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Author Topic: Should Heart Of Wessex Transfer To South Western Franchise?  (Read 5227 times)
Lee
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« on: August 29, 2018, 11:00:48 »


Many thanks for that link, Lee ... a little light reading  Wink ... see you when I surface!

Edit to add - What a long URL - mirror at http://gwr.passenger.chat/gwf_consult_output.pdf

Very interesting quote from the DfT stakeholder briefing document and consultation response:

Quote from: DfT» (Department for Transport - about) stakeholder briefing document and consultation response
Four Members of Parliament, who responded on behalf of their constituents, expressed the view that the Heart of Wessex route should be transferred to South Western franchise. This view was supported by a councillor and several other consultation respondents.

Whilst there have various proposals put forward over the years in terms of the future of Heart of Wessex, this one does seem to have a semi-official air of co-ordination between elected representatives and the people they serve.

So, should Heart of Wessex transfer to the South Western Franchise? If so, where should any redrawing of boundaries and provision in terms of line, stations and services take place?

Thoughts?
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Timmer
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« Reply #1 on: August 29, 2018, 11:08:15 »

I think it’s a very sensible move to move it to the SW franchise. Boundary would be to restore the service terminating at Bristol as was previous. Joining it to services heading north to Gloucester/Worcester/Malvern has not helped with reliability.
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devonexpress
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« Reply #2 on: August 29, 2018, 11:57:50 »

Considering we've just had the GWR (Great Western Railway) franchise consultation report, I think the morons suggesting this should foxtrot oscar!  Don't the DFT (Department for Transport) have anything better to do then keep going on about splitting up the GWR franchise?
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WelshBluebird
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« Reply #3 on: August 29, 2018, 12:20:32 »

The biggest issue with this is the splitting of the Bristol - Bath services between two ToC's.
At the moment with them being run by the same ToC, if disruption hits specific services then the other services often pick up the slack (e.g. if the stoppers have issues, the Cardiff - Pompey or sometimes even the high speed services stop off at Keynsham and Oldfield Park). I somehow doubt that would happen as often if it was another ToC!
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grahame
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« Reply #4 on: August 29, 2018, 13:01:10 »

Bristol to Bath already has three operators. Services were much more evenly split prior to 2005 than they are at present, and there may have been a time that both Wales and Borders (Waterloo trains from Maesteg / Manchester / Milford Haven) and Wessex operated there.

Should this government bring in "more competition" on the Bristol to Bath run by moving Heart of Wessex services to SWR» (South Western Railway - about), it would remove competition between Weymouth and Dorchester, which could be re-introduced by a future government transferring the Heart of Wessex line back ...

There is logical sense in the SWR franchise being all-electric, with their Salisbury depot and services that run from there ... I will go and get my hat!
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bradshaw
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« Reply #5 on: August 29, 2018, 14:56:32 »

The possible problem with shifting it to the SW Franchise is the logistics of the rolling stock.
In addition the limiting stations of the HoW(resolve) route. Currently the northern limit is Gt Malvern and Gloucester. Do you envision the service to be limited to Bristol/Weymouth?
The logistics of the rolling stock; would you see Salisbury supplying the units?
To my mind it would be better to have Westbury as a central rolling stock base dealing with services from Swindon/Southampton; Cardiff or Bristol/Portsmouth; Bristol/Weymouth and possibly Reading/Taunton(via B&H (Berks and Hants - railway line from Reading to Taunton via Westbury)). If that is done then SWR» (South Western Railway - about) or GWR (Great Western Railway) could run it but the latter might be preferred.
That might see the 166/165 fleet centred on Westbury with out and back workings through it. It would make replacing failed units easier, following the practice carried out at Salisbury. A single maintenance depot servicing these routes might improve reliablity.
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grahame
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« Reply #6 on: August 29, 2018, 15:29:12 »

Considering we've just had the GWR (Great Western Railway) franchise consultation report, I think the morons suggesting this should foxtrot oscar!  Don't the DFT (Department for Transport) have anything better to do then keep going on about splitting up the GWR franchise?

Over the past few days, I have been seeing footage of the late Senator John McCain on the TV.   At a rally when he was running against Barrack Obama for president, a lady in the audience used a term similar to 'moron' to describe Barrack Obama. And what did John McCain do?   He turned to the lady and said "Mr Obama is an honourable and well reasoned man.  I happen to disagree with many of his conclusions, and that is why I am running against him, but I have a deep respect for him and will not accept his being decribed as you did".

Members on this forum are very welcome to discuss and disagree with others - those here and those who are not here to speak for themselves.  But this is not somewhere to hurl personal insults. Please by the wise man who puts his case and commands respect, and not the person in the audience who by their own words belittles their own view.
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devonexpress
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« Reply #7 on: August 29, 2018, 19:46:44 »

Considering we've just had the GWR (Great Western Railway) franchise consultation report, I think the morons suggesting this should foxtrot oscar!  Don't the DFT (Department for Transport) have anything better to do then keep going on about splitting up the GWR franchise?

