bath Spa and Bristol Temple Meads stations both have such curved platforms - which were probably absolutely fine, for the rather shorter carriages that were in use when Isambard built them ...  Roll Eyes

Logged

William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
Eliza
Full Member
***
Posts: 87


View Profile
« Reply #5 on: December 12, 2016, 09:13:56 »

Thank you, gentlemen, for your helpful replies.  My confusion must be to do with my faulty memory and the greater risk of stepping down than up.  On our previous visit, when we would have come into the eastbound platform 2, it seemed that the gap was wide, as well as the step being high.  Clearly it wasn't, as it's platform 1 westbound, which has the problem.  Anyway, I'm going to ask for the first time for the ramp, as we do travel with a folded wheelchair, and will put the getting off/on into the hands of the platform staff. 
Logged
JayMac
Data Manager
Hero Member
******
Posts: 18894



View Profile
« Reply #6 on: December 12, 2016, 09:26:34 »

Bath Spa and Bristol Temple Meads stations both have such curved platforms - which were probably absolutely fine, for the rather shorter carriages that were in use when Isambard built them ...  Roll Eyes

A pedant replies. Wink

Isambard Kingdom Brunel didn't build the curved platforms at Bristol Temple Meads. He built the original straight train shed, currently a car park and event space. This should see trains using it again sometime next decade.The curved platforms were built in the 1870s by Francis Fox, with more added (platforms 9-15) by P.E. Culverhouse in the 1930s.
Logged

"Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for the rest of the day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."

- Sir Terry Pratchett.
froome
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 901


View Profile Email
« Reply #7 on: December 12, 2016, 09:32:19 »


Major works at Bath Spa station next Easter (April 2017) should re-align tracks and platforms and I would anticipate the situation would be improved after the works are completed.

Is this definitely the case? The big step up or down at the western end of that platform was one of the issues I meant to raise at the consultation meetings NR» (Network Rail - home page) held earlier this year, but didn't. It would be excellent news if it was indeed going to be improved, though with the curve, is there a limit to how much improvement can be achieved?
Logged
Tim
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 2738


View Profile
« Reply #8 on: December 12, 2016, 09:54:51 »

It would be excellent news if it was indeed going to be improved, though with the curve, is there a limit to how much improvement can be achieved?

IIUI part of the planned improvement involve building the platforms out further so there is some potential to reduce the curvature.  This should also be set against the fact that the coaches of new (IEP (Intercity Express Program / Project.)) trains are 3m longer than the Mk IIIs of the HST (High Speed Train), so there is potential for the gap problem to be worse in that respect although I would expect that overall the new package will result in an improvement.

I obviously don't know the extent of your Husbands mobility, but I do note that the very big gaps are only really encountered at Bath for the front 2 coaches on a long (HST, 125) train from London.  Keeping out of those coaches (which are usually coach A and B) means that the gap encountered will be much less and hopefully no worse than typical for a UK (United Kingdom) train.  You should also note that the station is fully staffed with a ramp on the platform that can be deployed if needed and also that the trains themselves have pretty decent grab handles both inside and outside the door.  Bath also has fairly new lifts installed giving step free access from the road/taxi level to the platform. 
Logged
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40690



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #9 on: December 12, 2016, 11:37:44 »


Major works at Bath Spa station next Easter (April 2017) should re-align tracks and platforms and I would anticipate the situation would be improved after the works are completed.

Is this definitely the case? The big step up or down at the western end of that platform was one of the issues I meant to raise at the consultation meetings NR» (Network Rail - home page) held earlier this year, but didn't. It would be excellent news if it was indeed going to be improved, though with the curve, is there a limit to how much improvement can be achieved?

There has to be re-alignment at Bath Spa to ensure clearance between the longer carriages and the (listed) canopies and the opportunity is being taken to widen the platforms enough to take more people on them.  In other cases in the same program of works associated with electrification, platforms that are substandard in terms of access into trains are being brought up to modern standards, even where those works are purely a lengthening that you might not have expected to effect the current platform.

So - I'm not definite, no, but I think I've come to a pretty likely conclusion from the evidence I've been given.
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
Chris from Nailsea
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 17865


I am not railway staff


View Profile Email
« Reply #10 on: December 12, 2016, 17:56:24 »

A pedant replies. Wink

... with a fair comment: my 'blaming Isambard' generalisation was rather too sweeping.  Embarrassed

Logged

William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

 
Pages: [1]
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
This forum is provided by customers of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that the content provided by one of our posters contravenes our posting rules (email link to report). Forum hosted by Well House Consultants

Jump to top of pageJump to Forum Home Page