Devizes 52-year wait for train station could end

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From The Gazette and Herald

MORE than 50 years of waiting for a train station in Devizes may come to an end after a new working group said it has found the ‘perfect’ location for it.

Despite only forming in December, the Devizes Development Partnership wants to have the Devizes Parkway station built by 2022 and that it should be by the old Clock Inn pub along the A342 – three miles from Devizes.

The group, made up of rail experts, town and Wiltshire Councillors, put forward its plans to Great Western Rail Service representatives last week in discussions to improving train services across the county.

[continues]

[bobm]

By chance I was in Devizes yesterday and had half an hour to spare so took a walk down Station Road to see what remains of the original railway.



The railway used to run under the town centre and emerge shortly before the station.

I didn't have time to explore the other end of the tunnel which hasn't been "commercialised".

Much of the station site is now a car park - and for the first time I saw a car charging point actually being used..

[JayMac]

Elon Musk has penetrated deepest Wiltshire I see.

[paul7575]

By chance I was in Devizes yesterday and had half an hour to spare...

Left to your own Devizes, as they say... 

Paul

[grahame]

Very interesting to hear the case / background (including the third party and funding support routes) for this station at the Trowbridge DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) consultation.

The recast of the Berks and Hants regional services (as opposed to the hell-for-leather London to Plymouth+ expresses) provides a solid base of trains that could stop on a sensible pattern (frequency still for discussion for future years).  Traffic at Devizes would supplement traffic from other stations all along from Newbury to Taunton making for a better case for more rather than less trains all along, with excellent connections made off the train coming in regularly from the Reading direction via both Trowbridge and Warminster, as well as helping to secure a clock face service with connections for arrivals at Westbury via Trowbridge and Warminster headed for the West Country.

[Bmblbzzz]

Elon Musk has penetrated deepest Wiltshire I see.

The most rural places I've seen Teslas are a village, or hamlet, called Hoarwithy on the banks of the Wye between Hereford and Ross, where it was parked in an open-sided "garage" scooped out of the earth bank of the roadside, and Whittington near Cheltenham, where I had the unusual experience of being overtaken by an almost silent vehicle as I laboured up a steep country lane. And non-Tesla plug-ins all over the Cotswolds.

But to address the subject of the thread, it all sounds good and I'm sure Devizes is too big not to have a station; but what's the likelihood?

[Red Squirrel]

But to address the subject of the thread, it all sounds good and I'm sure Devizes is too big not to have a station; but what's the likelihood?

What do we want?
A station, soon!
What are the chances?
Negligible!

[grahame]

From This is Wiltshire

General election hopefuls all back rail link for Devizes

All four candidates responded positively to a question about the possibility of a rail link on the outskirts of Devizes. Mr Kruger revealed that the only person he had spoken to who was against the idea of a parkway style station at Lydeway was a secretary at Devizes School.

Ms Schneider Ross said it was wrong that the 8.10am train from Pewsey to London had recently doubled in price.

She said the whole rail/bus network infrastructure in the area was not good enough.

Ms Waltham also pointed out there was no direct bus service from Devizes to Marlborough and Ms Dawnay agreed a station was needed.

[Phil]

I see Mr Kruger is still trying:

[Reading General]

By chance I was in Devizes yesterday and had half an hour to spare...

Left to your own Devizes, as they say... 

Paul

Two years ago but still a great gag.

[rogerw]

Mr Kruger was interviewed on BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Wiltshire this afternoon on the drive time show.  He was giving the impression that the proposal was to open the closed line to Devizes.  He was very vague on details but stated thet there would be a bus service and cycle route between the station and the town centre.  He also stated that the station would bring people from elsewhere.  Full interview available on iplayer
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0824sdx about 46 minutes in

[Red Squirrel]

I think it's clear he's talking about Patney and Chirton, or 'Devizes Parkway' as he has it. What I find puzzling is his reference to connecting Devizes with Bristol - it's hard to see a quick route from there.

[grahame]

I think it's clear he's talking about Patney and Chirton, or 'Devizes Parkway' as he has it. What I find puzzling is his reference to connecting Devizes with Bristol - it's hard to see a quick route from there.

It's Lydeway - where the A342 crossed the railway at what used to be "The Clock" Pub now, I believe, a caravan park.   All the stuff about relaying lines - no.  Re-opening a Beeching closure - no; new location.  Lydeway is closer to Devizes than Patney and Chirton, which is in the middle of a remove area with a thin web of narrow lanes unfit for station traffic.  Remember that Mr Kruger is a spin doctor.

To Bristol - aspiration is for decent connections from Bedwyn and Pewsey (and Devizes Parkway) at Westbury onto trains to Trowbridge (the county town), Bath and Bristol for commuters.  Really not good at the moment.  And also for the semifast IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train - the now official name for the replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan)) to be up to hourly.   

All very sensible; everyone looking at the same case towards the same goals. 

[grahame]

From the Wiltshire Times

MP^▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post - a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London, depending on context) promises Devizes community chance to have say on station plan

As lockdown rules have started to ease, I’ve been able to get back out into the Constituency and start to think again about local projects and priorities. One of these is the ambition to open a new train station to serve Devizes and the surrounding areas, and on Friday I met with members of the Devizes Development Partnership to visit the proposed site for the new parkway, in Lydeway.

Last month we got the good news that the proposal for the Lydeway station had been successful in the first round of funding under the Department for Transport’s Restoring Your Railway fund. This means money will soon be made available to investigate the realities of opening the station and create a detailed business plan - which is the next step in the process.

On Friday we discussed the overall vision for the station, what it could eventually look like and how it can best serve local people. It’s very exciting to discuss these things and I hope they will soon be a reality, but this is very much the beginning of the process. As well as the business case development, there will also be a full programme of community engagement for residents and potential users of the station to make their voices heard, and a plan to raise the capital funding needed for the works.

The local MP is Danny Kruger - pictured in a socially distanced group at a crossing in the article

[infoman]

Could I ask where is the planned new station "facilities" are planned car park taxi rank bus/s turn round?

Will it be a single sided access station or access from both sides