Swindon "New Eastern Villages" station?

[whole diary]

[Bmblbzzz]

https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/23093963.second-swindon-station-new-eastern-villages-get-train-station-park-ride/

Swindon Borough Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for strategic infrastructure Gary Sumner was giving his annual report to members of the council’s scrutiny committee when chairman Coun Kevin Small asked about the possibility of a railway station being placed to serve the villages over the A419 from Swindon proper.

He asked: “Has there been enough land put aside for a double track railway station nearby?

Coun Sumner said it was part of the consideration, although did suggest it wasn’t massively likely, of the transport provision for the expansion area.

He said: “There is a route study we are working with the England’s Economic Heartland development body on the A420 corridor.

“But people's railway usage has changed since the pandemic. It is significantly up at weekends, but there’s been a downturn of people commuting to work by train.

“There would have to be a significant business case to double the track.

“We have allocated a site for a Park & Ride in the NEV and there’ll be something in the Local Plan review looking at the whole terminus.”

It's not entirely clear whether the "not massively likely" refers to double-tracking or the provision of any station, though I'm presuming the latter. I think this is the line that used to serve the Honda factory?

[stuving]

https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/23093963.second-swindon-station-new-eastern-villages-get-train-station-park-ride/
It's not entirely clear whether the "not massively likely" refers to double-tracking or the provision of any station, though I'm presuming the latter. I think this is the line that used to serve the Honda factory?

It isn't clear to me it's about double-tracking any railway. I suspect someone has got confused.

These "New Eastern Villages" are located in the "A420 corridor", which could equally be called the GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) corridor. The proposed P+R is next to bot and about 6'5 km east of Swindon station. The centre of the NEV area is well to the south of that.

My guess is that this started with some councillors wanting a new station on the main line for the P+R. There is a design choice between platforms on the two tracks or on two new loops - better operationally but much more expensive. The cheaper "double track" option has been retained as a not very likely option, mainly so that said councillors' repeated questions can be answered easily.

[ChrisB]

So now two new proposed stations east of Swindon & west of Didcot)? Hmmmm. Good luck unless Swindon can fund 100% & agree with NR^» (Network Rail - home page)/ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) who might serve them.

AIUI^▸ (as I understand it), Grove/Wantage is further up the development phase?

[IndustryInsider]

A key problem for any new station between Didcot and Swindon is that there’s not really a suitable train to stop at them, coupled with the mixture of fast expresses and slow freights meaning pathing would be tricky without more and/or extended loops.

[grahame]

A key problem for any new station between Didcot and Swindon is that there’s not really a suitable train to stop at them, coupled with the mixture of fast expresses and slow freights meaning pathing would be tricky without more and/or extended loops.

Yes - agreed on "what calls there?". I have seen suggestions that a Swindon <-> Oxford service could call at Wantage Road the strongest destination is likely to be Oxford.  I'm not convinced that such a service should reverse at Didcot for more sake than providing a Wantage to Reading / London link.

As you add Wantage, East Swindon Village, Royal Wootton Bassett the thing starts to build into an electric outer service like the Bedwyn one and with electrification extended through and beyond Chippenham you could going - well - either way beyond Thingley, and opening up Corsham, or perhaps Staverton and White Horse Park.

[didcotdean]

Oxfordshire CC and Vale of the White Horse DC^▸ (Direct Current) have promoted various schemes for Wantage/Grove over the years coming out with a fairly good benefit cost ratio, using a theoretical Oxford-Bristol hourly local service calling at Culham, Didcot Parkway, Wantage & Grove*, Swindon, Royal Wootton Bassett*, Chippenham, Corsham*, Bath Spa and Bristol Temple Meads. (* for new stations)

However, the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) dismissed a month ago the most application under the '“Restoring Your Railway” initiative mainly because "the scheme carried a risk in the form of the feasibility of operating services to stop at the station on an extremely busy, critical strategic corridor."

[Richard Fairhurst]

Like many town centre stations, Swindon's existing station suffers from being a long, traffic-choked way from where people live. For residents of the vast new estates in north Swindon, it's a slow schlep into the town centre simply to catch a train to take you somewhere else.

So I've long thought that a parkway on the eastern edge would be a winner (and have occasionally posted here to that effect!). In an ideal world, you'd have stations at Wantage/Grove, Swindon East, and Royal Wootton Bassett. But it would require ex(t/p)ensive four-tracking - or, at the very least, some long loops - to avoid slowing down the longer-distance services.

If only Stratton Park Halt were still open... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratton_Park_Halt_railway_station

[Noggin]

A key problem for any new station between Didcot and Swindon is that there’s not really a suitable train to stop at them, coupled with the mixture of fast expresses and slow freights meaning pathing would be tricky without more and/or extended loops.

Surely it must be getting to the point where potential demand is such that it would be worth a significant programme of works between Bristol (TM^‡(resolve) & Parkway) and Didcot to add extra capacity and enable infill stations and local stopping services to be re-instated?

- Grove/Wantage
- Swindon East
- Royal Wooton Basset
- Malmesbury Parkway
- Chipping Sodbury
- Winterbourne
- (Extra lines between Bristol Parkway & Westerleigh to enable extra services to Yate and beyond)
- St Annes (Bristol)
- Saltford
- Bathampton
- Corsham

As for services, the way it would be done in lots of European countries is stopping services between main nodes e.g. Cardiff <> Bristol, Bristol <> Swindon, Swindon <> Didcot

[IndustryInsider]

I think it might have been getting towards that point had the post-Covid world and the cost of living crisis not knocked the stuffing out of financing such things.

[grahame]

An old thread - Grove and Wantage rears its head again in the Oxford Mail.

The Wantage and Grove Station closed in December of 1964 as part of the Beeching cuts, a series of major national route closures and service changes.

A campaign group entitled Wantage and Grove Station Supporters Group has since launched efforts to reopen the station.

Group founder Andy Holding has been campaigning for years to reopen the station, and believes that he has made a breakthrough.

After recently holding talks with four train operators, he believes the response is positive with one of the companies stating they would like to serve the area.

“One train operator wants to serve Grove Station now, with others not saying no to serving Grove Station,” revealed Andy.

“This is a really positive step along with the Strategic Outline Business Case study."