Worcestershire Parkway Station project - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[DanPanes]

Hi all - Worcestershire County Council announced today that the station would open on 23rd February.

http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/news/article/2017/county_s_first_new_station_in_over_100_years_to_open_next_sunday

Here is a link to their press release

Not sure where the other date has come from.

All being well in terms of any final legal/regulatory issues we expect to run trains on the same day.

[grahame]

Hi all - Worcestershire County Council announced today that the station would open on 23rd February.

http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/news/article/2017/county_s_first_new_station_in_over_100_years_to_open_next_sunday

Here is a link to their press release

Not sure where the other date has come from.

All being well in terms of any final legal/regulatory issues we expect to run trains on the same day.

Thanks, Dan

[grahame]

From the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Media Centre

Friday 21st February 2020

Worcestershire Parkway station opens on Sunday, delivering increased connectivity to London, the Midlands and South Wales.

History will be made when Great Western Railway’s service to London Paddington makes the first call at the station at 08.28.

[etc]

[grahame]

And a press release from Cross Country

CrossCountry, part of the Arriva Group, has welcomed the opening of Worcestershire’s first new railway station for over 100 years.

On Sunday 23 February, Worcestershire Parkway station joins 118 stations already served by CrossCountry across Great Britain. With its large, secure car park, modern facilities and accessible platforms, the new station makes a fantastic gateway to the region.

With an hourly CrossCountry service throughout the day, southbound to Gloucester and Cardiff and northwards to Birmingham and Nottingham, onward connections will link the county to almost every part of the country. As well as CrossCountry, GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) services to the Cotswolds and London will extend the county’s reach. This enhanced connectivity to the rest of Britain will enable Worcestershire to continue growing its business and tourism links as the country becomes an even easier place to visit.

Tom Joyner, CrossCountry’s Managing Director, said: “We are delighted that Worcestershire Parkway is now open for business. This new station and its excellent connections will benefit the regions’ rail users, and we look forward to working with the council and other stakeholders to promote its use.

Guessing that Station Management is GWR, based on the fact that the Cross Country franchise does not "do" station management.

[IndustryInsider]

Yes.

[JontyMort]

Yes.

Drove past earlier. The road signs have all been uncovered at the roundabout and all seems ready. Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

[bleeder4]

I went to Parkway this morning, in fact I purchased the first ticket to Parkway that the Shrub Hill ticket office had sold this morning. The station was relatively busy, mainly enthusiasts, but there were several batches of people who had come from St Peters in south Worcester. The consensus amongst them was that Parkway is just as close to them as the two Worcester stations, and so if they needed to go to Birmingham they would go there rather than into town.

There are a few issues with the station, all of which can probably be fixed:

1. Only two toilets for the entire station. They are both accessible cubicles, which is great, but that's all there is.
2. No seating at all inside the station building. Each platform has a few sparse seats, but some of them are right at the far end of the platforms where no one will ever go.
3. Each platform only has a single bus shelter construction for cover, located around a third of the way along. There is very little protection from the elements. The high level platform in particular was like a wind tunnel today, it's extremely exposed to the elements. What this means is that if it's chucking it down people will stay within the station building, rather than spreading out along the platform, and so will all be boarding the trains at the door closest to that end of the platform.
4. Each platform only has one info display screen, located right at the point where you join the platform, again encouraging people to all cluster at that end of the platform, rather than spreading out along it.
5. Car park machines do not take cash. Perhaps in London and the bigger cities this is the norm, but not in Worcester, and several people were caught short by it today.

[IndustryInsider]

3. Each platform only has a single bus shelter construction for cover, located around a third of the way along. There is very little protection from the elements. The high level platform in particular was like a wind tunnel today, it's extremely exposed to the elements. What this means is that if it's chucking it down people will stay within the station building, rather than spreading out along the platform, and so will all be boarding the trains at the door closest to that end of the platform.

Yes, it surprised me that more shelters weren't provided, especially on the exposed high level platform.  It is on the embankment that any such facilities would have to be built on though, so no doubt they wanted to keep the costs down.  Anybody travelling first class on a 9-car IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) will have quite a walk from the shelter to the train, and a 9-car IET will stop slightly beyond the station building so that might cause delayed boarding in inclement weather.

Great to see it finally opening though!

[grahame]

From The BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)

The first train has left a newly opened railway station in Worcestershire.


Picture - Courtesy Great Western Railway

Worcestershire Parkway, in Norton, near Worcester, is the first station to open in the county for more than 100 years.

About 50 people waited on the platform of the £22m station to see the first train pull in on its way to London Paddington.

[JontyMort]

5. Car park machines do not take cash. Perhaps in London and the bigger cities this is the norm, but not in Worcester, and several people were caught short by it today.

Am I missing something here? Presumably it is only a problem for those who are expecting to pay cash for both the car park AND their train ticket. Is that likely in practice?

[Bristolboy]

5. Car park machines do not take cash. Perhaps in London and the bigger cities this is the norm, but not in Worcester, and several people were caught short by it today.

I suppose the hope is people will become used to it - I recently used Keynsham car park for the first time and noticed that car park can only be paid via app or over the phone. Maybe being cash free, hopefully with less risk of criminal activity, is standard for the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) network now?

[JontyMort]

5. Car park machines do not take cash. Perhaps in London and the bigger cities this is the norm, but not in Worcester, and several people were caught short by it today.

I suppose the hope is people will become used to it - I recently used Keynsham car park for the first time and noticed that car park can only be paid via app or over the phone. Maybe being cash free, hopefully with less risk of criminal activity, is standard for the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) network now?

And presumably also saving the cost of emptying the machines.

[Robin Summerhill]

And presumably also saving the cost of emptying the machines.

I would say that that is a side benefit to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway). The facts of the matter, from things that I read, is that we re becoming more and more a cashless society, preferring instead to wave bits of plastic around or, if the device is really antiquated ( ) shove the card in and enter a PIN number.

Its happening all over the world. I've been in South Africa for five and a bit weeks and I haven't spent 500 rand (about £25.50) in cash yet - everything goes on a card, including in the fish and chip shop 

[grahame]

The facts of the matter, from things that I read, is that we re becoming more and more a cashless society, preferring instead to wave bits of plastic around or, if the device is really antiquated ( ) shove the card in and enter a PIN number.

Its happening all over the world. ...

Indeed ... even in railway station catering.  Mind you, the food has changed too.

[TonyK]

And presumably also saving the cost of emptying the machines.

And taking it to the bank.

I would say that that is a side benefit to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway). The facts of the matter, from things that I read, is that we re becoming more and more a cashless society, preferring instead to wave bits of plastic around or, if the device is really antiquated ( ) shove the card in and enter a PIN number.

Its happening all over the world. I've been in South Africa for five and a bit weeks and I haven't spent 500 rand (about £25.50) in cash yet - everything goes on a card, including in the fish and chip shop 

I arrived in Iceland without any króna, due to unforeseen circumstances*. I had a few dollars, both Canadian and yankee, plus some real British money, and figured I could change it at a bank or draw some from a cashpoint. Five days later, I left without doing any of that. Even the street hotdog stall took cards.

(*I forgot.)