FoSBR: Every 15 Minutes

[whole diary]

[GBM]

Good point. I am looking to change my car and am considering a hybrid which may be a plug-in type but which I could drive on 100% electric when in town if I had enough charge available. Dave

WAAY off topic, but many hybrids are self charging (which is what we are looking at as an interim until the full electric vehicle range has gone up considerably, and the technology therein has settled down.
Does this also mean a steady decline in the motor mechanic personnel, as all the youngsters coming through will all be electric trained (and is there much to manually service in an all electric car?

And now back to the serious topic of FoSBR^» (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways - site); Every 15 Minutes

[Bmblbzzz]

A train every 15 minutes gives a "turn up and go" service for passengers, tube-style. No need to think about timetables. But looking beyond that, what would make the service easier to use? Beyond Clifton Down, there's only one station every couple of miles; nothing like a tube service! New stations are expensive of course, but if we imagine a magic money wand, might it at some point be better used on more frequent stations rather than more frequent trains?

TBH^▸ (to be honest) I think even before the current situation a service of 4tph would have needed 2-carriage trains only. I think 2tph Avonmouth - Temple Meads is enough whereas only one train running beyond Avonmouth is merely a good start: I think WECA^» (West of England Combined Authority - about) is missing an opportunity, especially if the new station at Henbury goes ahead (and the one at North Filton).

Dave

They might be only one carriage. One carriage four times an hour gives a far more usable service than four carriages once an hour.

[DaveHarries]

They might be only one carriage. One carriage four times an hour gives a far more usable service than four carriages once an hour.

True, until you realise that there are, AFAIK^▸ (as far as I know), no single carriage units left in GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)'s fleet: I can't recall the last time I saw a Class 153 unit anywhere.

Dave

[grahame]

They might be only one carriage. One carriage four times an hour gives a far more usable service than four carriages once an hour.

True, until you realise that there are, AFAIK^▸ (as far as I know), no single carriage units left in GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)'s fleet: I can't recall the last time I saw a Class 153 unit anywhere.

Dave

Take a look at Cardiff / Portsmouth.   When 5 of 6 car loco hauled trains running every few hours that were less than crowded were replaced by 2 car trains every hour - about the same number of carriages running overall - passenger numbers rocketed.  Frequency does it!

But ... indeed, no single carriage units left on GWR (nor in East Anglia). Transport for Wales has quite a few - some having loos converted to disabled (and that does leave a handful of seats) and others always being used to strengthen trains. Some also with a temporary allowance to run this year without disabled loo.    Northern still has some, East Midlands a few, and Scotrail are converting some for carriage of cycles and other paraphernalia.   And a number are stored.

Single carriage trains were know in the past as "Coffin Nails" as they were the last day to day trains to use a line as wound down prior to closure.   But more recently they have worked very well for us (and for other lines such as Paignton) providing experimental services at less than the cost of a multi-carriage train as passenger numbers were built up - so they have become to some of us a passing phase on the way up, rather than a passing phase on the way down.   I do suspect that a line that's running with most of its trains single carriage over an extended period is rarely going to make economic sense.   So 4 trains an hour on "The Beach" even if not all the way to Severn Beach, please.   They probably cannot be 4 cars any longer though - my understanding is that some of the platform upgrades reduced the maximum length of a train than can open all doors to just three carriages,