Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
Travel & transport from BBC stories as at 15:15 04 Oct 2024
 
- Airlines look to cut time spent on the tarmac
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]
 11/10/24 - TWSW General Meeting
22/10/24 - BoA Public Transport talk
25/10/24 - Melksham Transport Group
27/11/24 - WWRUG, Trowbridge

On this day
4th Oct (1976)
HST - first public service (link)

Train RunningCancelled
13:03 London Paddington to Plymouth
15:15 Plymouth to London Paddington
15:42 Exeter St Davids to London Paddington
15:54 Reading to Gatwick Airport
16:54 Cardiff Central to London Paddington
16:58 London Paddington to Great Malvern
17:04 Didcot Parkway to Moreton-In-Marsh
17:29 Gatwick Airport to Reading
18:23 London Paddington to Banbury
18:51 Evesham to Oxford
19:05 Great Malvern to London Paddington
19:24 Reading to Gatwick Airport
19:45 Banbury to London Paddington
Short Run
10:59 Cardiff Central to Penzance
11:30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour
12:23 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central
12:48 London Paddington to Swansea
13:30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour
13:48 London Paddington to Carmarthen
13:52 Cardiff Central to London Paddington
14:05 Salisbury to Bristol Temple Meads
14:09 London Paddington to Cardiff Central
14:23 Exmouth to Paignton
15:08 Didcot Parkway to London Paddington
15:23 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central
15:45 Bristol Temple Meads to Warminster
Delayed
11:48 London Paddington to Carmarthen
12:30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour
14:23 Swansea to London Paddington
14:27 Plymouth to Gunnislake
Additional 14:57 Bristol Temple Meads to Cardiff Central
PollsOpen and recent polls
Open to 24/10 03:05 Purely a light-hearted question, but who do you bet on?
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
October 04, 2024, 15:23:30 *
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
[92] Meet the Director, 3 October - an update
[56] Euston: a five point plan
[55] TODAY! Meet the Manager - on the forum and on Zoom
[53] vote for your favourite rail leaf cleaner
[52] New entrance, Bakerloo Line, Paddington. Opened October 2024
[44] Lessons from Ladbroke Grove crash 25 years on
 
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: Launch of the Northern Devon Railway Development Alliance  (Read 2769 times)
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 42020



View Profile WWW Email
« on: March 01, 2024, 12:29:36 »

Press released from Railfuture, 12:00 on 1st March 2024

Quote
The Northern Devon Railway Development Alliance launches today, with the aim of securing a new rail link between Bideford and Barnstaple and upgrade of the North Devon (Tarka (Line from Barnstaple to Exeter)) Line between Exeter and Barnstaple.
 
Thirty representatives from 13 stakeholder organisations came together to commit jointly to build on local council resolutions already passed and funding already committed to develop a compelling case to be put to government to support the reconnection of the long-marginalised Torridge community of over 40,000 people.
 
This set the scene for the inaugural gathering of the new Northern Devon Railway Development Alliance at an event organised by Railfuture in Bideford’s historic Royal Hotel on Friday 1st March 2024, with the aim of reversing Beeching’s Bideford closure in 1965.
 
Torridge & West Devon MP (Member of Parliament) the Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Cox KC said in a statement “You are embarking on a very worthwhile cause.  There is substantial support in Torridge for exploring the viability and economic case for this important railway connection to Barnstaple.  Housing and population growth are likely to require improved communication links in the future.  Such a link would no doubt require the upgrading of the line between Barnstaple and Exeter, and that too would have incalculable benefits for Torridge.”
 
North Devon MP Selaine Saxby, like Sir Geoffrey unable to be present, also issued a statement saying “I wholeheartedly support the Northern Devon Railway Development Alliance’s ambition to restore the rail link between Bideford and Barnstaple, and to upgrade the existing Tarka Line between Barnstaple and Exeter.  The proposal to re-establish the old railway line between Barnstaple and Bideford, although not necessarily a replica of the former route, would be a huge advantage for locals and tourists alike.”
 
