New Jan 2nd 2018 TimeTable

[whole diary]

[grahame]

]It is a shame that service doesn't call at Westbury - it would make an excellent connection out of the 10:47 from Swindon.  However there are a couple of freight workings at Westbury which might get in the way.

Nothing west via Taunton from Westbury from 08:26 to 12:22 would you believe?  And that 08:26 is the first train of the day.

Connections from Swindon at 06:10 (arriving Westbury 06:53) and that 10:47 you mentioned (arriving Westbury 11:31) ... not a joined up flow, I'm afraid.  I'm tend to take my laptop and work in the waiting room when I have a 90 minute wait at Westbury!

[marky7890]

I wonder if the Looe and Newquay branches would manage to mid March with a single 153 on most services?

Looe and Newquay use a single 153 most of the year, which gets strengthened to a 150 in peak summer.

I have noticed that the few early Penzance to Paddington HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) which ran via Bristol, now none of them do. I found them to be quite useful for heading up to Bristol or South Wales and avoiding crowded 4 car voyagers, and changing at Taunton there is normally a long wait for GW^▸ (Great Western) TAU^» (Taunton - next trains) - BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains) service, although one of them atleast stops at Westbury in time to catch a Portsmouth to Cardiff service heading through Bristol.

[phile]

I wonder if the Looe and Newquay branches would manage to mid March with a single 153 on most services?

Looe and Newquay use a single 153 most of the year, which gets strengthened to a 150 in peak summer.

I have noticed that the few early Penzance to Paddington HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) which ran via Bristol, now none of them do. I found them to be quite useful for heading up to Bristol or South Wales and avoiding crowded 4 car voyagers, and changing at Taunton there is normally a long wait for GW^▸ (Great Western) TAU^» (Taunton - next trains) - BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains) service, although one of them atleast stops at Westbury in time to catch a Portsmouth to Cardiff service heading through Bristol.

The Newquay is a now a double 153 as from this week with 153s covering all the Cornish Branches

[grahame]

I have noticed that the few early Penzance to Paddington HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) which ran via Bristol, now none of them do.

Penzance to Paddington via Bristol would be awkward journeys if the decision is taken to go "red" and "blue". Could one of the reasons of these trains being faded out be a drift towards service patterns that would logically fall into one franchise or the other?   I'm reminded of reports from 50 years ago of train services being amended to reduce the usefulness of a service, leading a while later to the conclusion the services weren't viable.

[ChrisB]

Or even simply a saving on miles travelled (and thus need paying for to Hitachi)?

[bobm]

There is the now re-instated 07:30 from London Paddington to Penzance via Bristol and the 17:42 from Penzance - although that is often diverted via the Berks & Hants due to engineering work.

[FarWestJohn]

I thought I fleetingly saw a three car 150 in green livery between Penzance and Marazion at about 1145 this morning?

[grahame]

I thought I fleetingly saw a three car 150 in green livery between Penzance and Marazion at about 1145 this morning?

150-002 perhaps.   Not sure what colour -001 is at the moment.

[phile]

I thought I fleetingly saw a three car 150 in green livery between Penzance and Marazion at about 1145 this morning?

150-002 perhaps.   Not sure what colour -001 is at the moment.

150002 it was.   150001 same livery

[bobm]

Not 3 car, but when I was at Westbury early yesterday morning there were two 150s with power points - one was 150266.

[devonexpress]

Also a new early morning 06:37 Paddington to Penzance, and return at 12ish lunchtime?

Funny that the down service does not stop at Newton Abbot, if it was me id make it earlier so it arrives in Exeter for 08:15 - 08:30 and Plymouth for 09:20 - 09:40. Hopefully with the IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) introduction to Devon & Cornwall, we should also see a 08:05 departure to at least Exeter. Plugging a gap that used to be an hour, or now 30 mins but going via Bristol takes an extra 45 mins anyway.

I'd still be surprised if GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) is broken up, as I've heard from a good source that GWR Stakeholders are not very happy at the idea.

[grahame]

Also a new early morning 06:37 Paddington to Penzance, and return at 12ish lunchtime?

Funny that the down service does not stop at Newton Abbot ...

It seems more important for it to have a three hour schedule ... even if (as yet) it's very unbusy off Paddington.  Yes - that may be part of a longer term plan than just the next few months - perhaps some useful stops could be added once it's running with a unit with faster station takeoff and crisper door closing procedures.

[bobm]

I travelled on the train from London Paddington to St Erth on Monday.   The 06:37 departure has been replaced with one at 06:33.

Admittedly it was half term and the train was in reverse formation but on departure from London I counted nine people in coaches D, E and F.  Twenty-one boarded at Taunton.

At Newton Abbot we slowed to a crawl through the platform despite having clear signals. 

Given that there are generous connection times for most branch line services along the way, with the possible exception of Exmouth (and Newquay as the train skips Par), I am sure the good people of Plymouth wouldn't begrudge a call at Westbury and or Castle Cary if it meant a slightly later arrival in the Ocean City.

[grahame]

Given that there are generous connection times for most branch line services along the way, with the possible exception of Exmouth (and Newquay as the train skips Par), I am sure the good people of Plymouth wouldn't begrudge a call at Westbury and or Castle Cary if it meant a slightly later arrival in the Ocean City.

Whether or not they would begrudge an extra stop, it could make the difference between a service that's viable and one that's not.

[bobm]

Totally agree.  I am no fan of this dash for headline figures.  Would an extra five or ten minutes really be a deal-breaker?