December 2025 timetable

[whole diary]

[John D]

Been using realtime trains to look at new timetable from mid December in my local area Bradford on Avon (and also applies to Trowbridge).

The off peak timetable is horribly spaced

eg from around 11am southbound
10:47 Cardiff-Portsmouth
11:19 Bristol-Salisbury
11:40 Gloucester-Westbury
11:47 Cardiff-Portsmouth
12:15 Bristol-Salisbury
12:34 Gloucester-Weymouth
12:47 Cardiff-Portsmouth
so gaps of 32min, 19min, 7min, 28min, 19min, 17min
and 2 of 3 trains are different times each hour

northbound (again from around 11am)
10:52 Frome-Bristol
11:18 Weymouth-Gloucester
11:24 Portsmouth-Cardiff
11:56 Salisbury-Bristol
12:17 Westbury-Gloucester
12:24 Portsmouth-Cardiff
12:56 Salisbury-Bristol
so gaps of 26min, 6min, 32min, 21min, 7min, 32min

Of course in a perfect world, 3 trains an hour would be 20 minute intervals, and at same clockface times each hour.  But this seems to be for operators convenience (gaps more than half hourly, 4 minute variations in following hour etc)

Is it just me, or does anyone else think WECA^» (West of England Combined Authority - about) is wasting money providing a third train each hour, if the timetable is so uneven with gaps of upto 32min.  Those gaps are worse than a half hourly service.

Wondered what general view of such a timetable is.

[grahame]

There is so much to discuss here ... some very good points but also some significant compromises needed.  I may share your concerns but at the same time understand the issues.  For example

Been using realtime trains to look at new timetable from mid December in my local area Bradford on Avon (and also applies to Trowbridge).   [snip]

The off peak timetable is horribly spaced

11:40 Gloucester-Westbury
11:47 Cardiff-Portsmouth

Ah - but - that's a train that's stopped at Keynsham, Oldfield Park, Bath Spa, Freshford and Avoncliff being caught up by an express that's only called at Bath Spa. 12 minutes apart (not quite as bad) from Bristol Temple Meads, and having to avoid the IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train - replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan)) running every half hour Bristol to Bath - Bristol to Bath trains at 11:00, 11:10, 11:22, 11:30 and 11:42 in combination.  Also to note ... by being just ahead of the Portsmouth train when it arrives into Westbury, this provides a crisp onward connection from those smaller stations to the Solent area.

I would agree that the drift of a minute or two off the same time in each hour is scruffy and makes it less intuitive for passengers. 

Is it just me, or does anyone else think WECA^» (West of England Combined Authority - about) is wasting money providing a third train each hour, if the timetable is so uneven with gaps of up to 32min.  Those gaps are worse than a half hourly service.

I would not go that far. WECA's timetable steps up Bristol -> Bath to every 10 minutes or so, and doubles service at Keynsham and Oldfield Park to 2 an hour - a bit irregular with gaps between 22 and 38 minutes, but a darned sight better than the bus service we used to have in Melksham with 2 an hour, gaps of 2 and 58 minutes.

Wiltshire in history gets "services like these" - at the tail end of the local service from Bristol, and on other lines when they happen to pass though on the way from somewhere important like London to somewhere else important like Exeter / Plymouth, and having to be mindful of stone trains and other freight too, on lines that were paired down half a century ago and can no longer cope.  I understand that one of the issues not oft publicised is the very long signalling sections between Bradford-on-Avon and Bathampton, and between Warminster and Wilton.

[Timmer]

Mentioning the WECA^» (West of England Combined Authority - about) train services. These bought with them the bonus of doubling services onwards from Westbury to Salisbury giving Dilton Marsh a pretty much hourly service as well as good connections for services to/from Waterloo.

However, the amount of times the WECA trains get canned from Westbury makes the service unreliable as a connection for the Waterloos. I have found this out to my cost that if time is not on my side, better to stump up the extra cash and go via Paddington where London services tend to be more reliable.