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

[whole diary]

[bambam]

2002/03      4,912
2004/05    2,104
2005/06    1,658
2006/07    2,208
2007/08    1,967
2008/09    2,058
2009/10    1,878

These are the figures from wikipedia for station use at Lapford, which I accept may well be wrong but I personally find it difficult to find other figures for national rail stations and I therefore use.

If you can find better sourced figure that show a longer range of data, i.e. more years, and/or is from a better source and disproves this trend I will happily accept Lapford has ad growth.

[noddingdonkey]

He's given you the official source for station figures in the post above yours!

[inspector_blakey]

Let's try and keep things civilized shall we, folks? The allegation of lying above was utterly uncalled for and unnecessarily hostile in the circumstances.

These are the figures from wikipedia for station use at Lapford, which I accept may well be wrong but I personally find it difficult to find other figures for national rail stations and I therefore use.

If you can find better sourced figure that show a longer range of data, i.e. more years, and/or is from a better source and disproves this trend I will happily accept Lapford has ad growth.

Your figures end in 2009/10. If you took the time to read what was posted above, you'd note that the 2009/10 figure from Wikipedia agrees with TJ's figure from the ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) data, at 1,878. However the official ORR data also includes a figure for 2010/11 of 2,374.

He's given you the official source for station figures in the post above yours!

What he said...

[gaf71]

Wikipedia.....the place where anyone can post anything they like.

[John R]

They were correct, just nobody had bothered updating them since the latest figures were published.

Going back to the start of the recent discussion, the phrase "declining growth" was used. That would mean that passenger numbers are increasing, but not as quickly as in previous years. (eg +10%, +6%, +3%). I suspect the poster meant "falling passenger numbers". 

[TerminalJunkie]

They were correct, just nobody had bothered updating them since the latest figures were published.

Somebody just has 

[TerminalJunkie]

These are the figures from wikipedia for station use at Lapford, which I accept may well be wrong but I personally find it difficult to find other figures for national rail stations and I therefore use.

You apparently "find it difficult" to follow the link roughly 300 pixels below the numbers you quoted. Sheesh!

[bambam]

He's given you the official source for station figures in the post above yours!

For two years, which is good because It's obviously true, unlike the wikipedia ones which as you've all kindly pointed out can be altered by anyone and everyone.

However this does not show the long term trend.

I do mean declining. At the start of the most available data for several years I could find the station had 4,912 users, In 2002/03. It last year, in 2010/11 had 2,374 In this period it had 5 years of declining use and 3 of increasing. My personal opinion is that this is declining use, although you could argue that 2010/11 is very much an exception to the trend and if you discount 2002/03 growth has flatlined rather than declined.

[polymath]

If one looks at the context instead of just the bare figures for Lapford, the slight variation in relatively small footfall figures over the years may be understandable.

The station only has 4/5 services a day out of 14 each way serving the line, which are early morning and in the evening.(check out timetable 34 on the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) website)

The access to the station is extremely dangerous for pedestrians and virtually impossible by car.

The village itself is around a kilometre away, with the walking route crossing a busy road with no footpath

The local bus company provides 11 services a day to and from Exeter (until late afternoon), though none northwards towards Barnstaple.

Main usage is by passengers commuting to and from Exeter, and the figures year on year are likely to by affected by job losses in the current financial climate, and the variable number of college students starting/finishing courses.

Differences in footfall between years amount to only 3-4 passengers per week except for the last set of figures where the increase is an average of 9 passengers per week.

[TerminalJunkie]

The station only has 4/5 services a day out of 14 each way serving the line, which are early morning and in the evening.(check out timetable 34 on the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) website)

I've been trying to dig out a pre-2004 timetable (ie before Wessex introduced their first Devon Metro timetable), but can't find one - I think it was six or seven trains in each direction called at Lapford.

[noddingdonkey]

It is a pretty poor service for what is one of the biggest villages on the route. It's true that access to the station is not what it could be and that the walk along the main road and up the hill to the village is 'interesting' in the least. There is, however vehicular access to the station, as well as parking, despite the owner of the station house making it clear he doesn't welcome rail travellers with open arms.
I've always thought that more should be done with lapford. A large number of the villagers work in Exeter and drive in everyday (one per car mostly) Surely a better service and better promotion could get some of those cars off the road. It's never going to have the traffic of Exeter St David's but Lapford should attract at least as many as Morchard Road or Copplestone.

[Feckham]

The station only has 4/5 services a day out of 14 each way serving the line, which are early morning and in the evening.(check out timetable 34 on the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) website)

I've been trying to dig out a pre-2004 timetable (ie before Wessex introduced their first Devon Metro timetable), but can't find one - I think it was six or seven trains in each direction called at Lapford.

Hi

The following may assist for 2001-2002

http://www.nd1.co.uk/northdevon/trains_winter1.htm#Barnmonfri

Fecks

[Southern Stag]

Winter 2003 TT I have just found out:
Lapford to Exeter at 0743, 0934, 1049, 1257, 1353, 1450, 1640, 1851, 1959, 2120 and 2217.
Lapford to Barnstaple at 0629, 0729, 0920, 1127, 1242, 1332, 1522, 1720, 1835, 1945 and 2105.

All stopped on request only but that was the complete service on the Barnstaple branch at the time. All train called at Lapford. Copplestone at that time only had 5 trains a day, and now it has all trains calling. Only 3 trains skipped Chapleton back then as well, now only 3 a day stop.

[John R]

So even when all 11 trains called at Lapford, the number of return trips per week was only 47, so 8 per day (excluding Sundays), i.e. less than 1 per train.

Given the number of journeys on the branch has soared from 300,000 to over 500,000 in 4 years (source Tarkarail.org) then I suggest the current timetable seems to be reasonably effective at optimising the inevitable compromise between the needs of the various communities on the line.

[bambam]

Would stops every couple of hours be a way of solving this. So stopping at Yeoford and Morchard Road in the even hours and Lapford and Copplestone in the odd hours. Or is this a terrible idea?