Great Western Coffee Shop

From my email ...


www.networkrail.co.uk/great-western-routemodernisation

I'm getting a 404 on that link grahame - I think you mean this: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/great-western-route-modernisation/

I did - just been notified by my source too

As part of our planning for 2015 marketing on the TransWilts, we're taking a big interest in the summer time changes due to engineering works associated with the electrifciation of the line through Swindon - Chippenham - Bath Spa.  We knew this would be happening when the 3 year TransWilts trial service was mooted, but we preferred to start off with a service in 2013 with perhaps less than total service for a "few weeks" in 2015 rather than waiting for several years to have any improvement on the previous service.

Electrification work is getting closer, and plans appeared to be (according to the .pdf document to be attached / next post when I get it scanned!)
3 weeks closure of Box Tunnel
followed by
3 weeks closure of Box Tunnel AND Bathampton to Bath Spa

The document refers to consultations with Stakeholders including "Passenger Groups however, at the time of writing this, I'm not aware of any approaches by Network Rail to the Melksham Railway Development Group, to the West Wilts Rail User Group, or to the TransWilts Community Rail Partnership.  And it seems to me that it won't be a consultation in which inputs are solicitied, but rather an informing in which we are told what's happening.   There was an online "consultation/survey" that came our way a few weeks ago, but there was no freeform input box and all it really asked is (a) would we like electirc trains in the future and (b) would be like to be added to an update / mailing list.
So - I was glad to see a public meeting for "Bath Residents" tobe held at the Guildhall last week, http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/News-Releases/Public-meetings-start-on-Bath-rail-electrification-216e.aspx , and I went along / gate crashed as I'm not a Bath resident!  Very interesting ... the first person who approach me wasn't with Network Rail, but with steelwork designers.   The second person wasn't with Network Rail but with First ... but they did find someone from Network Rail for me to talk to.  I had key questions relating to service diversions, where, when and how community inputs can be made, and who our contact should be at Network Rail now that the community liaison team of Mike Franklin and Jerry Swift (both excellent contacts) have been (a) moved to a new role without replacement and (b) retired, and not replaced.  I would have expected the person with responibility for community liaison to attend community liaison meetings such as the Bath one!

Anyway - cutting a long story short, there were a number of Network Rail people there in the end ... many of them (I understand) are with Network Rail for just a few weeks to engage with the public during these events, but I did get a chance to speak to one person who seems permanent, and who I'll be able to use as a stepping stone to reach new contacts after that person's return from annual leave which was following right after the meeting.

With regards to the six weeks of closure,  I was assured that the TransWilts line through Melksham will be closed for the whole six weeks for major rebuilding, including the lowering of the trackbed.  Me thinks that the person telling me this wasn't familiar with the layout of lines in the area.  On pressing, I was told that the timings have changes, and it's now just 2 weeks for just Box, and 4 weeks for east of Bath - that the slides I had been given 2 days earlier were out of date.  Speaking since then with various people, I understand that the timings keep changing, but as my wife says "can you trust what you're verbally told by people who have given wrong information a few sentences earlier, versus a presentation".   So the answer is "I don't know" if you wak me how long the various blockades are going to be.

Whilst I was making a bit of a nuisance of myself (something I hate doing, but "someone has to ask" sometimes), one of the team took my wife off to show her pictures of the internals of the new trains and how great travel will be in the future.  She reports to me that all the pictures of mockups, etc, were of First Class accommodation.   Currently First Class travel accounts for a very, very low percentage of journeys, so why are Network Rail selling us (as a general public) on First Class only in this way. Is there about to be a switch in seating / proportions of Standard to First in the opposite direction to the HST work going on, with fare changes to suit, does Lisa look like she's exclusivley a first class traveller, or were Network Rail and the other folks at the meeting intentionally marketing all the most positive aspects and showing a lack of understanding (at best) that most of us travel, and would like to see, standard class?

There's a further Network Rail next Tuesday 21st October 2014, 12.00 pm - 6.00 pm in the Atrium at County Hall in Trowbridge, which is about 10 minutes walk from Trowbridge Station.

Regular commuters from Swindon, Chippenham, Filton Abbey Wood, Bristol Temple Meads and Bath Spa will need to catch the following trains in order to get at least 30 minutes at the dropin before it closes:
Swindon   15:14
Chippenham   15:39
Melksham   15:53
Filton Abbey Wood   16:09
Bristol Temple Meads   16:22
Bath Spa      16:35
Personally, I feel that Network Rail could have come across as more customer-aware if they had run the session on into the evening, rather than forcing anyone who uses the trains and has a normal 9 to 5 job to leave work early (that's if they can). Perhaps it's a bit of a box ticking exercise?

Document reffered to is at:

http://atrebatia.info/prior_stakeholder_2014.pdf

I notice that during the first phase there is still some uncertainty as to whether the second TPH from Bristol to London will go via the B&H (ie Bristol, Bath, Reading) or via Hullavington (ie Bristol, Swindon, Didcot, Reading).

It would seem to me that traffic flows would be best served by running it the Hullavington route, as otherwise there is going to be heavy overcrowding on the 1 tph remaining calling at the usual stops (but much slower) between Bristol and Swindon.

One publicity source is telling me that the event runs to 18:30 this afternoon ... however, other sources and direct correspondence say "18:00" so I'm pretty sure that's the close ... flagging it up here just in case anyone wanted to nip in during the last half hour.

Also ...

http://www.wiltshirebusinessonline.co.uk/news/11548320.Find_out_about_rail_electrification/?ref=rss


but I think they mean "today"!

Expect the usual furore about lack of trains during the school hols, but hey, this is progress! I shall certainly try to watch events in Sydney Gardens at some point.

I went along to the event ... with a series of questions as to whether the electrification works make passive provision for (i.e. don't get in the way of plans for) potential future developments - in Wiltshire being Corsham, Thingley / TransWilts improvements, Chippenham Gateway, Royal Wootton Bassett; referred back to Wiltshire Council and the DfT who will have made inputs on that; answers given to me at one point re-assured me that provision was being made, at a second point worried my that it wasn't, and when the third answer "don't  know" was given, I had faith in that answer.    Asked about consultations with passenger groups and passengers - referred to First Great Western on that.  Asked about the quieter trains etc being advertised in Trowbridge and told that they're from Bath and Swindon to London - what the West Wilts commuters get as a benefit from 4 weeks of buses not trains will be longer trains ("4 coaches where currently 2 or 3") when the electrification's done - diesel trains off other lines.

So NR points to DfT who point to Wiltshire and the LTB who point back to Network Rail (provision)

And NR point to First who point back to NR (service during blockade)

To be fair, it's a bit of both / each in every case - so some of the referral is natural and correct.   And it would be much easier for the electrification work to be done if they didn't have to take into account the aspirations and uninformed inputs of passengers and local people like me sticking our noses in and asking.

I will be most interested to see if the follow up (a) is in time for what I call "consultation" inputs or rather just informs and (b) if it's held at such a time that commuters effected by the blockade in their normal 9 to 5 working day can get to it on one end of the day.