Bath Spa station - dealing with future capacity issues - ideas?

[whole diary]

[grahame]

The platforms at Bath Spa can get very busy indeed and the numbers of people coming in and out of the city "can only grow".

A question from my mailbox asks how the congestion we already see might be eased.  I have a whole load of way out ideas and thoughts and I am starting with an a satellite picture showing the position of the station and places around it, which I can follow up with - keeping my initial post clean as a post to raise the issue.

[grahame]

The platforms at Bath Spa can get very busy indeed and the numbers of people coming in and out of the city "can only grow".

A question from my mailbox asks how the congestion we already see might be eased.  I have a whole load of way out ideas

Ten preposterous ideas ...

1. Extend Bristol bound platform over bridge
2. Access ramps rise over river from south bank
3. Three track section to the west becomes main lines on outside with turnback track in centre.
4. Access lifts / escalator in Prezzo Restaurant
5. Re-instate bay plaform at London end / side
6. Make better use of level access already there to car park at London end on London arrival side
7. Make all local trains 5 carriages long and stop them at the end of the platfom where people come on new local entries
8. Could there be a travellator up from the booking hall to the front of the London platform (old bay space)?
9. Could trains run on time to reduce passenger dwell time on platform?
10. Escalator / lifts in bus station to overhead walkway to platform (and across Dorchester Street?)

[ChrisB]

6 is your best bet....

[grahame]

6 is your best bet....

Agreed there is a quick win there to cut the crowds at the top of the stairs as trains arrived from the east.  But a look at the passenger and public transport flows is needed to come up with the best combination of solutions all around - and that includes flows beyond station property, and flow of trains.  "6" would be good - and would do nothing for the overcrowding on the stairs to the London bound platform or at the top of those stairs.

[Mark A]

In the 1950s did BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) really propose replacing Bath Spa with a new station on the site of Westmoreland Road goods station? Also, closing the Midland line between Green Park and the outskirts of the city along with the S&D^▸ (Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway) from Midford, replaced with a spur from the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) line to the Midland west of the city, and a junction close to the Bath Spa station site serving a new-build double  track line from there beneath Claverton Down to Monkton Combe, rejoining the S&D south of Midford?

Mark

[Mark A]

The platforms at Bath Spa can get very busy indeed and the numbers of people coming in and out of the city "can only grow".

A question from my mailbox asks how the congestion we already see might be eased.  I have a whole load of way out ideas

Ten preposterous ideas ...

1. Extend Bristol bound platform over bridge
2. Access ramps rise over river from south bank
3. Three track section to the west becomes main lines on outside with turnback track in centre.
4. Access lifts / escalator in Prezzo Restaurant
5. Re-instate bay plaform at London end / side
6. Make better use of level access already there to car park at London end on London arrival side
7. Make all local trains 5 carriages long and stop them at the end of the platfom where people come on new local entries
8. Could there be a travellator up from the booking hall to the front of the London platform (old bay space)?
9. Could trains run on time to reduce passenger dwell time on platform?
10. Escalator / lifts in bus station to overhead walkway to platform (and across Dorchester Street?)

So glad you didn't stray to the dark side and include a list of footfall-suppression techniques. Particularly evil would be to shape the passenger profile, minimising the numbers who would consider rail to travel with children, pushchairs, luggage, or those that for one reason or other, slow crowd movements down.

Mark

[grahame]

So glad you didn't stray to the dark side and include a list of footfall-suppression techniques. Particularly evil would be to shape the passenger profile, minimising the numbers who would consider rail to travel with children, pushchairs, luggage, or those that for one reason or other, slow crowd movements down.

NO WAY would I [:swear:] do so.  I would look to divert footfall from the current staircases and lifts at Bath Spa, and from the busier middle of the platform to the quieter ends.

[Clan Line]

Ten preposterous ideas ...

7. Make all local trains 5 carriages long and stop them at the end of the platfom where people come on new local entries

How long ago was this "preposterous" idea put forward as being the gospel truth by GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) with regards to the Cardiff - Portsmouth route ? ....................so don't hold your breath for the "local trains".

[IndustryInsider]

How long ago was this "preposterous" idea put forward as being the gospel truth by GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) with regards to the Cardiff - Portsmouth route ?

Until not long before Covid, which was the big nail in that coffin.  Instead of that, the core Bristol<>Westbury section has had a decent capacity increase thanks to the additional trains introduced from summer ‘23.

