Great Western Coffee Shop

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/avocetxmas.jpg)

Shamelessly helping their promoting by copying the image.   And other services enhanced pre-Christmas?

Interesting......generally we're told that no more trains can be run as all stock is fully utilised and/or in for maintenance, and many Sunday services are cancelled as there aren't enough crew available who are prepared to work on Sundays............then again I guess the overtime is handy at Christmas?  ;)

Any links to this news? Who's doing the promoting with that image? I can guess the trains are for the Avocet Line from the image, but further details of the extras incl. timetables would be useful.

Also who is funding them? I suspect Devon County Council. It's amazing what a TOC can do with regard to stock and staff if someone else is picking up the tab.

Additional trains from Exmouth to Exeter Central depart at 10:53,  12:00,  12:56 (Paignton),  13:57 (St Davids),  15:55,  16:55,  17:55 (St Davids).

It strikes me as a very sensible promotion, provided that it gets promoted to be used.  Sunday morning is perhaps the time of the week when the stock is least used, and indeed it's no co-incidence that Santa visits the TransWilts on a Sunday these days (now that we need a train strengthened because there's significant regular traffic!).  On a longer term basis - more that just a few weeks for Christmas - you may have a point about staffing levels and maintenance, gentlemen ... and there's also the question of possessions for engineering works.  I would personally like to see the summer-only 08:30 ish from Westbury, 09:30 from Swindon running all year - talk to the users in summer and you'll find that a lot of them would be there all year ...

There are extra trains on the Exmouth Branch on a Sunday prior to Xmas every year.

Thanks Graham.  That's a banner we are producing to go up at Exmouth, Topsham & Digby & Sowton stations.  Services are indeed supported by Devon County Council.

Extra services are well used this time of year. If it wasn't for cooler temperatures, you'd be hard pressed to distinguish the Xmas shoppers Exeter bound from the summer hordes.