Pilning - the station, services, viability and closure of down platform - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[Lee]

I last visited Pilning station in July 2006. Here is whats changed (and what hasnt) :

Pilning station is currently served by stops in the West Country - Weston - Super - Mare - Cardiff Central service.

This service does not appear in the final FGW^▸ (First Great Western) December 2006 timetable and neither do any trains that call at Pilning.

The Weston - Cardiff service is to return , but the Monday - Friday Pilning stops wont be making a comeback.

Pilning has 10 car parking spaces available.

And still does today. Thats 8 more parking spaces than the number of trains that call at Pilning per week.

A very recent independent assessment of the Pilning station facilities found that the nameboards had not been First Great Western "re-branded , " unlike the vast majority of stations on the FGW network. First have been there , because they have put up a FGW poster and taped over the Wessex Train logos.

The nameboards on the footbridge are now FGW - branded , but the one on the former station building still has "Wessex Trains" written on it. FGW have now put a poster up stating "there is a very limited train service from this station" (!) and which also lists the 2 trains per week that call there. To give them credit , the shelters are in good condition (better than at Melksham , for example) and the usual no - smoking / train tracker signs are on display. The information point (for what its worth) is also in working order.

Pilning has a telephone box but it is in a very poor state , and it was suspected that the telephone itself had not worked for some time (emergency calls only.)

Its still not working.

The former sidings at Pilning are up for sale by BRB^‡(resolve) (Residuary) (link below.) The former coal yard at Pilning is actually "under offer."
http://www.brb.gov.uk/property/property_listings?keyword=Pilning

The sidings are still up for sale , but the coal yard has now been sold.

I can't see loadings being very high on a Pilning train. It is in the middle of nowhere!

Heres an interesting fact :

I was at Mottisfont & Dunbridge station very early the same morning.

Did you know that there are less houses within 5 minutes walk of Mottisfont & Dunbridge station than there are within 5 minutes walk of Pilning station?

Yet Mottisfont & Dunbridge will have a 2 - hourly (rising to hourly in the peak) service from December 2007 , while Pilning will remain on 2 trains per week! This is bizarre , when a study of the timetable tells us that there is virtually no time penalty to be accrued from calling at Pilning (same principle as Superconducting Tunnel Junction (STJ^▸ (Severn Tunnel Junction railway station)) on the other side of the tunnel.) As if to prove my point , a totally unannounced 1508 service called when I was there waiting for the 1541 to Cardiff (anyone know why?)

While I wouldnt begrudge Mottisfont & Dunbridge their improved service for one moment , I do feel that some consistency (even if only in the form of a Monday - Friday commuter service) is called for regarding Pilning.

Edit: VickiS - Clarifying Acronym

[John R]

I'm going to be contraversial now, but of all the campaigns in this Coffee Shop, I think the case for restoring a semblance of a train service to Pilning is pretty weak.

1. Pilning itself has a pretty small population.
2. The village isn't within a sensible walking distance of the station.
3. Given you've got to drive, Severn Beach station is at most a couple of minutes further away (although accept the service from there to Bristol is also meagre and slow).
4. It's on a very busy main line, operating close to capacity, with a mix of trains.

If I lived in Pilning I'd be more miffed that the village is surrounded by motorways (and presumably noise), and very close to a junction, but you still have to drive for miles to access the motorway network. 

[martyjon]

For what use Pilning is today the station might as well be closed.

In recent years the only direction you could get a train to and come back the same day was Bristol. The service then wouldnt allow a passenger to travel into Bristol and back again if following a 9 - 5 employment.

What the powers to be should have done is closed the station when either the line to Severn Beach was closed in the sixties or the original Severn Bridge was opened.

I can remember tha days when Pilning was a busy station with commuters travelling through the tunnel to SVJ and beyond which even included free the travel railwaymen going to work at the yard at SVJ.

