South Western Railways Waterloo - Bristol services axed

[whole diary]

[Mark A]

Do any of the ticket selling sites allow a deep link to a particular journey / fare search?

Evening connections at Salisbury remain so bad that eg the national rail site, fed a search for a via Salisbury return journey from say Bristol to Blackheath... now finds only a single evening service for which it is prepared to return a fare.

(All other services it identifies are routed via Southampton, against which the site lists 'No fares available for this journey'.)

A trip which last year, off-peak with a railcard, cost I think £33.00 from Bath - Blackheath is now £47.50 return via Paddington and anything via Salisbury entails travel into the late evening as the only connection which is half decent is off the last one of the day and an arrival time after midnight.

Mark

[Mark A]

Hmm, in a probably heat related incident, a bit of Salisbury Station's glazed roof has shed panes of glass onto the platform and track. No one injured, though there's also been an injury accident to a passenger there this weekend. (Person versus wheelybag, been a victim myself a couple of years ago though luckly didn't faceplant.)

Mark

[Mark A]

I'm reflecting that it's a bit under 11 months since that meeting in Trowbridge, listening to a representative from the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) talking rather indistinctly about the lack of justification to fund the Bristol to Waterloo through services - that ceased last December.

His low key delivery provoked two members of the public to leave the meeting there and then as they could clearly see that the DfT was not in listening mode on this one.

This was a train service that would have made a growing contribution to transport provision across that part of Wiltshire, particularly at the time of the death of a monarch, but also into the future, as the nature of rail travel changes, with use of the railways not-for-commuting becoming more popular

Trowbridge, Warminster, in particular are now stuck with such poor evening connections from London that the likes of the national rail website directs passengers via Southampton despite it no longer being a valid route for through ticketing. At Salisbury, there's a tangible hole in the rail network from both the point of view of the travelling public and the online ticketing system. This at a time when Highways England are very keen to push through improvements to the A303.

Mark

[Mark A]

Coffee at a cafe in town yesterday, and I was pleased to hear that this is still a live issue with the public. A young guy got into a conversation with staff about having been caught up in OHLE-related delay shenanigans both Monday and Tuesday. On the Tuesday he returned via Salisbury - and both participants in the conversation were aware of the relatively recent loss of the direct trains to Waterloo and what a PITA^▸ (Pain in the A**e)* that was.

Mark

*Acronym is indelicate and not suitable for inclusion in this forum's lovely mouseover info.

[Mark A]

Around ten months out from the last of the well used Bristol Waterloo direct trains now, and SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) have just surveyed some of their customer base and good to see that 'Bath Spa' was still in the options for the list of stations served by SWR in the timeframe for which they were surveying.

Answered honestly, the brief survey didn't quite capture that with the loss of the trains, my use of their network has fallen off a cliff (and my use of Wiltshire's roads somewhat increased). Job done, DfT^» (Department for Transport - about). (Wrong job of course...)

Mark

[Mark A]

Just one year from the last Bristol to Waterloo trains, courtesy of an order from the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) that they cease to run.

Now, an article from 'Railway Gazette' with talk of Serpell and more, on the emerging threat to the network from that same DfT. There's a bit of a screenshot from the article on this Twitter thread:

https://twitter.com/HanneyDP/status/1606032263182950401

The article itself, on registration, is available here:

https://www.railwaygazette.com/uk/rail-leaders-frustrated-as-dft-tightens-grip-and-cuts-loom/63216.article

Mark

[Mark A]

Checking possibilities for a Bath Spa - Woking via Salisbury return trip I was inspired to imagine a world where the onward Salisbury to Southampton route didn't exist, and nor did the line west to Exeter, leaving Salisbury as a through station on a Bristol - Trowbridge - Warminster - Salisbury - Basingstoke - Waterloo line. If you recall that the Beeching era may have seen Salisbury to Exeter shut, at least part of this filght of the imagination is not so fanciful.

If the railway through Salisbury had been reduced to this single route, the likelihood is that it wouldn't have been subject to the frequent poor connections available there.

Or perhaps it would... elsewhere, it's surprising to find end-to-end rail lines built, sometimes with difficulty, over which neither through trains nor connecting services were run, usually as a result of a border between the services of two rail companies - echoing the culture revealed by some thoroughly coruscating examples on the canal system.

Mark

[grahame]

Serpell ( http://www.passenger.chat/17797 ) proposal C3 above,

Checking possibilities for a Bath Spa - Woking via Salisbury return trip I was inspired to imagine a world where the onward Salisbury to Southampton route didn't exist, and nor did the line west to Exeter, leaving Salisbury as a through station on a Bristol - Trowbridge - Warminster - Salisbury - Basingstoke - Waterloo line. If you recall that the Beeching era may have seen Salisbury to Exeter shut, at least part of this filght of the imagination is not so fanciful.

If the railway through Salisbury had been reduced to this single route, the likelihood is that it wouldn't have been subject to the frequent poor connections available there.

Single route would have been Westbury - Salisbury - Southampton, I'm afraid ... change at Southampton for London?

