Tarka Line - Exeter to Barnstaple - services, passenger numbers, carriages, engineering works, incidents and events

[whole diary]

[TerminalJunkie]

Is this just a wish by the council or is there more substance to it?

Don't know - there's no mention of it on the DCC^» (Devon County Council - website) website. It does say that they cut 13 million square metres of grass last year, though...

[Milky Bar Kid]

Until the diesel cascade starts no improvements are planned, there is simply nothing around to strengthen the services

[John R]

Out of interest, the tarka line association website (tarkarail.org) has been somewhat quiet in terms of passenger stats this year, whereas last year it was giving updates every couple of months. Does anyone know whether volumes are still increasing?

[eightf48544]

This has hit a very interesting dilemma facing transport operators. When do you know if you have reach a maximum volume or there is still surpressed demand due to lack of capacity. This is particulary acute at the present time on the railways due to lack of any spare rolling stock with which to either strengthen exisiting services or provide extra trains.

With a bus it's relatively easy as the captital and running cost are lower so you could put on an extra bus and see if people use it and withdraw if not succesful.

It's mainly down to the "bean counters" who insist that asessts are flogged to death and only the bare minimum are used to provide a service this is particually true of DMUs^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) where I think they would really like to do away with maintenance spares if they could. I am really sure they believe you can get 100% utilisation from a DMU whereas the maths says you are lucky to get 90% and 80% might be more realisitc,

Whereas BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) was criticised particulay, in the Beeching report, for having too many underused assets such as coaches and wagons, but at least  in those days Exeter would have been able to add a couple coaches to a Barnstable train if required.

So until some DMUs are cascaded from electrification it will reamin an unanswered question as whether the Tarka^▸ (Branch line from Barnstaple to Exeter) Line has reached it's maxium usage or that there is still surpressed deamand.

But by then it could be too late as those who might have used the train will either have found alternatives or changed their jorneys to avoid the Tarka Line.

As Grahame keeps pointing out there is a lot of Sociology in peoples' choices of transport, which we barely understand.

[paul7575]

It's mainly down to the "bean counters" who insist that asessts are flogged to death and only the bare minimum are used to provide a service this is particually true of DMUs^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) where I think they would really like to do away with maintenance spares if they could.

Got any real world examples of DMU fleets which have 100% utilisation over a 7 day week?   

Paul

[Andrew1939 from West Oxon]

FGW^▸ (First Great Western) has recently reacquired 5 class 180 Adelantes, mainly for use on the Cotswold Line, so that the current Turbos can be used to lengthen overcrowded Thames Valley services. I understand that they plan to put these trains into service on weekdays (M-F) only and then only to have 4 out of the 5 normally in use. However first indications since some have come into service that even this generous backup is not enough because the historic unreliability problems have not been fully rectified despite millions being spent on mechanical and electrical modifications.

[TonyK]

A three-car train on the Tarka^▸ (Branch line from Barnstaple to Exeter) line, with everyone seated, will cost more than a two-car service full of angry standing passengers. As railways today are all about money, not service, this is tolerated. Like on the Severn Beach line, improvements have added passengers and ramped up expectations. Possible answers, if they can be found, will involve an extra car at peak times - but from where?

The ideal experiment is impossible. That would see a half-hourly 3 car service, and would show how many more Devonians would give up the car for getting around. Exeter is awful to get around at rush hour in a car.

[Umberleigh]

Ironic that, on leaving Exeter, the overcrowded two car Barnstaple train passes at least one three car unit standing idle in the carriage sidings (with even more idle at Salisbury).

A joined-up railway anyone?

[paul7575]

Ironic that, on leaving Exeter, the overcrowded two car Barnstaple train passes at least one three car unit standing idle in the carriage sidings (with even more idle at Salisbury).

A joined-up railway anyone?

