Swindon to Oxford - new proposal from the "Go!" Coop

[whole diary]

[anthony215]

As for running to Weymouuth i suppose it will be ok on sundays so there should be at least a few paths along the single line between Upwey & Yeovil pen mill

[gwr2006]

I am not sure if a class 67 is wired to work with a DBSO^▸ (Driving Brake Standard Open (carriage)). the only loco that can as far as i am aware are class 31's & class 33/1's

The DBSO's were originally converted to work with Class 47/7 on the Glasgow-Edinburgh route and were then rewired to work with Class 86/2 electrics on the London-Norwich route.  Five are used by Network Rail with Class 31's as part of the track monitoring trains.  The TDM equipment can be modified to suit the intended motive power - so a class 67 would be possible with a few alterations.

[Brucey]

Does anyone know the answer to my question before I contact them.  I'm quite interested in investing: ^100 is ok, but I can't afford to risk/tie up ^500.  To be eligible for the lower investment "subscribers should live within ten miles of a railway station named in this document, or five miles of any other named location."

What do they mean by named location?  Would the mention of "To Bristol and Exeter" be enough to make me eligible, as I live within Bristol?

[willc]

I am not sure if a class 67 is wired to work with a DBSO^▸ (Driving Brake Standard Open (carriage)). the only loco that can as far as i am aware are class 31's & class 33/1's

The DBSO's were originally converted to work with Class 47/7 on the Glasgow-Edinburgh route and were then rewired to work with Class 86/2 electrics on the London-Norwich route.  Five are used by Network Rail with Class 31's as part of the track monitoring trains.  The TDM equipment can be modified to suit the intended motive power - so a class 67 would be possible with a few alterations.

More than a few. Class 67s don't have TDM. They (and the 66s) are equipped with Association of American Railroads multiple working kit, which is why the Mk3 DVTs^‡(resolve) used by Wrexham & Shropshire and with the EWS^▸ (English Welsh & Scottish Railway Ltd, now known as DB Schenker Rail (UK^▸ (United Kingdom)))/DB^» (Deutsche Bahn - German State Railway - about) Schenker company train have modified driving cab controls and wiring to be compatible with the AAR^» (Association of American Railroads - about) system, so if you were to use 67s, the DBSOs would require similar conversion work.

[JayMac]

Do they have any plans to include First Class provision and a catering service ^ la Wrexham and Shropshire?

Also with a name like "Go!" perhaps they ought to consider using Thunderbird locomotives!!! 

[Chris from Nailsea]

On First Class - yes, they may offer first class ticket services, but they do not want to take up too many seats with this.

On catering - they are open to suggestions as to what catering provision passengers would use: for example, mobile trolleys or a fixed buffet.

(Source: Swindon launch meeting presentation, on Wednesday 21 April).

C.

[anthony215]

I would have though it would be better to run services to Salisbury & Brighton rather than Yeovil and get FGW^▸ (First Great Western) to run an hourly Bristol TM^‡(resolve) - Yeovil Pen Mill service with trains continuing to Weymouth every 2 hours.

I did have look at whether or not it was possible to operate some of these trains through to Brighton which i think would be a good destination to serve especially in the summer months.

[JayMac]

I think it's best if they learn to walk before running. A modest start is better to help bed things in, get an idea of the market and then look to expand to new destinations.

[ReWind]

Swindon - Salibury maybe viable, but extending them to Southampton and especially Brighton would be unrealistic. 

The Southampton - Brighton line is already congested, and not really in FGW^▸ (First Great Western) core territory.  ( Especially west of PHB ).

Also, if I were going to Southampton or Brighton, I would find it just as quick to go to Reading/London and change there.

Oxford - Swindon - Yeovil is my choice!! 

[IndustryInsider]

Given the high cost of running loco-hauled trains, the frequency of services proposed, and the fairly limited market for travel between the stations on the chosen route, I have to say that I really don't think this is a viable proposition .  In fact I thought it was an April fool when Graham started the topic on March 29th, but it certainly is an interesting idea and I wish them well!

[Trowres]

Given the high cost of running loco-hauled trains...

Can anyone give an idea of how expensive or not it really is? We're talking here of medium (several years) leases, not spot hire for one train per week. IIRC^▸ (if I recall/remember/read correctly) the variable track access charges for a loco would be paid for by about three extra passengers.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Swindon Go! coop launch meeting, which I attended:

They have employed professional consultants, who have confirmed that their preferred route would be financially viable;

Costs will be in the region of ^5m to ^6m a year to run the trains;

They do have the financial backing for this venture.

See pages 7 to 10, and 13 & 14, in particular, in the Go! offer document.

Chris.

[IndustryInsider]

They have employed professional consultants, who have confirmed that their preferred route would be financially viable;

I don't dispute they have, and you could certainly say that professional consultants would probably have a better idea than myself of course.  However, it all depends on the methodology used to come to that conclusion.  After all, there's plenty of examples where usage figures for reasonably recent projects have either been grossly over or underestimated.  Ebbw Vale Parkway and the Midland Metro are two cases highlighting both extremes, and you can be sure that professional consultants would have been used to come up with those totally inaccurate predictions!

[Chris from Nailsea]

... and I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you, IndustryInsider. 

I did attend the Swindon launch meeting, and I listened very carefully to what they had to say.

My reference to their Offer Document was simply to draw attention to what they have published, on certain aspects of their proposals.

C. 

[Brucey]

Is there any update on how the company is progressing with its plans?  Can't see anything too recent on their website.