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Author Topic: Social engineering - major changes in way of life cause by rail changes  (Read 27994 times)
eightf48544
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« Reply #15 on: July 02, 2008, 13:39:39 »

While I sympathise with Mandy and Sam's situation, the direct service was always regarded as experimental, so perhaps not the best thing to build one's life around.


In a way willc is right perhaps one shouldn't build one's travelling habits around an experimental service.

However, that rather puts the dampner on any new through journey possibilities.  It's hardly condusive to building  up use on any new service to say: "Beware this is an experimental service it might be withdrawn at any time so don't change your travelling habits to make use of it"

If this mantra had been applied to the Bristol Oxfords and the enhanced Melksham services I'm sure any potential users would not have bothered to start using them in case they provided too convinient a service upon which they might become dependant. Thus ensuring they failed quickly and disappeared, so they shouldn't have been started in the first place.

Which logically means we are stuck with the current pattern of services because you can't start an experimental service because you have to tell people it may be withdrawn at any time, so don't bother using it, hard luck!

Still it's good to know you can still do Great Malvern -  Warminster (or somewhere in that area) must be far more popular than Bristol - Oxford or Melksham - Swindon.

I was always suprised that the Paignton Meastegs didn't attract more through traffic.

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« Reply #16 on: August 18, 2008, 03:47:33 »

I think there is cause for a new service calling Pinling, Melksham, Coombe Junction, serving the places that dont deserve a service....
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grahame
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« Reply #17 on: August 18, 2008, 04:52:38 »

While I sympathise with Mandy and Sam's situation, the direct service was always regarded as experimental, so perhaps not the best thing to build one's life around.


In a way willc is right perhaps one shouldn't build one's travelling habits around an experimental service.

However, that rather puts the dampner on any new through journey possibilities.  It's hardly condusive to building  up use on any new service to say: "Beware this is an experimental service it might be withdrawn at any time so don't change your travelling habits to make use of it"

If this mantra had been applied to the Bristol Oxfords and the enhanced Melksham services I'm sure any potential users would not have bothered to start using them in case they provided too convinient a service upon which they might become dependant. Thus ensuring they failed quickly and disappeared, so they shouldn't have been started in the first place.

Which logically means we are stuck with the current pattern of services because you can't start an experimental service because you have to tell people it may be withdrawn at any time, so don't bother using it, hard luck!


Picking up on an old thread that has been re-opened here ... I think these views expressed show just how "experimental" service are almost set up to fail.

From 2001 through 2006, I made extensive use of the enhanced "TransWilts" service and indeed much of my work was based around it, as it brought some 40% of the customers to the business I work for into Melksham - a town of some 24,000 people.  But the loss of the practical long distance connections at a suitable time of day (from London you can now leave at 17:30 and arrive at 19:11, or on the last train of the night from Paddington and sleep on the platform at Swindon - and those are you ONLY choices to Melksham!)  renders it impractical for the business visitor.

Could it have done better?  Yes, of course it could - plenty of other material is availoable that talks of advertising and reliability.  But the irony is that it DID» (Didcot Parkway - next trains) do well and a service that was an experimental success with a huge growth in traffic, and huge ongoing potential - was cut off  by remote decisions which were, to say the least, controvertial and didn't yake full account of the real situation on the ground.

Some of the very long distance through services are more of an operational convenience than a  requirement for specific traffic flows; if you were to label Warminster to Malvern as "experimental" and split the route at - say - Bristol in the future I'm not sure how much traffic you would loose.   But there is a case of "once bitten, twice shy" that could make the building up of traffic again from the various places mentioned a bit more difficult.   But, given a good service and a committment for a number of years, only a bit more difficult - with enthusiasm and a bandwagon rolling, and a blossoming population (certainly in the case of West Wilts) the past would soon be forgot, save as a lesson in keeping an eye on a valued service and ensuring that cuts with dubious fondadtion are not applied again.
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« Reply #18 on: August 20, 2008, 22:39:49 »

There is a major need for rail companies, FGW (First Great Western) in particular, to consider routes, time tables and capacity at different points of the network.

Too much emphasis exists on getting people into major centres, whilst many communities and potential routes are not served well.

Whilst it is not possible to please everyone, surely it would be possible run a frequent DPW service from BTM (Bristol Temple Meads (strictly, it should be BRI))/Bath to allow regular connections for Oxford? Nearly every Paddington bound train from BPW» (Bristol Parkway - next trains) stops at DPW, surely BTM trains could.

 
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« Reply #19 on: April 11, 2009, 18:19:42 »

Looking through the list of "Most read topics ever", I was surprised to find this thread in the top 10, and felt it was worth a revisit "bump" for our newer members.

And ... looking at it, perhaps the metrics have slewed and following simonw's last post, the far better performance of FGW (First Great Western) in the last year or two makes a service that runs every half hour Oxford -> Didcot, and a service that runs every half hour Didcot -> Bristol Temple Meads far more attractive if the connections are good.

But on the other hand, I look at our "Oxford to the West" board and it is sadly quiet. Perhaps social engineering has been achieved by changing a train service.  Any thoughts, anyone?
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