Mid Cornwall Metro - Newquay, St Austell, Truro & Falmouth

[whole diary]

[Noggin]

The entire South West so easily feels constrained in capacity and services. Makes me wonder what the optimum levels of both might be.

Mark

There is a psychology in passenger use of public (rail) transport ... the higher up this list, the more likely people are to take the train.  And I would suspect that where a service frequency moves lots of people's planning from one category to another, it results in a sharp rise in passenger numbers.

1. Just turn up at the station to travel
2. Plan your day and make a minor adjustment to catch the best train
3. Work out your trains, then plan your day around them
4. Look at the trains to see if they work for you
5. Don't even thing about the train - be amazed if it runs at a useable time

It also raises the ratio of full-fare adults to discounted students/school kids/OAPs

[Witham Bobby]

The entire South West so easily feels constrained in capacity and services. Makes me wonder what the optimum levels of both might be.

Mark

There is a psychology in passenger use of public (rail) transport ... the higher up this list, the more likely people are to take the train.  And I would suspect that where a service frequency moves lots of people's planning from one category to another, it results in a sharp rise in passenger numbers.

1. Just turn up at the station to travel
2. Plan your day and make a minor adjustment to catch the best train
3. Work out your trains, then plan your day around them
4. Look at the trains to see if they work for you
5. Don't even thing about the train - be amazed if it runs at a useable time

I rearely even consider the Cotswold line services when I travel to London on business.  It's nominally an hourly service, but the days when all the trains run are few.  The thought of cancellation (or amendment to stop short of destination, which is somehow called an amendment, not a cancellation) just puts me off.  "More (newish) trains needing repair"  "shortage of traincrew"  "congestion"  "a fault on this train".  It's just hopeless for anyone with a busy schedule

So it's usually a Chiltern service from Warwick or Oxford for me, and a car journey to get to the station and back

[Witham Bobby]

The entire South West so easily feels constrained in capacity and services. Makes me wonder what the optimum levels of both might be.

Mark

There is a psychology in passenger use of public (rail) transport ... the higher up this list, the more likely people are to take the train.  And I would suspect that where a service frequency moves lots of people's planning from one category to another, it results in a sharp rise in passenger numbers.

1. Just turn up at the station to travel
2. Plan your day and make a minor adjustment to catch the best train
3. Work out your trains, then plan your day around them
4. Look at the trains to see if they work for you
5. Don't even thing about the train - be amazed if it runs at a useable time

I rearely even consider the Cotswold line services when I travel to London on business.  It's nominally an hourly service, but the days when all the trains run are few.  The thought of cancellation (or amendment to stop short of destination, which is somehow called an amendment, not a cancellation) just puts me off.  "More (newish) trains needing repair"  "shortage of traincrew"  "congestion"  "a fault on this train".  It's just hopeless for anyone with a busy schedule

So it's usually a Chiltern service from Warwick or Oxford for me, and a car journey to get to the station and back

[Andy]

The entire South West so easily feels constrained in capacity and services. Makes me wonder what the optimum levels of both might be.

Mark

I wonder if, complementing the hourly Newquay-Falmouth service, extending the Newquay-Par trains to a couple of Newquay-Plymouth runs at peak times might prove popular, particularly in summer.

 

[grahame]

The entire South West so easily feels constrained in capacity and services. Makes me wonder what the optimum levels of both might be.

Mark

I wonder if, complementing the hourly Newquay-Falmouth service, extending the Newquay-Par trains to a couple of Newquay-Plymouth runs at peak times might prove popular, particularly in summer.

I'm sure it might be popular with passengers ... but the business case of what to do with the train off peak might make it a bit of a challenge, and I wonder about paths too and/or disturbances to clock face operation of Newquay - Falmouth

[RailCornwall]

There are a number of peak summer scheduled PAD^▸ (Paddington (London) station)-NQY^▸ (Newquay station) services to cover most of that demand.

[grahame]

From Radio Newquay and with a picture of a 150 in the new platform

Second platform reopens after nearly four decades

Newquay has begun using a second railway platform for the first time in 38 years, as trains return to the branch line following Network Rail engineering work.

The station has operated with a single platform since the signal box closed in October 1987. The introduction of digital signalling has allowed both platforms to be used at the same time. The upgrade forms part of preparations for the Mid Cornwall Metro (MCM), which will see an hourly service between Newquay and Par introduced next year. A direct link to Falmouth, via Par, St Austell and Truro, is planned to follow.

Digital signalling, controlled from Goonbarrow signal box, replaces the previous “token” system that restricted the single-track line to one train at a time. Network Rail’s work also includes a passing loop at Goss Moor, track replacement near St Blazey and refurbishment of the 152-year-old Ponts Mill viaduct.

[GBM]

The BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) now have a similar article
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd9k1z8d20wo
Second platform opens at station after 40 years
A second platform has opened at a Cornish railway station for the first time in nearly 40 years as part of a £50m infrastructure project.

Newquay station has only had one platform in use since October 1987, when a signal box closed.

........continues..........