Newquay Line - services, incidents and improvements (merged posts)

[whole diary]

[martyjon]

I will be interested if the Newquay line is nothing less than cosy today with a single car 153 operating today according to JourneyCheck.

[infoman]

Children and Mature persons on a special train from Par to Newquay.
Not sure which day although it was broadcast on 9 May on BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Spotlight
Can be seen again on the i-player thingy towards the end of the local News
Be quick as the local News is only available for 24 hours

[grahame]

Par to Newquay - the Atlantic Coast Line
Connections from London, Exeter, Plymouth, Liskeard and Bodmin Road
Connections from Penzance, Truro and St Austell

Noting that from mid December, there are two extra round trips on Mondays to Fridays on the Newquay branch.

Arrivals into Newquay have been:
10:13, 13:05, 15:08, 17:07, 19:15 and 21:21
and they become:
06:52, 09:10, 11:02, 13:05, 15:08, 17:07, 19:15 and 21:21

Return trains to Par have been:
10:23, 13:10, 15:10, 17:19, 19:22 and 21:28 until mid December
and they become:
07:12, 09:17, 11:12, 13:10, 15:10, 17:19, 19:22 and 21:26

Seven round trips on Saturdays (no change - 06:52 to 20:22 off Par)
Three round trips on Sundays (no change - 10:05 to 16:15 off Par)

Summer see through services from London daily, and from The North on Saturdays.
All services except summer through service call on request at all intermediated stations

To someone who's not all that familiar with the line, this seems to be a very logical filling of the most enormous crater in services that appears to have left a previous service totally unfit for "9 to 5" commuters to either end of the line. Having said which, I know an earlier round trip as tried for a period a few years back, but then taken off.

From December ... 07:12 off Newquay, 07:41 Bugle, 08:13 St Austell and 08:30 Truro. (Bugle being the busiest intermediate station). Return from Truro at 17:54, St Autell at 18:10 and getting to Bugle at 18:39 and Newquay at 19:15.  Makes huge sense in moving todays a "mid-Cornwall Metro" starting with a peak train.

Par. Connecting services to Plymouth and beyond, and to Penzance
overview - local map - wider map

St Blazey - operational point

Luxulyan
overview - local map - wider map

Passing loop at Goonbarrow; limit of freight operation.

Bugle
overview - local map - wider map

Roche
overview - local map - wider map

St Columb Road
overview - local map - wider map

Quintrill Downs
overview - local map - wider map

Newquay - Single platform / no sidings just a buffer stop.
overview - local map - wider map

[bobm]

It does look logical although if it is to provide a commuter service back from Newquay there is an element of risk introducing at this time.

Mondays excepted it connects with the down sleeper.  (On Mondays it needs a change at Plymouth).  It also connects  with the first stopper up from Penzance. 

[Jamsdad]

Good to see a better service but I am not sure there is much regular commuter trafffic. The line is painfully slow and the bus service from Newquay to St Austell is quicker. This is why the re-routing of the service via Burngullow makes so much sense.

[grahame]

Good to see a better service but I am not sure there is much regular commuter trafffic. The line is painfully slow and the bus service from Newquay to St Austell is quicker. This is why the re-routing of the service via Burngullow makes so much sense.

I think you may be surprised at some of the other traffic that might develop.  I note that passenger journey numbers at Newquay have been around 100,000 per annum but the five intermediate stations aren't unused totalling 20,000 journeys per annum.  Not many, perhaps, but no useful commuter services so starting from a "useless" point.  They may each be quite small communities at the moment, but the coming of a rail service one step better than useless will help them and help the railway.  And how about commutes into Newquay especially for summer jobs.  Then you have people headed for Liskeard and Plymouth for the day ...

Here are three of the close station catchments to give you an idea ...






And here from elsewhere is a "control" example of a desperate case.

[Jamsdad]

I'm not disputing the potential passenger flows, what I am saying is the bus is currently faster because the branch is so slow. Get a faster Newquay service preferably running straight in to St Austell and passenger numbers would rise.

[grahame]

I'm not disputing the potential passenger flows, what I am saying is the bus is currently faster because the branch is so slow. Get a faster Newquay service preferably running straight in to St Austell and passenger numbers would rise.

I do hear you on that flow; I was saying "look at other potential flows too".

There are similarities here from my own home town.   The most common journey from Melksham is to Bath, and that involves a change and dogleg by train, but we have direct buses - indeed, advise for people headed to Bath is "catch the bus". However, we have done quite well with the other direction(s) which do not go to or via Bath, and also with flows that pass through Bath by train on their way beyond.  Moving the service up to a level that remains poor (every 2 hours, like the Newquay branch becomes) but is useable for day return trips now has moved passenger numbers up by more than an order of magnitude; I wish the Newquay service well and can understand how it has significant potential.
 

[grahame]

Mentioned in several places elsewhere on the forum, but worthy of its own thread - as from this morning, extra services on the Newquay to Par line transform the service from a visitor's railway into a service that can be used for regular conventional commutes and days out, with the addition of two morning services.  The line itself (and services) are summarised in the sticky thread at http://www.passenger.chat/24259

https://twitter.com/JanePlymouth/status/1338382626042892289



The importance of this is massive - a whole day in Plymouth is now practical by train not just an afternoon, as is travel into Newquay for the day from the places along the line - none with large passenger numbers yet, but an opportunity offered.  Wishing all the best to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) and the Community Rail team in the area in getting this line back into the fabric of routine community travel.

[LiskeardRich]

If I?m not mistaken the earliest arrival to Plymouth or Truro was previously late morning. Useless for commuting

[bobm]

Earliest arrival into Plymouth was after 12 - you can now get to Paddington by that time.

[infoman]

Brilliant news considering that the first train out was  approx 10:00am ish
Be interesting to see what the loadings on the early morning bus departures(06:00am ish) will be.
As you have to purchase your ticket to travel before you sit down.
Just wondering where the train crew and unit come from.
A suggestion in my simple world, why not have a non stop servive from Par? to Newquay to start the days workings.

[bobm]

The Newquay branch is usually worked by crews based at Par depot.

The first service on the branch is now the 06:00 from Par which reaches Newquay at 06:52 and then returns at 07:12.

It looks like the unit stables at Par overnight having working on the Looe Valley line the previous evening.

[grahame]

Until December 2020 timetable on the LEFT, from December 2020 on the RIGHT:

Brilliant news ...

[snip]

A suggestion in my simple world, why not have a non stop service from Par? to Newquay to start the days workings.

With assurance of reliability and longevity, the early inbound train may build up a commuter flow of people coming from the villages along the way to work in the leisure business in Newquay ... calling (as required) is what I would have suggested from the comfort of my distant armchair in the Far East (a.k.a. Wiltshire).    I was distinctly cynical about our early train at 05:33 which started last December - happy to admit I was wrong in worrying and it's done much better than I would have guessed.

[LiskeardRich]

Be interesting to see what the loadings on the early morning bus departures(06:00am ish) will be.

Having previously worked the 0630 ish Newquay to Truro bus, before the tender went to another operator, it used to carry reasonable numbers to work at the fraddon retail park which is still some distance to nearest station, and Truro. Truro is around 70 mins average on the bus, so I?d say the bus still has favourable timings to Truro from Newquay