Over the past few days, I have been seeing footage of the late Senator John McCain on the TV.   At a rally when he was running against Barrack Obama for president, a lady in the audience used a term similar to 'moron' to describe Barrack Obama. And what did John McCain do?   He turned to the lady and said "Mr Obama is an honourable and well reasoned man.  I happen to disagree with many of his conclusions, and that is why I am running against him, but I have a deep respect for him and will not accept his being decribed as you did".

Members on this forum are very welcome to discuss and disagree with others - those here and those who are not here to speak for themselves.  But this is not somewhere to hurl personal insults. Please by the wise man who puts his case and commands respect, and not the person in the audience who by their own words belittles their own view.

If you'd properly read my comments Grahame I wasn't referring to anyone on this forum and was actually referring to those in the Dft, I should have made that more clearer. It just annoys me that instead of focusing on sorting out the problems with the franchise they seem more interested in finding a good reason to split it up.
« Last Edit: August 29, 2018, 20:00:26 by devonexpress » Logged
grahame
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« Reply #8 on: August 29, 2018, 20:26:22 »

If you'd properly read my comments Grahame I wasn't referring to anyone on this forum and was actually referring to those in the Dft, I should have made that more clearer.

Thank you for that confirmation ... it could have been taken two ways.  Having said which, I have to take a bit of a stand and suggest that neither the description nor wording for description is really appropriate for the people who staff the DfT» (Department for Transport - about) either.   

I happen to strongly agree with you on splitting the franchise ... I'm a little less sure about moving lines and / or services around the border between franchise as things develop and journey patterns and frequencies change over the years.
« Last Edit: August 29, 2018, 20:31:39 by grahame » Logged

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« Reply #9 on: August 29, 2018, 23:38:08 »


Thank you for that confirmation ... it could have been taken two ways.  Having said which, I have to take a bit of a stand and suggest that neither the description nor wording for description is really appropriate for the people who staff the DfT» (Department for Transport - about) either.   

I happen to strongly agree with you on splitting the franchise ... I'm a little less sure about moving lines and / or services around the border between franchise as things develop and journey patterns and frequencies change over the years.

Considering that they oversaw the GWR (Great Western Railway) electrification, IEP (Intercity Express Program / Project.) introduction, GWR fleet loses to Scotrail/Northern and several other failures, I think ill stand by my wording if thats ok.  As for the removal of routes I would argue the Reading to Gatwick route would be better in SWR» (South Western Railway - about) hands then Cardiff to Portsmouth.
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grahame
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« Reply #10 on: August 30, 2018, 06:59:53 »

Considering that they oversaw the GWR (Great Western Railway) electrification, IEP (Intercity Express Program / Project.) introduction, GWR fleet loses to Scotrail/Northern and several other failures, I think ill stand by my wording if thats ok. 

It's specifically described in our acceptable language and style guide:

What is acceptable language and style on "The Coffeeshop"?

A brief guide for new posters, who should remember that this forum can be read by anyone and everyone, including children, the train company we travel with (or in the case of Melksham WISH to travel with), and groups and individuals who we may criticise .. and who we may wish to talk to and work with in the future.

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1. The words that "I can't bring myself to type" - you know the ones, I'm sure - certainly are out. And, no, I am not coming up with a list.

2. The "arse", "scum", "bastard", "moron" level - certainly out when used to refer to a member, an identifiable person, or one of a small group of people. Probably out too when used to talk about larger groups - a very slightly grey area there.  But some of these words have to be acceptable in their original meaning. "They was a horrid scum on the coffee I was served in the buffet at Dilton Marsh station" has to be AOK.

3. Calling an identified peron a "silly cow" or "twit" starts getting even more questionable.  Again I would say "no" when an identified person, but the team behind the scenes does not wish to drive you to come up with colourful new phrases which might be even more difficult to moderate.

4. It has to be a case by case basis with many of the lesser terms and content which may offend by its combination of totally innocent words.  I personally found a comment that I felt to be sarcastic referring to me as "his holyness" to be offensive, although I let it go by without comment at the time as it provided me with a userful reminder of my place.  And that also reminded me just how many others may be offended from time to time, but not say anything!

