Avocet Line - Exeter to Exmouth - incidents and events; services, stock and related improvements

[whole diary]

[julian]

Well, it appears that the recent storms have knocked some holes in the embankment between Exmouth and Lympstone. Also, on Sunday, a boat washed up on the shore with its mast across the track...

5mph speed limit on part of embankment that is under repair.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Exmouth Journal:

Further delays on the line!



There are fears that calls for new trains, ticket machines and extra Sunday services from Exmouth are falling on deaf ears.

With more than one million passengers a year, the Exmouth to Exeter Avocet^▸ (Branch line from Exeter to Exmouth) Line is the busiest branchline in the South West.

But Tony Day, chairman of the Avocet Line Rail Users Group (ALRUG), says that while First Great Western (FGW^▸ (First Great Western)) ^continued^ to listen it felt ^like a long time^ since they had seen evidence ^that they are taking any notice of what we say^.

He added: ^We appear to be making no headway on our three priority areas for the new franchise. ALRUG may have lost the battle for extra Sunday trains to run through to St David^s, not only for this summer, but^ for the longer term.^

He said that they had ^proven^ the demand through passenger counts and they ^thought they had won the argument^.

^We are now told it is cheaper and easier to shuttle one unit up and down between Exmouth and Exeter Central,^ he said. ^My personal fear is that a half-baked subsidised shuttle service will be little used and, in a year or two, will be withdrawn, thus not giving a service that connects with the main line a chance to prove its commercial viability.^

Mr Day said that ALRUG had had ^helpful correspondence^ with FGW^s engineering chief Andy Mellors about their ancient trains, but replacements were two years away. He also said there was ^little prospect^ of any more trains to prevent overcrowding in the early evening peak services and their plea for more ticket machines at smaller stations, like Lympstone, had so far come to nothing.

^First Great Western is keeping present services running in the face of enormous adversity, but the new franchise is already six months old, so a quarter of the current two-year period has already elapsed. In this context, the growing sense of frustration felt by the ALRUG committee could be seen as unreasonable impatience. I would say it is our job to be impatient, when we believe we are asking for reasonable, deliverable, affordable enhancements that would not only improve services for Avocet Line passengers, but generate more income for First Great Western.^

[Southern Stag]

I'm not convinced that the additional Exmouth-Exeter Central Sunday services will be poorly used. I'd have thought that quite a lot of the demand on weekends is people heading in to Exeter City Centre, for which Central station is the most convenient.

[Super Guard]

142 flashback... *shudders* 

[Chris from Nailsea]

Seems to have been a Paignton-bound train, and in the winter, from the snow on the ground: no wonder you shudder! 

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Exmouth Journal:

We^re committed to improving line

Friday, April 25, 2014 7:10 AM
   
The piece ^Further delays on the line!^ (Journal, April 3, page 19) does not fully take into account service demand across Devon or on other branch line services operated by First Great Western in the South West.

The extra Sunday services we have run in the recent past, including Christmas specials, and will run again this summer in partnership with Devon County Council, demonstrates our commitment to making incremental improvements on the line before longer term improvements can be brought in.

We will run a total of seven journeys each way on a Sunday this year between May and September ^ providing a two trains per hour frequency, and a higher frequency service than other lines in Devon on a Sunday.

Services will be semi-fast, with some additional calls at Polsloe Bridge. While most services run to/from Exeter Central, a few will be extended to St Davids.

In the longer term we are actively working with Devon County Council to bring forward plans for a ^Devon Metro^ and a seven-day timetable, including two trains per hour between Paignton and Exmouth every day.

Furthermore, we will strengthen key peak hour trains across Devon this summer and we will also be increasing standard class seating and introducing WiFi on our High Speed Train fleet.

We have recently recruited more assistant ticket examiners to work on trains and are bringing forward improvements at a number of stations.

For example, we are looking at better information facilities for several stations, and are currently working with Devon County Council to deliver a new station at Newcourt from December.

Given our obligations to meet customer demand across all of our services in Devon, to run a half-hour Sunday service throughout the year is not possible with the availability of existing rolling stock.

We do however have a strong working relationship with ALRUG, value their engagement and support, and share Tony^s ambition.

We are working hard to secure enhanced services in the county.

James Davis
Media Relations Manager
First Great Western

[John R]

It seems a bit odd that there's enough rolling stock to run a half hourly Sunday service in the summer, but not in the winter (except for December).