[grahame]

How long ago was this "preposterous" idea put forward as being the gospel truth by GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) with regards to the Cardiff - Portsmouth route ?

Until not long before Covid, which was the big nail in that coffin.  Instead of that, the core Bristol<>Westbury section has had a decent capacity increase thanks to the additional trains introduced from summer ‘23.

I wholeheartedly agree with the extra local capacity and especially the doubling of services it brings to Keynsham and Oldfield Park, and the big improvements at Dilton Marsh and between Warminster and Salisbury. Excellent.  What more short trains do, ironically, at Bath Spa is to boost that "hot spot" of people milling about at the top of the stops on the eastbound platform.

Radical question - if the stop boards were moved forward (as they are at Melksham) so that local trains stop away from the platform entrance, would that help spread people out?

[Mark A]

How long ago was this "preposterous" idea put forward as being the gospel truth by GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) with regards to the Cardiff - Portsmouth route ?

Until not long before Covid, which was the big nail in that coffin.  Instead of that, the core Bristol<>Westbury section has had a decent capacity increase thanks to the additional trains introduced from summer ‘23.

I wholeheartedly agree with the extra local capacity and especially the doubling of services it brings to Keynsham and Oldfield Park, and the big improvements at Dilton Marsh and between Warminster and Salisbury. Excellent.  What more short trains do, ironically, at Bath Spa is to boost that "hot spot" of people milling about at the top of the stops on the eastbound platform.

Radical question - if the stop boards were moved forward (as they are at Melksham) so that local trains stop away from the platform entrance, would that help spread people out?

It might enable a more orderly approach to the exits.

Playing in Bath Spa's favour is that there's a bit of space on the platforms.

After the bad experience at Paddington last year - very full, late, and very standing train arrival, people + me off it at the pointy end of the platform and I had to be first off as I was standing against the door - people getting off and mixing with passengers already on the platform, wanting to move down and board the train we'd arrived on, and then for good measure, another shorter IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project. This will offer more capacity on routes, save money, give a consistent and safe service and meet customer requirements. Intended to replace HSTs.) appeared as it departed from the other platform face. If anyone finds themselves in that situation, do what I didn't know to do: step off and make your way to the platform end and wait there for a bit to give things a chance to settle.

Mark

[froome]

Yes, Bath Spa's one advantage at present is that its platforms are relatively wide, so can cope with large numbers at present. Getting them all on and off the trains is a challenge, which the staff there do their very best to cope with.

My biggest gripe with the current station layout is that the lift on the London-bound platform is exceptionally poorly located and also too small. Its location means that passengers wishing to use it from the entrance have to 'mix' with many of the passengers who are getting off trains from both platforms (via the subway fro those who have arrived on westbound services and from the stairs from those arriving on eastbound services). This leads to huge congestion at the pinch points here, which can lead to considerable delay and no doubt to bad behaviour as people try to get through. From there the route to the lift is then ridiculously contorted and very difficult to negotiate with large luggage/bicycles etc. And the lift is far too small to cope with the demand, and in recent times has had notices requiring no more than two people use it at any time (which many people ignore, especially groups of tourists who may not understand what the notices say).

[Clan Line]

How long ago was this "preposterous" idea put forward as being the gospel truth by GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) with regards to the Cardiff - Portsmouth route ?

Until not long before Covid, which was the big nail in that coffin.  Instead of that, the core Bristol<>Westbury section has had a decent capacity increase thanks to the additional trains introduced from summer ‘23.

This much vaunted "capacity increase" has been achieved by wholesale shortening of the trains outside of this "core". The Cardiff - Portsmouth service now shows one solitary return trip daily by a 5 car train. As I reported a couple of months back, 4 weeks daily commuting from Warminster to Southampton was an appalling experience - but I'm so glad to know it produced more seats from Westbury to Bristol !

[IndustryInsider]

This much vaunted "capacity increase" has been achieved by wholesale shortening of the trains outside of this "core". The Cardiff - Portsmouth service now shows one solitary return trip daily by a 5 car train. As I reported a couple of months back, 4 weeks daily commuting from Warminster to Southampton was an appalling experience - but I'm so glad to know it produced more seats from Westbury to Bristol !

Which, I guess, is hardly surprising given the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) instruction to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) to make significant cost savings which resulted in the cancellation of the entire Class 769 project and the ‘early’ withdrawal of most of the Castle Class sets.

Fleet and capacity wise, I really don’t see how GWR could do much better with what they’ve currently got to work with.  But I agree that the customer experience leaves a lot to be desired as a result.