Worcestershire Parkway Station project - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[IndustryInsider]

I'll be interested to see if ChrisB is right.  A more frequent and faster service is planned for December 2018, tying in with roughly when the station opens, which should help tip the balance further towards people not driving over towards Warwick.  A journey time to London of around two hours from a station easily reachable off of the M5 will be much more attractive than the current offering.

[ChrisB]

We'll see....no one has been impressed so far.

[brompton rail]

Probably more appropriate as many of the travellers who will use the new station are people living outside Worcester and excluded from rail transport by Worcester's bad traffic congestion.

The addition of a bus hub and large carpark will provide a very interesting boost for local transport.

The only bus service passing is currently the X50/551/2 Worcester to Pershore (half hourly) or Evesham (hourly). Norton is served by a very infrequent Worcester to Defford & Pershore 382 bus. Any extension of a City Service out to the station -say the buses serving Worcestershire Royal Infirmary - would involve several extra miles each journey and therefore extra vehicles, and, I suggest a large subsidy!

I am not clear which platforms are to be built first - Cotswold or Bristol - and which trains will serve the latter.

[IndustryInsider]

I am not clear which platforms are to be built first - Cotswold or Bristol - and which trains will serve the latter.

The Cotswold Line platform was due to be built first, though given the delays perhaps they'll now both be done together?  And the Nottingham-Cardiff XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) service would be the logical one to stop there, though depending on passenger numbers they might struggle capacity wise?  Perhaps in time, one of the two longer-distance XC services might call, even if on an occasional basis only?  That might be one for the next XC franchise along with a much needed boost in capacity?

[ChrisB]

Nottingham-Cardiffs in the current frsnchise. Still not sure that they'll all call though

[Bmblbzzz]

So "Bristol platforms" will be a misnomer. 

[ChrisB]

There won't be any 'Bristol' platforms

[simonw]

I think the plan was a single platform for the single track Cotswold line, and two platforms for the Birmingham-Bristol line.

[grahame]

I think the plan was a single platform for the single track Cotswold line, and two platforms for the Birmingham-Bristol line.

Indeed, but I think there's an objection been raised here to calling in the "Bristol" platform as there's likely to be little calling there that actually goes to Bristol!

North of Gloucester you have a selection of stations which are somewhat diverse ...
* Cheltenham Spa
* Ashchurch
* Worcestershire Parkway
* Bromsgrove
* Barnt Green
* Longbridge
and services and calling patterns to suit them all, and to suit through traffic, will be interesting to say the least!

[Bmblbzzz]

Despite having used a  up there, I don't think there's anything I personally would want to use Worcestershire Parkway for that wouldn't either be much better from Foregate St or much the same from Ashchurch. But that's just me personally.

[grahame]

Despite having used a  up there, I don't think there's anything I personally would want to use Worcestershire Parkway for that wouldn't either be much better from Foregate St or much the same from Ashchurch. But that's just me personally.

I would suspect it might be far more of a source of traffic than a destination - in other words far more round trips sold from the new station to other places to people within a catchment area of the station than incoming trips.   Same thing for many stations - the local station of my childhood was Petts Wood, and there were many many tickets sold from there, but people who lived elsewhere and came to Petts Wood weren't very large in numbers.

I'm guessing you don't live near to the intersection of the northern Cotswold line and the Bristol - Birmingham line, Bmblbzzz?

[ChrisB]

I don't think many do yet.....there's a large housing proposal, but nothing more yet

[Bmblbzzz]

I live near the intersection of the Bristol-Birmingham line and the Severn Beach line! I use Ashchurch several times a year, sometimes my destination is Tewkesbury but sometimes it's the beginning of another (non-rail) journey which I've also begun from Shrub Hill and Droitwich (and Cheltenham). Worcestershire Parkway would make a nice variation, but Ashchurch works very well. But it would still be a step in a journey, rather than a destination in itself.

[Chris from Nailsea]

mods: could the topic be renamed Worcestershire Parkway, as that is going to be what it's called?

I've now done that - if only to show that at least one of us was listening. 

[eightf48544]

Wonder how long Worcestershire will last. Like the Lizze line