Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Looe Line Visit Photos (20/03/2012)
As well as visiting Sandplace station, I also did a full-line recce. Here are a selection of photos, starting off with the Looe line platform at Liskeard, with the rest being of the terminus at Looe itself:
Sandplace Photos (20/03/2012)
One of the questions posed in the Department for Transport Great Western Franchise Replacement consultation document reads as follows:
"Should branch line services continue to call at all branch line stations, or could the needs of most passengers be better met by omission of some of the intermediate stops on some or all of the trains, so that the final destination is reached more quickly?"
One such station that could be affected by the answer is Sandplace, on the Looe branch line in Cornwall. Here are some photos from my visit there today:
"Should branch line services continue to call at all branch line stations, or could the needs of most passengers be better met by omission of some of the intermediate stops on some or all of the trains, so that the final destination is reached more quickly?"
One such station that could be affected by the answer is Sandplace, on the Looe branch line in Cornwall. Here are some photos from my visit there today:
Monday, 19 March 2012
Lawrence Hill Platform Work Photos (19/03/2012)
Work is by Network Rail to replace station footbridge, existing platform surfaces and perimeter fencing. It should take 3 months to complete.
Monday, 12 March 2012
Axminster and Plymouth suburban blues
Well, I woke up this morning raring to go, ready for another day out and about on the FGW network.
All started well enough, as I made the ever-reliable connection from my Portsmouth-Cardiff service onto the 1047 SWT service to Exeter at Salisbury. I did vaguely hear an announcement that an incoming train had been delayed due to signalling problems at Axminster, but thought to myself that the problem had probably cleared.
Wrong.
The first sign of trouble ahead was when we stopped at Chard Junction so another train could pass us there. This never, EVER happens unless there is a problem, and probably a a biggun, awaiting us. As it turned out, the delay was apparently due to Network Rail performing engineering works in the area. Then our guard added, hesitantly as if he couldn't quite believe he was actually telling us this, that NR were operating the crossing gates at Axminster manually!
I'm all for nostalgia, but not when I've got a tight connection to make...
One inevitably slow crawl past the orange-coat-massive later, followed by yet another lengthy delay at Honiton for yet another service to pass us, and we eventually made it into Exeter St Davids 30 minutes or so late.
My original plan was to have a recce at a couple of stations on the pseudo-heritage Looe line (as I said earlier, I'm all for nostalgia, and we're talking chocolate and cream heaven here) but the delay made that a bit of a non-starter.
So I decided to check out the Plymouth suburban stations instead.
If you havent been there yourself, prepare for an eye-opener. Think back to how stations like Stapleton Road in Bristol looked like a decade or so ago before the Severnside Community Rail army moved in with their planters, Bristol City Council & FGW (heavily prompted by FOSBR) chipped in with improved frequency services and upgraded station furniture, the Eastside Roots folks opened their garden centre on the disused platforms, and everyone lived happily-ever-after-ish.
This (along with earlier station garden schemes at places like Montpelier) set a template that was followed at several other Bristol area stations, giving a genuine feeling that the suburban passenger experience has significantly improved overall.
The Plymouth suburban stations BADLY need such a template to follow. Bare, uninviting & crumbling platforms, shelters where they exist (they are missing at both Devonport and Dockyard on the Plymouth-bound side) are poorly-maintained and are missing benches, the footbridge at Keyham looks like it is about to collapse at any moment, and the drainage at St Budeaux Ferry Road looks like it is poised to flood out its few passengers at any moment.
Ferry Road station does provide a rare piece of evidence of a community rail effort, but this is in the form of fading mosiacs that date back to the Wales & West era!
It's not as if there aren't examples of how it should be done relatively close at hand. The Saltash folks just across the bridge in Cornwall have made their station one to be proud of, all floral and plant displays, patio-syle areas with benches, and more useful passenger information than you can shake a stick at. If only the derelict former station building could be sorted, then it would be perfect, but that ongoing saga isn't their fault.
So come on Plymouth City Council. There's nothing wrong with pushing for more 3-hour journey services to London, or indeed better local rail services to Penzance & Exeter as I fully acknowledge you are in your GW franchise renewal lobbying, but please, PLEASE get together with FGW and experts such as Richard Burningham at the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership, or Richard Bickford at Saltash, to end this neglect of the local stations in your own backyard.
As the excellent Bristol and Saltash examples show, you wont regret it.
All started well enough, as I made the ever-reliable connection from my Portsmouth-Cardiff service onto the 1047 SWT service to Exeter at Salisbury. I did vaguely hear an announcement that an incoming train had been delayed due to signalling problems at Axminster, but thought to myself that the problem had probably cleared.
Wrong.
The first sign of trouble ahead was when we stopped at Chard Junction so another train could pass us there. This never, EVER happens unless there is a problem, and probably a a biggun, awaiting us. As it turned out, the delay was apparently due to Network Rail performing engineering works in the area. Then our guard added, hesitantly as if he couldn't quite believe he was actually telling us this, that NR were operating the crossing gates at Axminster manually!
I'm all for nostalgia, but not when I've got a tight connection to make...
One inevitably slow crawl past the orange-coat-massive later, followed by yet another lengthy delay at Honiton for yet another service to pass us, and we eventually made it into Exeter St Davids 30 minutes or so late.
My original plan was to have a recce at a couple of stations on the pseudo-heritage Looe line (as I said earlier, I'm all for nostalgia, and we're talking chocolate and cream heaven here) but the delay made that a bit of a non-starter.
So I decided to check out the Plymouth suburban stations instead.
If you havent been there yourself, prepare for an eye-opener. Think back to how stations like Stapleton Road in Bristol looked like a decade or so ago before the Severnside Community Rail army moved in with their planters, Bristol City Council & FGW (heavily prompted by FOSBR) chipped in with improved frequency services and upgraded station furniture, the Eastside Roots folks opened their garden centre on the disused platforms, and everyone lived happily-ever-after-ish.
This (along with earlier station garden schemes at places like Montpelier) set a template that was followed at several other Bristol area stations, giving a genuine feeling that the suburban passenger experience has significantly improved overall.
The Plymouth suburban stations BADLY need such a template to follow. Bare, uninviting & crumbling platforms, shelters where they exist (they are missing at both Devonport and Dockyard on the Plymouth-bound side) are poorly-maintained and are missing benches, the footbridge at Keyham looks like it is about to collapse at any moment, and the drainage at St Budeaux Ferry Road looks like it is poised to flood out its few passengers at any moment.
Ferry Road station does provide a rare piece of evidence of a community rail effort, but this is in the form of fading mosiacs that date back to the Wales & West era!
It's not as if there aren't examples of how it should be done relatively close at hand. The Saltash folks just across the bridge in Cornwall have made their station one to be proud of, all floral and plant displays, patio-syle areas with benches, and more useful passenger information than you can shake a stick at. If only the derelict former station building could be sorted, then it would be perfect, but that ongoing saga isn't their fault.
So come on Plymouth City Council. There's nothing wrong with pushing for more 3-hour journey services to London, or indeed better local rail services to Penzance & Exeter as I fully acknowledge you are in your GW franchise renewal lobbying, but please, PLEASE get together with FGW and experts such as Richard Burningham at the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership, or Richard Bickford at Saltash, to end this neglect of the local stations in your own backyard.
As the excellent Bristol and Saltash examples show, you wont regret it.
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