Okehampton

[whole diary]

[RichardB]

Hourly service launched today - my colleague Mike, who lives not far from Okehampton, popped down to the station to film the first train arriving.

Reasonable number of people waiting for it.

https://fb.watch/d0uM4bkOUL/

[Pb_devon]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Devon news today:

The number of passengers using a reopened rail service in Devon, which had been shut for nearly 50 years, is about double what was expected, according to train operator GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway).
The Dartmoor Line between Okehampton and Exeter reopened in November 2021 with regular services for the first time in 49 years.
GWR said more than 120,000 journeys had been made……….

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-62736152

[grahame]

The number of passengers using a reopened rail service in Devon, which had been shut for nearly 50 years, is about double what was expected, according to train operator GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway).

Excellent - though of course it depends on who's expectations we're talking about.   For many, this great success was fully anticipated - and saying that is not to lessen the achievement.

[Mark A]

120000 journeys, 300 days, 30 services per day - roughly 13 passengers per service?

Mark

[grahame]

120000 journeys, 300 days, 30 services per day - roughly 13 passengers per service?

Mark

Didn't it start at two-hourly so half that number of services, and wasn't there a significant closure even when it had been opened?  I suspect numbers are more like double your estimate ... which as an average is not bad; there are going to be a couple of contraflow lemons like the early morning train off Exeter and that last one in at night.   No passengers realise the lemons exist, exactly because there are no passengers there to realise!

[Mark A]

Apologies that that post unintentionally came across as more than a little 'DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) in Trowbridge' mode - I fess up to having the regular counts of 30ish passengers per carriage on the Waterloos.

Okehampton's return to the network is really good news as is achieving those figures in the opening year: it'll be good to see an in-depth and informative analysis of who is travelling, to and from where, and also e.g. how people travel to Okehampton's suboptimally-situated station. Looking forward to the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) finding its feet on the benefits of through routes more generally, and this one in particular.

Mark

[johnneyw]

The number of passengers using a reopened rail service in Devon, which had been shut for nearly 50 years, is about double what was expected, according to train operator GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway).

Excellent - though of course it depends on who's expectations we're talking about.   For many, this great success was fully anticipated - and saying that is not to lessen the achievement.

Yes definitely and this reminds me that it has often been found that usage prediction models used by those involved in assessing a railway's viability still tend to underestimate (sometimes seriously) the actual take up.
I'm not aware of any resource that records and quantifies these discrepancies or if there is now an admission that these predictive models need looking at again but perhaps I'm a bit behind where the current best practices actually are these days.

[grahame]

https://www.bloodandcustard.com/BR-CoachingSetsOkehamptonCarCarrier.html

The Okehampton Car Carrier service was introduced by British Railways on 18th June 1960 with the first train being hauled from Surbiton to Exeter by rebuilt Merchant Navy 35029 ‘Ellerman Lines’ with West Country 34023 ‘Blackmore Vale’ undertaking the return section to /from Okehampton. The passenger rolling stock was Green-liveried BR standard Mk 1 3-Cor set 564 (BSK^▸ (Brake Standard Corridor (carriage)) + CK + BSK) attached to the rear of seven lined-maroon GUV vehicles.

On this day - 12th September 1964 - this service ceased

[RichardB]

Another milestone approaching, the station buffet and toilets will reopen on Saturday 24 September

https://www.okehampton-today.co.uk/news/okehampton-station-confirms-cafe-will-open-this-month-562756?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR3vi1qqH8-JrzdN7CUGR1anhEJBWHlO5_ji1UYtZ8lD4bWTKg2wKZm360Q#Echobox=1663221945

[infoman]

Will it be open seven days a week, and what are the planned opening and closing times?

[RichardB]

Will it be open seven days a week, and what are the planned opening and closing times?

They are currently operating from the booking hall, serving in the doorway to the platform, and open seven days a week, 7AM - 5PM, so I'd guess it will be the same in the Buffet itself.

Here's their Facebook page for further info https://www.facebook.com/amazingbrowniebakers

[RichardB]

Here's the press story from yesterday's opening of the Dartmoor National Park Information Centre and buffet at Okehampton station yesterday.

The story isn't quite right in that the Dartmoor Railway Association shop, waiting room, booking hall and booking office are still to finish - should be done by the end of October and will certainly be done for the first anniversary of reopening on 20 November

https://www.okehampton-today.co.uk/news/cafe-and-information-centre-opens-at-okehampton-station-565457

Buffet opening hours confirmed - "The cafe will be open from 7am to 5pm Monday to Saturday and 9am to 4pm on Sundays."   

[RichardB]

PS - I got the Period 6 (mid Aug - mid Sept) journey figures on Friday - 23,516 journeys made on the Dartmoor Line in those four weeks.  This follows three periods of 18,000+ since the hourly service was introduced in May.  All more than double the pre-opening projections. 

As you can imagine, much delight at these figures.

[grahame]

PS - I got the Period 6 (mid Aug - mid Sept) journey figures on Friday - 23,516 journeys made on the Dartmoor Line in those four weeks.  This follows three periods of 18,000+ since the hourly service was introduced in May.  All more than double the pre-opening projections. 

As you can imagine, much delight at these figures.

Congratulations - and all the more remarkable if that's 20th August (a strike day) to 16th September, so taking in the strike that was planned but cancelled on 15th, and the changes people made to their plans on the passing of The Queen.  Do you know how many trains were timetabled, and how many cancelled, during that period?

[RichardB]

PS - I got the Period 6 (mid Aug - mid Sept) journey figures on Friday - 23,516 journeys made on the Dartmoor Line in those four weeks.  This follows three periods of 18,000+ since the hourly service was introduced in May.  All more than double the pre-opening projections. 

As you can imagine, much delight at these figures.

Congratulations - and all the more remarkable if that's 20th August (a strike day) to 16th September, so taking in the strike that was planned but cancelled on 15th, and the changes people made to their plans on the passing of The Queen.  Do you know how many trains were timetabled, and how many cancelled, during that period?

Thanks Graham.  The period started on Sunday 21 August and ran through to Saturday 17 September inclusive.   Part of the reason for the increase are students travelling to Exeter College.  I don't know the number of trains I'm afraid but of course nothing ran on strike days.