Pilning even had a motorail service, it wasnt called that though, and conveyed cars to SVJ. Very useful when the winds stopped the Aust ferry from operating and avoided the slog up to Gloucester and back to Chepstow.

As I said, for what use Pilning is today thw station might as well be closed.
 

[Lee]

Thanks so much for the positive suggestions. Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways (FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways)) & I will just have to give up then.

4. It's on a very busy main line, operating close to capacity, with a mix of trains.

I would like to (not for the first time) dispute this. John's point (though correct) makes little difference when stopping a train at Pilning. For example :

On Saturdays , the time taken for the 0800 Cardiff - Weymouth service to travel between Severn Tunnel Junction and Patchway WITH a stop at Pilning is 16 minutes.

The time taken for the 1000 Cardiff - Southampton service to travel between Severn Tunnel Junction and Patchway WITHOUT a stop at Pilning is ALSO 16 minutes.

Going in the other direction , the time taken for the Saturday 1249 Weymouth - Cardiff service to travel between Patchway and Severn Tunnel Junction WITH a stop at Pilning is 13 minutes.

The time taken for the Monday - Friday 1732 Westbury - Cardiff service to travel between Patchway and Severn Tunnel Junction WITHOUT a stop at Pilning is 14 minutes.

Not stopping at Pilning has nothing to do with operational reasons , and everything to do with spite and the undeclared (but real) wish to close the station.

A good opposing view to John's overall one , along with some background , can be found in the link below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilning_railway_station

Quotes :

"Prior to the timetable change in December 2006, Pilning was served by 1 train each way on weekdays. From December 2006 First Great Western decided to cut the service to just one train a week in each direction on Saturdays only. (westbound Cardiff Central and eastbound Weymouth.) This is in spite of the site being surrounded by undeveloped land, close to major arterial roads, and the line being used by Intercity and Cross Country services."

"It has been speculated that a decision was taken to close the station by stealth after the Severnside Stadium housing development stalled. This had been an extensive new housing project near the station and would have provided much commuter traffic to the area."

I would argue (as do Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways (FOSBR)), that we need to keep the station open now , because it will be needed in the future (link below.)
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=357.msg1034#msg1034

Edit: VickiS - Clarifying Acronym

[Lee]

Did you know that there is another FGW^▸ (First Great Western) station , not too far away , that closely fits most of John's criteria?

1. Pilning itself has a pretty small population.
2. The village isn't within a sensible walking distance of the station.
4. It's on a very busy main line, operating close to capacity, with a mix of trains.

If I lived in Pilning I'd be more miffed that the village is surrounded by motorways (and presumably noise), and very close to a junction, but you still have to drive for miles to access the motorway network. 

Here are a few clues :

1) Its service was increased from 2 - hourly to hourly in December 2006.

2) Its passenger numbers have grown from 50534 in 2002 / 2003 to 72113 in 2005 / 2006.

3) Nobody (as far as I am aware) is suggesting that it should be closed.

4) See link below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cam_and_Dursley_railway_station

[Jim]

They don't want to close the station, as I belive it costs more than it does to leave it open and give it a train service!

[Lee]

They don't want to close the station, as I belive it costs more than it does to leave it open and give it a train service!

That may have been true a couple of years ago , but it isnt true now.

Jim , we've been through this one before (on the MTLS^▸ (More Train Less Strain) forum) but I guess we will have to go through it again. See link below for details of the new DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) Closure Guidance (which I presume you read last time I posted it in response to similiar comments from your good self.)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/F3641215?thread=2441627

[Jim]

They don't want to close the station, as I belive it costs more than it does to leave it open and give it a train service!

Jim , we've been through this one before (on the MTLS^▸ (More Train Less Strain) forum) but I guess we will have to go through it again. See link below for details of the new DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) Closure Guidance (which I presume you read last time I posted it in response to similiar comments from your good self.)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/F3641215?thread=2441627

Ooops, sorry Lee,forgot about that

[Lee]

Sorry as well if my comments sounded a bit off , but you know what I am like regarding potentially threatened lines & stations....

