Peak time Barnstaple services to be extended to/from Axminster?

[whole diary]

[REVUpminster]

I am sure I read the Barnstaple users prefer the 166s on the peak hour trains. A 166 worked 3 days last week.

The March Todays Railways had 10 158s (All the 2 coaches) transferred Exeter to Bristol and the 7 (all 3 coaches) transferred Bristol to Exeter in service now.

Exeter's new shed has been built to handle 3 coach trains and has a lifting road that can exchange bogies.

I also read that when the 165s (16 are three coach) come west from Reading they will end up at Exeter and by the end of the year the 150s could be gone. It all rests on the 769s coming into service which I hear isn't going all that well.

There are 20 150s at Exeter for the 7 trains (2 units on many) on the Paignton-Exmouth, 2 Okehampton from May and 5 for the rest of the branches in Devon and Cornwall. They are usually supplemented by 3 Turbos rotating down from Bristol for use on the local Exeter services (Devon Metro).

So if Exeter ended up with 16 165s and 7 158s all three coach the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) could claim newer trains more seats throughout Devon and Cornwall and into the 2030s a newer greener  train will probably have been developed because the turbos and castle sets will be life expired.

[DaveHarries]

Will the 769s be into service by May?[/b]
Given the issues that Transport for Wales have had with them - they were used on the Rhymney to Cardiff route and the fact that a loco was, until recently, kept at Rhymney in case it was needed to rescue a 769: it was called out quite a few times - says rather a lot. I was at Oxford for work recently and thought I could see 3 green 769s in the sidings north of the station but am not certain about that.

[...]but we remain unhappy with a degrading from the regional class 158 trains to suburban units of classes 165 and 166.  Suburban units are fine for what they were designed and bought for - and that's services such as the stoppers to Severn Beach and to Weston-super-mare where the mid carriage doors help, but that are far from clever on long distance journeys.

Yes I always thought that the 158s did a very good job on the Cardiff to Portsmouth route and always enjoyed seeing them on the Severn Beach line as we did a few times before the pandemic: they performed well on that route too. I hope the 166s will continue to work the Severn Beach line.

Dave

[DaveHarries]

I see that, according to RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website), the ECS^▸ (Empty Coaching Stock) from the Barnstaple - Axminster service back to Exeter TMD^▸ (Traction Maintenance Depot) runs to a different route and schedule on Thursdays with a running time that is about 75 minutes shorter.

Mondays - Wednesdays & Fridays: 5L90 Axminster - Yeovil - Castle Cary - Yeovil - Axminster - Exeter TMD
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:W45741/2022-05-18/detailed

Thursdays: 5C90 Axminster - Yeovil - Castle Cary - Taunton - Exeter TMD
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:W45742/2022-05-19/detailed

Dave

[PhilWakely]

I see that, according to RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website), the ECS^▸ (Empty Coaching Stock) from the Barnstaple - Axminster service back to Exeter TMD^▸ (Traction Maintenance Depot) runs to a different route and schedule on Thursdays with a running time that is about 75 minutes shorter.

Mondays - Wednesdays & Fridays: 5L90 Axminster - Yeovil - Castle Cary - Yeovil - Axminster - Exeter TMD
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:W45741/2022-05-18/detailed

Thursdays: 5C90 Axminster - Yeovil - Castle Cary - Taunton - Exeter TMD
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:W45742/2022-05-19/detailed

Dave

Given the number of times that the current driver refresher pairing, 5Z30 and 5Z31, has been cancelled recently (I think it has only run on three occasions in the last month??), I strongly suspect that the vast majority of these BNP^▸ (Barnstaple)-AXM services (if they do actually start) will be cancelled after Exeter Central due to ‘lack of drivers’.  If the service does run through to Axminster, I would not be surprised to see the 5C90 and 5L90 runs replaced by a simple ECS working back from Axminster to Exeter TMD via Honiton.

[vacman]

This train is only replacing the SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) 1746 Exeter St David's-to Axminster from the pre-covid timetable. I think the SWR then went empty to Salisbury.

It will be interesting what stock is used as Exeter depot uses 158s 166s and 150s to Barnstaple and there might be 165s as well after May.

Both the SWR 'locals' returned to Exeter - one in service, the other as ECS^▸ (Empty Coaching Stock).

The Turbos have not be gauge checked between Exmouth Junction and Axminster and, as far as I am aware, there are currently no plans to use them on the Axminsters.

Not quite, the second short working, the 17:46 from Exeter to Axminster used to terminate Axminster then run ECS to Salisbury via Castle Cary and Westbury as a route refresh turn for Salisbury drivers