Boardmasters Festival - annual music event each August in Cornwall (merged posts)

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From Devon Live

Festival goers are heading to Boardmasters in Newquay today (10 August) from all over the country - some even travelling from London. However there is a huge demand for trains with some people describing Plymouth Railway Station as "chaos" - despite people having pre-booked tickets.

We spoke to groups of friends and families who have been left stuck at Plymouth's station, many who have travelled from afar from places like London and Sussex for the festival. Many passengers were outside the station with their camping luggage in the heat, desperate to find transport to Newquay.

[broadgage]

Appalling service, even those with booked seats being turned away. We have long known that bookings are automatically voided on half length trains, it would appear that this now applies to popular events also.

[infoman]

Some film footage was shown on the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Spotlight local news for the south west of England on Wednesday.

It appears as if if they were checking tickets on leaving the station.

[TaplowGreen]

Same story every year.

https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/stacked-boardmasters-trains-mean-festival-7448243

[Mark A]

The Newquay branch. I don't know it. Is it a 20 mile single line with no passing places and a single terminating platform? To a town of 20,000, but one that can see 80,000 visitors at a time?

That's a recipe for unending pain, why is the railway bothering? (Or rather, why are the politicians pretending that  that's ok, 'cos the Newquay branch sounds to be a 1960s slash-and-burn relic.)

TSNO, the four letter acronym for 'Train Service in Name Only'.

Mark

[grahame]

The Newquay branch. I don't know it. Is it a 20 mile single line with no passing places and a single terminating platform? To a town of 20,000, but one that can see 80,000 visitors at a time?

That's a recipe for unending pain, why is the railway bothering? (Or rather, why are the politicians pretending that  that's ok, 'cos the Newquay branch sounds to be a 1960s slash-and-burn relic.)

TSNO, the four letter acronym for 'Train Service in Name Only'.

Mark

Almost - there is a passing place at Goonbarrow Junction, and it may be double (not sure) first couple of miles from Par to St Blazey.

The midCornwall Metro is looking at adding another loop and a second platform at Newquay. So perhaps the political types are NOT pretending it's OK

[Witham Bobby]

Almost - there is a passing place at Goonbarrow Junction, and it may be double (not sure) first couple of miles from Par to St Blazey.

You're right about the two-track section from Par to St Blazey

Capacity on the branch is severely constrained by the (lack of) infrastructure.  Reduction of Newquay to  a single platform in 1987 and abolition of St Dennis Junction as a passing loop (1982??) are cutbacks that have proved costly during the summer months in terms of operations, and which really could do with being reversed

[bobm]

Some views of the out of use second platform at Newquay over the years.







It doesn't look as though the existing platform at Newquay was built out and the track slewed when the second one was taken out of use.   That's not to say it won't be expensive to re-instate it!

[grahame]

Here is what was done on summer Saturdays in the late 1960s ...

[Mark A]

Thanks for digging that out. The timetable notes are particularly rewarding.

Mark

[Witham Bobby]

It doesn't look as though the existing platform at Newquay was built out and the track slewed when the second one was taken out of use.   That's not to say it won't be expensive to re-instate it!

The platform currently in use as a dead-end has two faces, iirc.  I know it's not easy, but it wouldn't be an insoluble challenge to have track on both sides.  Control of the pointwork would be the most tricky question, I suspect

[RichardB]

The Newquay branch. I don't know it. Is it a 20 mile single line with no passing places and a single terminating platform? To a town of 20,000, but one that can see 80,000 visitors at a time?

That's a recipe for unending pain, why is the railway bothering? (Or rather, why are the politicians pretending that  that's ok, 'cos the Newquay branch sounds to be a 1960s slash-and-burn relic.)

TSNO, the four letter acronym for 'Train Service in Name Only'.

Mark

Almost - there is a passing place at Goonbarrow Junction, and it may be double (not sure) first couple of miles from Par to St Blazey.

The midCornwall Metro is looking at adding another loop and a second platform at Newquay. So perhaps the political types are NOT pretending it's OK

Absolutely, Graham, in fact no-one ("political types" or railway) is pretending the Newquay line is OK as it is now, hence, as you say, the Mid Cornwall Metro project which Cornwall Council have been pursuing for more than ten years.  As mentioned in the thread specifically about it, things are looking positive with two good looking routes to the funding - Restoring Your Railway and Levelling Up Funds.

It's only three-quarters of a mile from Par to St Blazey.

I know the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) team who plan GWR's response to special events.  They are very experienced and do their absolute best with the resources and capacity (train and physical) available.  Hopefully the rest of Boardmasters rail-wise will go better than yesterday.    Always tough though when trains between London and Cornwall are very, very busy already.

[RichardB]

Some views of the out of use second platform at Newquay over the years.







It doesn't look as though the existing platform at Newquay was built out and the track slewed when the second one was taken out of use.   That's not to say it won't be expensive to re-instate it!

As I understand it, Bob, the plan is to reinstate the other side of the operational platform if the funding comes through.

[LiskeardRich]

1N78 and 1A94 discovered on Wednesday that two 9 cars IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) can’t fit past each other in one of the passing loops. Resulted in 1N78 reversing back off the branch and 45 min late arrivals

[chopper1944]

All the more reason to double the line between Tregoss Moor and St Dennis Junction, which I believe is planned,