[vacman]

My opinion is that the station is being kept open because if it were to close then it would be very difficult to reopen it again if it were needed in the future, by stopping one train a week doesn't really cost much and keeps options open for the future. No one uses it so theres not much wear and tear on the station.

[Shazz]

Did you know that there is another FGW^▸ (First Great Western) station , not too far away , that closely fits most of John's criteria?

1. Pilning itself has a pretty small population.
2. The village isn't within a sensible walking distance of the station.
4. It's on a very busy main line, operating close to capacity, with a mix of trains.

If I lived in Pilning I'd be more miffed that the village is surrounded by motorways (and presumably noise), and very close to a junction, but you still have to drive for miles to access the motorway network. 

Here are a few clues :

1) Its service was increased from 2 - hourly to hourly in December 2006.

2) Its passenger numbers have grown from 50534 in 2002 / 2003 to 72113 in 2005 / 2006.

3) Nobody (as far as I am aware) is suggesting that it should be closed.

4) See link below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cam_and_Dursley_railway_station

Agreed with most of that, apart from 4

I live right next to the line, it isnt really what i'd call a "busy line" (about C&D)

there are 3 passenger trains each way every hour with the ocasional freight, and this will be reduced to 2 tph when the new XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) service comes in,

it's not the busiest line in the world, and is no where near capacity!

also, those figures were published before it changed to 1tph each way at C&D iirc, i wouldnt be suprised if the stats had gone through 100,000 as a result.

One thing it has over pilning though, it has an incredibly reliable bus service purely for connections to local towns for the train!

[John R]

The main difference between Pilning and C&D is that the latter was built to serve the populations that give it its name, and are within a few minutes drive. It's not obvious what populations of similar size Pilning could serve. 

Sorry if I sound negative Lee, but with the best will in the world I just can't see what market this station would serve, even if it had a half hourly service. It's only purpose now seems to be as an emergency place to detrain passengers in the event of an incident in the ST. What am I missing?   

[devon_metro]

Pilning is in the middle of nowhere. Trust me i've been there.

Its not far from the M4 and the other road that crosses the Severn.

[Graz]

I feel that the clear issues surrounding Pilning now, are:
The station is quite far from Pilning village. The road that links Pilning to the station is, according to the OS^▸ (Ordnance Survey) map, a narrow country lane. The station is accessible only via minor roads. There are no easy connections to the motorways.
There are few other villages nearby. Almondsbury is quite close but road links are poor.
The residents of Pilning (probably) find it easier to get to Severn Beach station due to the connecting B road.
And the skeletal service doesn't help at all, the station has practically been wiped off the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) map.

However, the station does have potential. If Pilning were to extend to the east, which I feel is likely, it could serve a lot of commuters.
Better roads to the station, even from Pilning itself, would certainly help with a roadside footpath / cycleway connecting the village to the station.
I have noticed, according to the OS map, that there is a pub and plenty of country footpaths nearby, so the station could appeal to walkers. An untapped market maybe?
Of course, all of this would not be possible without an increased service. There has to be at least daily peak hour trains to serve potential market for a quick peak hour service to Bristol/Cardiff and more trains on a saturday to appeal to leisure trips. If it was true that stops at Pilning would not matter to overall timings, there seems little reason not to.

A quick further comment- I wish the line from Severn Beach to Pilning had not been closed. With that, we could have seen frequent Bristol circular services via Severn Beach serving Pilning.

[Shazz]

A quick further comment- I wish the line from Severn Beach to Pilning had not been closed. With that, we could have seen frequent Bristol circular services via Severn Beach serving Pilning.

In the proposals the the SB^▸ (Signal Box) line, FGW^▸ (First Great Western) did a while back, aparently there is to be an "investigation" into making it a circular in each way. but not for the near future anyway