Devon County Council’s Andrea Davis, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport added “Devon County Council and Peninsula Transport are committed to decarbonising the transport system, improving connectivity and giving genuine transport choice for our residents, visitors and businesses.  In Devon we have a track record for re-opening rail links, opening stations and integrating transport modes.  Improving connectivity for residents in Northern Devon, supporting new development with transport infrastructure and creating healthy, connected communities for the future is key to our future wellbeing and prosperity.”
 
The new Alliance’s statement of purpose is “To secure a new rail link between Bideford and Barnstaple and upgrade of the North Devon (Tarka) Line between Exeter and Barnstaple, championing their transformational benefits for communities and businesses and advocating to decision-makers the economic, social and environmental case for developing and investing in the project.”
 
60 years ago these communities lost their rail lifeline and have struggled economically ever since.  Charles Kingsley wrote ‘Westward Ho!’ there, Rudyard Kipling was schooled there, Winston Churchill and Dwight D. Eisenhower met there, it’s home to the annual Appledore Book Festival, and 170 years since its foundation Appledore shipyard now witnesses Harland & Wolff continuing ship building there.
 
Three years ago the town welcomed the return of the original name and number plates from steam locomotive ‘Bideford’ with the Town’s then Mayor quipping that what he really wanted was the return of the town’s railway!  The local Tarka Rail Association with its ‘ACE Rail’ campaign supported by national lobby group Railfuture have since been developing local support for just that, culminating in the formation of the new Alliance.
 
Railfuture is the UK (United Kingdom)'s leading independent organisation campaigning for better rail services for both passengers and freight.

More information on Railfuture's website at https://www.railfuture.org.uk/Devon-and-Cornwall-Branch#Railway_Reopenings

Follow Railfuture on X/Twitter: twitter.com/Railfuture
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
REVUpminster
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 547



View Profile Email
« Reply #1 on: March 02, 2024, 07:28:21 »

Barnstaple trains are already overloaded and if Bideford was added in could not cope.
GWR (Great Western Railway) has always preferred to plod along and were never really behind Okehampton because of a latent demand they could not cope with, but their hand was forced.
The hourly service to Okehampton has exceeded their expectations and I am sure a half hour service, in the peaks at least, from Barnstaple would exceed expectations; as did the half hourly service from Paignton when it was first introduced by way of an EU» (European Union - about) subsidy.

All the jobs are being created in Exeter. Job creation in Torbay which is bigger in area and population than Exeter has failed to produce significant jobs and the continual housebuilding has made it a commuter town.

I read somewhere to grow passenger numbers you need a minimum half hour service and ideally a 20 minute service.
 
Logged
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 42020



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #2 on: March 02, 2024, 10:17:29 »

Barnstaple trains are already overloaded and if Bideford was added in could not cope.

GWR (Great Western Railway) has always preferred to plod along and were never really behind Okehampton because of a latent demand they could not cope with, but their hand was forced.

The hourly service to Okehampton has exceeded their expectations and I am sure a half hour service, in the peaks at least, from Barnstaple would exceed expectations; as did the half hourly service from Paignton when it was first introduced by way of an EU» (European Union - about) subsidy.

All the jobs are being created in Exeter. Job creation in Torbay which is bigger in area and population than Exeter has failed to produce significant jobs and the continual housebuilding has made it a commuter town.

I read somewhere to grow passenger numbers you need a minimum half hour service and ideally a 20 minute service.
 

So much to add to that ... first, here are some stats showing the relative flow sizes over recent years









OK - if the trains are overcrowded, make them longer.  Up to perhaps 6 carriages and loads will balance out along the train - longer and you may get uneven loading - but did you see that picture I posted of the suburban train in Budapest showing loading levels?

Service frequency - yes, 30 minutes would be good - but it very much depends on the route length and characteristics of the travellers.  Every half hour on the Central line would lead to complaints; every half on The Ghan would be excessive provision.  Noting that Crediton is already every half hour.
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
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