The moderation team takes a delight in the fact that there a number of us moderating. Any poster who seriously transgressed the acceptable level of any one of the group may get asked to change his/her language (or have it changed), so we cannot be 100% predictable and people should if in doubt, leave it out

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b. Please try to cut down on the number of acronyms you use - we DO have an acronym page on which I try to list them all as they come up, but at times I get my GOSW» (Government Offices South West - about) mixed up with my GOBLs (Gospel Oak to Barking Line) - so what must it do to the newcomers?   If you introduce an acronym to make your post less verbose, please define it the first time in full.

c. Whilst we don't wish to go round and round (and round and round) the same subject in a thread, remember that we are rapidly growing and that there are many newcomers here all the time - and guests, and people who find our pages via search engines.  So you are encouraged to go back to basics, provide full explanations, re-open matters that we discussed a couple of months back, and should NOT assume that everyone is up to speed. Established posters - if you see a subject repeating itself in a short timescale, please help us by adding a link back to the old subject so that we can keep "churning" at acceptable levels.

In spite of the comments above, the general approach to moderation is a "lighter touch" with moderators very much looking to facilitate the use and usefullness of the board.  Typically, we will NOT jump in and correct spellings nor grammatical errors, nor alter posts that we feel could have been explained better in another way - after all, it's your forum. We may point out via a personal message that a post could be understood in two different ways if we feel there could be a chance the original poster didn't realise this. As a "backstop" we (or rather I as the administrator) have a legal responsibility to act on posts that are (or may be considered) indecent, incite hatred, incite illegal actions, break copyright laws, are libellous and a whole host of other things which - thank you everyone - are very rare indeed here.

Claims of authority to represent

From time to time, new members claim to represent or work for a company or an organisation in the rail business, or to be a well known person, but then that claim turns out to be false.  If you want to do that - sorry - it's not allowed; it's against the very first sentence of the forum agreement that you have to accept to post here (top of this thread). It's a very serious matter to pretend to represent an organisation you don't represent; it's also serious to pretend to work for someone when you don't. 

We've always checked posts that are potentially false in this way, and how we make those checks has been tested and honed pretty well now. That's fantastic news for everyone else, as it means that official ans staff posts have that greater validity - something of a stamp of authority.


That's a very old post - but it is under "beginners start here" and pinned on "introduction and chat", so hardly in a dusty archive - more on display in the glass cabinet as you sign in for the first time.   The suggested style - and reasons - remain as valid today as they did a decade ago; please heed them in future.
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CyclingSid
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« Reply #11 on: August 30, 2018, 07:57:31 »

All these questions and consultations about splitting the franchise suggest to me that it is a done deal. The consultations are just a fig leaf to legitimise the eventual announcement.
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JayMac
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« Reply #12 on: August 30, 2018, 09:19:58 »

If handing over the Heart of Wessex to SWP results in service and rolling stock improvements for trains to Weymouth I'm all for it.

A more frequent service provided by Salisbury depot's excellent Class 158/159s would be most welcome.
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« Reply #13 on: August 30, 2018, 12:09:01 »

If memory serves, and happy to be corrected, I think the area group was Wales and West covering the services under discussion, old regional railways.

SubsequentlyWales and Borders and Wessex. At hat time the Weymouth's terminated at Bristol. The same stock then formed the Bristol GT Malvern bit, it may have stood for 15+ mins at Bristol before continuing.

As a group the Wessex routes seemed to work very well as a devolved management area, although quite different areas it felt as though it had an individual identity that could be managed and marketed across the whole region without any 'Capital' influence or dominance. That sadly changed once First got their hands on it. A similar fate may well befall HoW(resolve) in SWR» (South Western Railway - about) hands.

I hope I don't seem to be saying it was better when I was young type argument, I just have a gut feeling that although numerous different demands the 'Wessex' model wasn't really given sufficient time to develop into a valuable regional public transport asset.

Leave the Bristol Gloucester route with GWR (Great Western Railway) or XC (Cross Country Trains (franchise)). Taunton Cardiff to the Welsh.
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grahame
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« Reply #14 on: August 30, 2018, 17:05:32 »

At that time the Weymouth's terminated at Bristol

Splitting / joining routes at Bristol is an interesting choice.   I understand that in the aborted franchise process for the GWR (Great Western Railway) a few years ago, at least one (none-First) bidder spent some time observing through passenger flows .. to the extent he got asked to leave the station as h was acting suspiciously!

Splitting might avoid problems with Midland sheep echoing all down to the seaside:

Quote
12:51 Great Malvern to Weymouth due 17:10
12:51 Great Malvern to Weymouth due 17:10 was started from Worcester Shrub Hill and will be terminated at Bristol Temple Meads.
It will no longer call at Great Malvern, Malvern Link, Worcester Foregate Street, Keynsham, Oldfield Park, Bath Spa, Freshford, Avoncliff, Bradford-On-Avon, Trowbridge, Westbury, Frome, Bruton, Castle Cary, Yeovil Pen Mill, Thornford, Yetminster, Chetnole, Maiden Newton, Dorchester West, Upwey and Weymouth.
It has been previously delayed, has been further delayed at Cheltenham Spa and is now 23 minutes late.
This is due to sheep on the railway.
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