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Exmouth Journal:

Great, but when?

Friday, May 9, 2014 7:00 AM

The response by First Great Western (FGW^▸ (First Great Western)) ^We^re committed to improving line^ in last week^s Journal gives a welcome public commitment to bring forward plans for a seven-day ^Devon Metro^ timetable, including two trains per hour between Paignton and Exmouth every day.

This matches the aspirations of the rail user group for the line and is good to know, but the question is when will it be achieved?

A seven-day half hourly service is said by FGW to be a ^longer term^ ambition ^ and that in the shorter term this is not possible with the availability of existing rolling stock.

The shortage of diesel trains is a national issue, but one which adversely affects Exmouth passengers here and now, through too frequent cancellations.

With passenger numbers growing and a new station opening on the line this year at Newcourt, the service will be under increasing pressure long before additional trains become available in 2017 as a result of electrification elsewhere.

The Avocet^▸ (Branch line from Exeter to Exmouth) Line Rail Users Group (ALRUG) has written to the Rt Hon Hugo Swire MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) seeking Government facilitation of efforts to provide suitable rolling stock in the short term.

ALRUG will continue to work with FGW to find ways of achieving improvements to our local rail services.

Tony Day
Chairman, Avocet Line Rail Users Group
Lympstone

[bobm]

At its AGM^▸ (Annual General Meeting) on Monday, the Avocet^▸ (Branch line from Exeter to Exmouth) Line Users Group published its manifesto for the next five years and the improvements it hopes to see for the line.

http://www.avocetline.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Manifesto-Web-Final.pdf

Matthew Golton, Bid Director at GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway), gave a presentation and hoped many of the items highlighted could be completed in much less than five years.

Nicely produced document and worth a read.

[TonyK]

From the Exmouth Journal:

Great, but when?

Friday, May 9, 2014 7:00 AM

The response by First Great Western (FGW^▸ (First Great Western)) ^ ^We^ ^re committed to improving line^ ^ in last week^ ^s Journal gives a welcome public commitment to bring forward plans for a seven-day ^ ^Devon Metro^ ^ timetable, including two trains per hour between Paignton and Exmouth every day.

This matches the aspirations of the rail user group for the line and is good to know

That's easy for you to say...

[Chris from Nailsea]

Yes, I'm rather inclined to give up quoting any press articles on this forum now. 

[grahame]

Yes, I'm rather inclined to give up quoting any press articles on this forum now. 

I appreciate the quoting problem.  I have taken to replacing the quotes and pound signs in the articles with normal keyboard quotes to alleviate future problems, and remain with a task to write code to sort issues out.  Potentially a Christmas task.

[TonyK]

Yes, I'm rather inclined to give up quoting any press articles on this forum now. 

I appreciate the quoting problem.  I have taken to replacing the quotes and pound signs in the articles with normal keyboard quotes to alleviate future problems, and remain with a task to write code to sort issues out.  Potentially a Christmas task.

Thanks Grahame. In the meantime, I shall try to correct any I see, but the Exmuff Journal seems to generate so many such things that the wheat and chaff are not easily separable.

Chris - don't give up! Just edit the post immediately after posting to remove the extraneous rubbish. That way, it won't be replicated if requoted.

[Bob_Blakey]

Took the 0942 DIG > EXC (0923 from Exmouth)  this morning and the 2-coach service was full & standing - even after a few passengers had been asked nicely to shift their bags from seats. I don't know if this is a regular occurrence - it could have been something to do with today being Exeter's Xmas lights switch-on day - but it was good to see that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) had provided two guards/conductors to take care of door control etc and ticket selling/checking separately. And using the PA^▸ (Public Address) to clearly announce the next stop. Which just goes to prove that GWR can provide a decent service if they really want to.

[TaplowGreen]

Took the 0942 DIG > EXC (0923 from Exmouth)  this morning and the 2-coach service was full & standing - even after a few passengers had been asked nicely to shift their bags from seats. I don't know if this is a regular occurrence - it could have been something to do with today being Exeter's Xmas lights switch-on day - but it was good to see that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) had provided two guards/conductors to take care of door control etc and ticket selling/checking separately. And using the PA^▸ (Public Address) to clearly announce the next stop. Which just goes to prove that GWR can provide a decent service if they really want to.

  ......Xmas lights switch on? 19th November? Christmas is still over 5 weeks away! (Bah humbug etc)