I'm on the 18:18 Paddington to Swansea train and was planning to change into the train GWR have just cancelled at Swindon.  No indication on Journeycheck of alternative arrangements and no staff have passed through to ask (as yet). Will ne interesting to see what happens.

 

Leaving aside some that will travel earlier, it's a couple of buses/coaches. Hopefully booked them as soon as the staff shortage was noted

 
No - atleast you have 8 trains a day.....how many round the loop?

 

 
From the group's newsletter

 

Dual standards?

 

 

I estimate around 150 people left Swindon on the 08:44 this morning - and it looked like a good proportion were headed for the seaside.   Hope they all get home OK.

 

Yes.  More housing in sensible locations.


Moving the crossing will also mean changing/upgrading all the signalling on the line which is currently operated locally from Crediton Signal Box with tokens.  Perhaps that might make sense if the equipment is being replaced anyway, but will come at quite a cost otherwise.  Opening the line to Okehampton would not have happened if the cost of those works had been included at the time.

All this to give a tiny constrained village station a second train per hour.

 
Round the rhubarb loop - not from Melksham I meant

 


Ah - right.  So that means you can never reliably travel in either direction from Melksham, with gaps up to 2 hours 40 minutes, and only once a day in one direction only do two trains run at better than your definition. 

It makes a huge difference to the users or potential users.   I have just turned up (elsewhere) for a service that runs every 30 minutes, knowing I can get a train soon - and I did; catching up from the train.  I am now working out how to get home - and the last leg is the interesting one.

 
By 'reliably', I meant throughout the day, regularly. Say at least every hour?

 
yup, that's them!

 
Isn't that what this planning change is all about; more housing.

As for infrastructure move the crossing to Coleford junction to make a dual track and not two single tracks. It should have been done when the original Okehampton was improved. It would benefit Barnstaple travellers as well.

Isn't Newton St Cyres already ear marked for housing? Yeoford, Crediton, Newton St Cyres will all come under the new Greater Exeter.

 
Ah, possibly Lakeland Dairies.

Mark

https://lakelanddairies.com/food-service/international-business/milk-butter-portions

 

Why would GWR be asked to quote on the second platform reinstatement at Yeoford?

Anyway, having visited Yeoford I really can't see how this is ever likely to happen.  There's not much of a problem reinstating the platform itself, but I am sure the residents of a small, lovely and charming sleepy village would object strongly to a load more housing being plonked in a place that sits in a natural valley.  The tight winding roads in and around the station would then see more traffic and to turn it into a place which is the size to justify a service every 30-minutes to Crediton and Exeter and an hourly service to Okehampton would need hundreds of new houses completely destroying the character of the small village.

None of the narrow roads without footpaths leading to the station can be easily widened and I'm sure modern planning regulations would insist on expensive upgrades to ensure pedestrian safety immediately around the station.

As you mention, the pathing is very tight between Exeter and Crediton and with the Okehampton service having a little as 5 minutes turnaround, so there would need to be further infrastructure improvements to support the 3-4 minutes additional time the line would be occupied between Crediton and Okehampton per hour if the train was to stop in each direction.

I'd estimate at least £25m.  Money that would be much better spent elsewhere.

 
Cancellations to services between Swindon and Westbury via Melksham

Due to a fault with the signalling system between Swindon and Bristol Temple Meads some lines are blocked. Disruption is expected until 16:00 22/08.

Train services between Swindon and Westbury via Melksham will be cancelled.

 

More so than many other services - the 07:04 from Bath Spa to Filton Abbey Wood has run on 19 out of the last 20 days (so 5% cancellation rate) and has averaged just a 3 minute late arrival.

 
175003 has been entrusted with Newquay today. It is the most reliable train.

On Thursday it completed its full passenger diagram starting at 0655 Exeter and finishing there at 2237.
Also running backwards and forwards between Exeter and Plymouth was 175006+175115 completing 500 miles with no incidents. It wasn't in passenger service just mileage accumulation.

At Exeter it coupled up with 175003 in a 2+3+2 and returned to Laira as 5P28. The first 7 car formation.

It was planned to repeat it on Friday but cancelled due to staff shortages.

 
Yeoford has second platform that only needs re-instating. GWR would probably quote £10m.

I've lost all faith in GWR in the southwest unless someone else is paying.

Paignton station since the fire which still hasn't fully opened platform 2 for nine car trains. Supposed to be next week. The ticket hall and booking office don't look to be open for weeks. The damage was smoke related. The frontage has been boarded up across the car park. The toilets on platform 2 in a shed further along have been open when staff are present. There is a new back door fire escape to the staff accommodation that has been installed since the fire. The repairers don't work weekends; no urgency.

On a Saturday the toilets close at 1630 and the staff all go by 1700; yet that station is still busy. All the tour trains and their has been one virtually every Saturday and some midweek all depart about 1730. Because they cannot stop in platform 2 to pick up (11 coaches and a diesel at each end) Paignton has lost a lot of business.

 

Use the ferry from Malpas to Falmouth its more reliable.

 
SEmi-skimmed UHT Dairy it is - but I can't remember the brand....

 
The sachets of 'Milk' (can't recall if it's actually dairy, but no matter, it's effective) - can anyone recall what it is and where it's available retail?

Mark

 
Distance - By actual service train.

[Can you reliability travel via Rhubarb Loop?]

 

Not so much track as a second platform? 

The only think we know about the "real" next GBR generation is that we don't know what it will bring ...

 
Catalogue of errors with awful consequences.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn4n55g2dejo