Railwatch 077 - October 1998

South West

By Gerard Duddridge

Timetable and fare changes The summer timetable saw an increase in the number of Virgin services from Devon to the Midlands and the North, an extra train from Cornwall to the Midlands and Manchester and new morning and evening local services. The drawback is the diversion of some Paignton services to Plymouth, although Virgin say portioned workings would be possible when its new rolling stock is delivered. Great Western has reduced the number of weekday services from Devon to London, partly it says, to free train paths for Virgin to use, and partly to cover for the shortage of stock resulting from the Southall crash. Great Western has also extended journey times to "improve reliability" and take account of the increased number of temporary speed restrictions introduced by Railtrack.

Connections with branch lines in Cornwall give cause for concern as many have not been retimed to meet changed Great Western and Virgin main line train times. Both main line operators admit there are short- comings, and Great Western says there will be major improvements in the total rail service in Cornwall and Devon in 1999.

Great Western has caused some consternation in West Cornwall with the barring of Saver tickets on departures between 16.32 and 18.20 from Paddington. For passengers travelling to Redruth and Cornwall the last weekday train on which Savers are valid is now the 15.35 instead of the 17.33. Great Western has reduced the price of Saver tickets and the pre-book only Super Advance by 5%. The Super Advance remains valid on the 17.33 but subject to seating quotas. Great Western says it would not have been able to reduce the Saver ticket price if they had continued to be available on the 17.33. We have suggested a number of options to improve the situation, and they have agreed to look closely at introducing a later through train or connection into West Cornwall on which Saver tickets could be valid.

Problems in Cornwall A shortage of staff by Prism subsidiary Wales and West has led to replacement of some Cornish branch line trains by buses, particularly affecting Looe and St Ives in May and June. Meanwhile, a shortage of Sprinter units has meant that only two coaches have been available for the St Ives branch during August. Park-and-ride passengers, already having to face high summer fares, are sometimes finding standing-room only is available. RDS has been arguing the case for a half-hourly service on the Truro to Falmouth line which would require new passing places on the single line. Such capacity would certainly have been well used on the day of the Tall Ships Race, helping to mitigate long delays and queues of road traffic in and around Falmouth. Passengers had to be turned away from the branch line train, and intermediate stops were not served at certain times because the train was full. Unfortunately Health and Safety restrictions prevented the running of longer trains.

Bus links at rail stations With help from members across Cornwall and Devon a survey of bus interchange facilities and routes at major rail stations has been published. Based on the 1997-98 timetables, good examples of bus links were found, but many lacked co-ordination with train times resulting in some lengthy waits. Even Great Western's through ticket facility bus routes are not always well timed to meet the train. The report calls for a network of dedicated Premier bus links to rail stations in the region, combined timetables, bus and rail journey planner software and better waiting and information facilities. Joint bus and rail travelcards should also be introduced for certain areas. For a copy of the report, send a 21cm by 30cm self-addressed envelope with stamps to the value of 45p to RDS South West, 149 Polwithen Drive, Carbis Bay, St Ives, Cornwall TR26 2SW.

Short sighted Devon County Council is refusing to support Okehampton-Tavistock route protection A reopened Okehampton route from Plymouth, with reasonable lengths of double track, would have proved valuable on 1 May when the Virgin 16.50 Plymouth to Sheffield failed. The closed line delayed two other passenger trains, plus freight and mail trains. Even if breakdowns can be eliminated there is no escaping the fact that the Exeter-Newton Abbot line will always limit the number of trains to Torbay, Plymouth and Cornwall. As well as providing a useful local passenger service, the Okehampton line could take pressure off the congested Exeter-Newton Abbot route, particularly for freight.

The branch has yet again expressed its concern to Devon County Council over the lack of protection for the disused Meldon (Okehampton) to Tavistock section. It states that reopening would be a problem because property has been built on the line and Meldon Viaduct is a scheduled ancient monument. The fact that the Royal Albert Bridge is also listed despite being in daily use as a rail link appears to have escaped it. Railtrack's Network Management Statement has now pointed out potential capacity problems on the existing line to Plymouth, but the county council does not believe there is a capacity problem. On the usefulness of an Okehampton route for diversions when the Dawlish sea wall is breached, Devon says that it has made it clear that it is of crucial importance for Railtrack to keep the Dawlish route open 365 days a year. So that's all right then! Meanwhile, Devon will continue to promote the route's conversion to a cycle way to celebrate the millennium.

The Branch is organising a meeting in Plymouth on Saturday 7 November 1998 to discuss the Okehampton route.

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