If you are referring to the 3 car SWT^▸ (South West Trains) units seen at Exeter New Yard, they are normally only there for around half an hour to clear the platform during turnround before going back to Waterloo.  So just because there's one there as the Barnstaple train passes doesn't mean it is spare.
The arrival and departure times at Exeter are set by the requirement for the hourly up and down services to pass at Axminster and cannot be varied.

Certain SWT services run as 3 car having arrived as 6 car and vice versa, with one of the units having a longer wait to go back towards Waterloo.  But sending one up to Barnstaple would be impossible in the time available, even if there was a common operator in the area.

Paul

[autotank]

If the ridiculous practice of running 158's on the Lymmington branch was ended then would SWT^▸ (South West Trains) not easily be able to run a couple of extentions through to Barnstaple each day?

[paul7575]

So, assuming you've found a spare 450 to run the branch, you now have one spare 158. 

Would it be better to use that to increase a 6 car Waterloo service to 8 car, or an 8 to 10, which was the original purpose they were leased for?  Or send it off to Barnstaple?

SWT^▸ (South West Trains) have quite a significant number of DMUs^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) that operate elsewhere on the electrified network that could theoretically be released to other TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company), but the bottom line is that they'd need replacing with EMUs^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) before this happens.

Paul

[eightf48544]

Got any real world examples of DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) fleets which have 100% utilisation over a 7 day week?   
Paul

No and that's the point I was trying to make about the modern railway that the "bean counters" expect  unrealistic utilisation of DMUs.

It's the same thinking behind Four tracks point about it being cheaper to run a full and standing 2 car than have everyone seated in 3 car train.

Also if there was a common railway (Umberleigh's point) with common user stock then who knows there may well be a spare 158/9 to send to Barnstable as the diagrams would be entirely differnet.

[Louis94]

If you are referring to the 3 car SWT^▸ (South West Trains) units seen at Exeter New Yard, they are normally only there for around half an hour to clear the platform during turnround before going back to Waterloo.  So just because there's one there as the Barnstaple train passes doesn't mean it is spare.
The arrival and departure times at Exeter are set by the requirement for the hourly up and down services to pass at Axminster and cannot be varied.

Certain SWT services run as 3 car having arrived as 6 car and vice versa, with one of the units having a longer wait to go back towards Waterloo.  But sending one up to Barnstaple would be impossible in the time available, even if there was a common operator in the area.

Paul

Its worth noting that with the current turn around times in New Yard the units DO actually have enough time for services to run to Paignton and Plymouth around the similar time to they ran before. As some services arrive as 6-cars and then depart as 3-cars, it is possible to do this and still have services running as booked from Exeter, with a portion from New Yard and a portion from Paignton or Plymouth. If SWT still ran to Plymouth and Paignton they would STILL have enough rolling stock to run the current level of service and level of carriages between Exeter and London, so I see no problem going through to Barnstaple instead of these western terminals, the only thing stopping this would route knowledge and perhaps the impact on the staffing because breaks would need to be moved/altered.

[Umberleigh]

Thanks for your reply.

So it seems it would be feasible to use the SWT^▸ (South West Trains) 3 car units to alleviate the Tarka^▸ (Branch line from Barnstaple to Exeter) line overcrowding, produce extra revenue and give passengers a much more comfortable journey. Also this would of course free up the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) units to strengthen other services. Everyone's a winner!

*sigh*

[grahame]

So it seems it would be feasible to use the SWT^▸ (South West Trains) 3 car units to alleviate the Tarka^▸ (Branch line from Barnstaple to Exeter) line overcrowding, produce extra revenue and give passengers a much more comfortable journey. Also this would of course free up the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) units to strengthen other services. Everyone's a winner!

If Stagecoach were to win the Great Western Franchise, this could happen commercially as well as logically.  We've seen some similar things done between the 125 fleet and West fleet since First became responsible for both - just this evening, I note that the 18:00 Bristol to Paddington is a 3 car train rather than an 8, for example (for the record - running Temple Meads to Swindon only).