[Mark A]

It has to be said that the National Rail site routes an evening connection or two via Southampton - but it's no longer a permitted route, hence, advance fares only. SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) didn't take up my suggestion that 'Via Southampton' should be reinstated as a permitted route.

Mark

[Mark A]

What a world we live in. I asked Google's 'Bard' about these trains.

https://bard.google.com/

Me: "Can you tell me about the Bristol to Waterloo direct train services run by South Western Railway that ceased to run in December 2021?"

Holding up a mirror to its sources, Bard responded:

Bard: "Sure. In December 2021, South Western Railway (SWR^» (South Western Railway - about)) ceased to run direct train services between Bristol Temple Meads and London Waterloo. This was due to a number of factors, including:

    The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on passenger numbers, and SWR was not able to make the services financially viable.
    The route was not as popular as other routes operated by SWR, such as the service between London Waterloo and Southampton.
    The route was not as profitable as other routes operated by SWR, such as the service between London Waterloo and Bournemouth.

The decision to withdraw the services was met with anger by many passengers, who argued that the services were essential for connecting Bristol and London. However, SWR defended the decision, arguing that it was necessary to make the company's finances sustainable.

The withdrawal of the direct services has made it more difficult for passengers to travel between Bristol and London. Passengers now have to change trains at Reading, Salisbury, or Winchester, which can add significant time to their journey.

In addition to the inconvenience, the withdrawal of the direct services has also had a negative impact on the environment. The longer journey times mean that more trains are needed, which in turn produces more pollution.

The decision to withdraw the direct services is a clear example of how the government's focus on austerity is having a negative impact on public services. The government needs to do more to support the railways, so that passengers can continue to travel easily and sustainably."

[TaplowGreen]

What a world we live in. I asked Google's 'Bard' about these trains.



The withdrawal of the direct services has made it more difficult for passengers to travel between Bristol and London. Passengers now have to change trains at Reading, Salisbury, or Winchester, which can add significant time to their journey.

That's not strictly true though is it, because they can travel from Bristol to London via Paddington with GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway), which is much faster and more frequent than the SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) service to Waterloo, and a direct service, so they don't have to change?

OK they still have to change at Paddington and use the Underground if they want to get to Waterloo, so in that respect you could stretch a point and say it's "more difficult" but that still represents a considerable time saving from the old Bristol - Waterloo service?

[grahame]

What a world we live in. I asked Google's 'Bard' about these trains.

The withdrawal of the direct services has made it more difficult for passengers to travel between Bristol and London. Passengers now have to change trains at Reading, Salisbury, or Winchester, which can add significant time to their journey.

That's not strictly true though is it, because they can travel from Bristol to London via Paddington with GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway), which is much faster and more frequent than the SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) service to Waterloo, and a direct service, so they don't have to change?

The article is a load of tosh - real facts mixed in with inaccuracies, false conclusions and things that are downright incorrect - but some things are spot on.

I cannot imagine a journey from Bristol to London that requires a change at Winchester. 

Spot on?   Things like this ...

The decision to withdraw the direct services is a clear example of how the government's focus on austerity is having a negative impact on public services. The government needs to do more to support the railways, so that passengers can continue to travel easily and sustainably."

The removal of the through service was ... IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion) ... DafT ...   

I notice we now have 5 Bristol Metro services from Bristol that terminate at Salisbury ... and 22 trains each day that run from Salisbury to London (Waterloo).  It is common practise for those trains at Salisbury to have extra carriages added for the busier part of that route into London.  Has anyone suggested that the carriages coming into Salisbury on the Bristol Metro be added, rather than ones from the depot?

[Mark A]

What a world we live in. I asked Google's 'Bard' about these trains.



The withdrawal of the direct services has made it more difficult for passengers to travel between Bristol and London. Passengers now have to change trains at Reading, Salisbury, or Winchester, which can add significant time to their journey.

That's not strictly true though is it, because they can travel from Bristol to London via Paddington with GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway), which is much faster and more frequent than the SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) service to Waterloo, and a direct service, so they don't have to change?

OK they still have to change at Paddington and use the Underground if they want to get to Waterloo, so in that respect you could stretch a point and say it's "more difficult" but that still represents a considerable time saving from the old Bristol - Waterloo service?

Indeed, Bard's response for that question is a salad of edible green leaves, chopped onions and daffodil bulbs. It hasn't pulled in network benefits, the qualities of through trains, and the contribution to the quality of service for people travelling from intermediate stations. Perhaps the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) provided the salad dressing.

Mark

[JayMac]

SWR^» (South Western Railway - about)'s current onboard network map:



 

[Mark A]

With the 2023 tennis at Wimbledon receding into the past like a recently slipped coach viewed via a rearward glance from aboard the train of passing time*... a moment's pause to reflect that the Bristol to Waterloo through trains, when the tennis was on, would call at Wimbledon station to help make the journey seamless for passengers with that destination. It's the sort of thing that Scotrail would do.

Fast forward to today and with very few through trains to Warminster, even 'Imberbus' when it comes to rail travel from stations east of Salisbury, is out in the cold.

Mark

*Apologies, been out in the sun earlier.