Yatton Station - car parking, staffing, incidents and engineering work (merged topic)

[whole diary]

[devon_metro]

I'm sure most Yatton users can drive to Worle where parking is free, petrol probably costs ^2.30 or so, but at least they won't have to pay to park 

[Chris from Nailsea]

... or they could drive to Nailsea & Backwell, where the parking is currently free, and also save a bit on their train fare into Bristol. 

Charges for parking at Nailsea & Backwell are being introduced, as discussed on a related topic - but even then, they will be 'only' ^1.50 a day.

[alan_s]

Do excuse me for joining in, since we're talking about Yatton parking, and I found this from google - does anyone know whether the car-park gets full during the day, or would I be likely to find a space at about 2pm on a Thursday?  Also is possible to buy multiple-day tickets, as I will need to leave my car there until Saturday evening.  I normally drive directly to Bristol Temple Meads to park, but this seems a much cheaper option, even if the train fare is slightly more...  (Parkway is cheaper but the carpark gets full during the day!)

Cheers
Alan

[Chris from Nailsea]

No need to apologise for joining this discussion, Alan - and welcome to the Coffee Shop forum! 

The current terms for parking at Yatton station are:



My understanding is that you'd need to buy daily tickets for each day of your stay in advance - the shortest 'season ticket' available is a monthly.

As to whether the car park is crammed at 2:00pm on a weekday - I don't know for sure, but I don't think it would be. Some of the early morning commuters may have returned and departed by then. Certainly, on the weekdays on which I've passed through the station on a train, it's seemed to me that there are plenty of spaces in the car park - particularly the large gravel one on the down side.

Hope this helps!

Chris from Nailsea. 

[alan_s]

Hi Chris

Many thanks for your prompt reply. 

If the ticket machines are the standard ACPOA ones like in Bristol Parkway/Temple Meads etc, then it should just be a matter of pressing the button 3 times for 3 days!  I will pop over to make sure before then (which I could only do in an evening or weekend hence the question about the daytime capacity...)

Regards
Alan

[JayMac]

Or you can use APCOA^▸ (Car parking company used at GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) - controlled stations in the area) Connect and pay by phone. Just ^2.10 a day then.

As you can see from the poster the number for APCOA Connect is an 01 number, so if you have a mobile with inclusive calls there are no additional charges for paying by this method.

[Chris from Nailsea]

No worries, Alan!

If the ticket machines are the standard ACPOA ones ...

They are - a ticket machine at Yatton, this picture taken just over a year ago (so ignore the 0845 number!):



CfN

[devon_metro]

The car park is reasonably large, whenever i've driven past/been picked up the car park usually has plenty of space within it.

[alan_s]

Thanks all!

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Post:

British Transport Police are appealing for information after a brick smashed through the windscreen of a train travelling through Yatton railway station near Bristol.

Inspector Andy Irwin-Porter, of BTP^▸ (British Transport Police), said the driver was uninjured but has been left extremely shaken by the incident, which happened at around 9.55pm on Wednesday, August, 29.

^The 3.08pm Edinburgh to Plymouth CrossCountry Trains service was travelling through Yatton railway station, near Bristol, when the brick smashed the outer windscreen," Inspector Irwin-Porter said.

^Thankfully, the driver was not injured but has understandably been left extremely shaken by the incident.

^This was an incredibly irresponsible and dangerous act, and it was lucky no one was injured or killed.

^Officers attended Yatton station after the incident happened and immediately searched the area as well as conducting house-to-house enquiries. No one was located but we are determined to find those responsible and bring them to justice.

^I am appealing for anyone who was in the Yatton area around the time of the incident and who may have seen anyone acting suspiciously, or running away from the station, to contact BTP as a matter of urgency.

"It is beyond belief that anyone could throw objects at moving trains and we need to trace those responsible before their actions result in serious harm to rail staff or passengers."

Following the incident, the train was driven back to Bristol, where it was taken out of service.

A reward of ^5,000 is being offered by CrossCountry Trains for information leading to the identification and conviction of those responsible.

Anyone with information that could assist police with their enquiries can contact British Transport Police on Freefone 0800 40 50 40 quoting incident reference 569 of 29/08/2012.

Alternatively, call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, quoting the above incident reference.

[fatcontroller]

The facts are almost correct - "The train was driven back to Bristol where it was taken out service"

Not quite: - The train was driven back to Bristol where it was swapped with the Paignton - Birmingham NS and then went to Central Rivers for a new windscreen.

But then I guess that sort of information isn't given out!

[Chris from Nailsea]

No, it isn't. 

The British Transport Police press release, upon which the Post article is based, says:

The incident, which happened around 9.55pm on Wednesday, 29 August, caused significant damage to the windscreen, and resulted in the train being taken out of service.
...
Following the incident, the train was driven back to Bristol, where it was taken out of service, causing major inconvenience for passengers on board travelling to destinations between Bristol and Plymouth.

[trainer]

Both BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) West and NR^» (Network Rail - home page) Enquiries are reporting problems between Weston-super-Mare and Bristol because of signalling problems at Yatton.  Signalling engineers are reported as on site to investigate. 

[grahame]

Owing to signalling problems between Bristol Temple Meads and Weston-Super-Mare fewer trains are able to run on all lines.

Impact:
Train services running through these stations may be cancelled, delayed or diverted at short notice. An estimate for the resumption of normal services will be provided as soon as the problem has been fully assessed.

Customer Advice:
Disruption to services is likely to continue for the remainder of this morning while Network Rail replace a defective 650v signalling power cable in the Yatton area which has caused a signalling blackout.
Cross Country services are conveying passengers between Penzance and Bristol Parkway in both directions until further notice. Arrangements have been made for First Great Western rail tickets to be accepted for these journeys.
First Somerset and Avon services are conveying passengers between Bristol Temple Meads and Taunton in both directions until further notice. Arrangements have been made for First Great Western rail tickets to be accepted for these journeys. Customers may use First Somerset and Avon Bus numbers X1/351, 3/3A/3B, 5/5B/14/14A/X25, 14/14A, 21/21A, 102/112, 126, 352, 353, 362/363, 375/376.
First Devon and Cornwall services are conveying passengers via any reasonable route until further notice. Arrangements have been made for First Great Western rail tickets to be accepted for these journeys. Customer may use First Devon & Cornwall X80 between Totnes and Plymouth.