21st March and 4th April 2019 - Go-op Taunton to Swindon service public meetings

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Headline - "Rail Firm Plans for New Services", Wiltshire Times, first edition in March 2019 (7th?). Posted here to flag up public meetings.

[Timmer]

Respect to them that they don’t give up. I think they’ve been around as long as this forum has.

Perhaps with changes coming to the way the rail network is run with the franchise system falling out of favour; this could be their moment.

[ellendune]

We can hope, but open access has been such a success in the bus industry, please forgive me if I am a little sceptical. 

[johnneyw]

Passing loop to be built? Ouch, that's got to be an expensive hurdle.

[grahame]

Passing loop to be built? Ouch, that's got to be an expensive hurdle.

Capacity is beginning to be a bit of a problem.  "Passing loop" is a bit of a shorthand; "capacity improvements - for example a passing loop" is what's needed and indeed Paul said "such as a passing loop".  Just under 2 years ago we had a thread that looked at the options ... I started with a dozen and found that other suggestions were added - http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=18449 .   A further thread at http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=20765 and yet more at http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=17602.msg203553#msg203553

As you suggest, none cheap.  Keeps coming up.  Capacity enhancement has moved from being a silly joke to a serious  question and is heading towards being an absolute necessity!

[Reginald25]

I applaud Co-op for promoting these additional trains on the TransWilts sector and indeed providing change free access to stations both North/East if Swindon  and South of Westbury.
However there are the issues of the single line capacity between Thingley and Bradford-on-Avon, and I imagine that there are also capacity problems on the rest of the route together with such issues as the Westbury 4th platform. I also wonder where the financial return is going to come, it would have to shared with other TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company).
I does seem that this time Co-op are making a real push to get something going, but there have been  previous attempts over several years when the signs were right, yet nothing happened.

[Red Squirrel]

Passing loop to be built? Ouch, that's got to be an expensive hurdle.

Somewhere between £7.8 and £35 million, according to this - Melksham's platform might possibly be a bit too short for the Penryn solution; maybe the Highley solution would work?

[johnneyw]

Passing loop to be built? Ouch, that's got to be an expensive hurdle.

Somewhere between £7.8 and £35 million, according to this - Melksham's platform might possibly be a bit too short for the Penryn solution; maybe the Highley solution would work?

Ah yes, takes me back to my visit to the Severn Valley in 2017. Just an observation but this would be a provision that would be of benefit to every TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) using the line, not just Go-Op, so presumably this raises some issues of who should be contributing what to the cost.
As an aside, should a passing loop go in at Melksham, would there still be space there to provide passive provision for a possible second platform in some distant future?

[grahame]

I also wonder where the financial return is going to come, [capacity improvements] would have to shared with other TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company).

Indeed - from input from the Melksham Rail User Group to last year's Swindon and Wiltshire Rail study,  a mapped diagram of the flows along the Trowbridge (24)to Chippenham (22) line:

As an aside, should a passing loop go in at Melksham, would there still be space there to provide passive provision for a possible second platform in some distant future?

Should there be a second track actually at Melksham Station, I believe there would be space for a platform alongside it too.  I'm not so sure, sadly, if there would be space at the rear of the platform for bridge and/or shelter, though it would get a bit easier with a staggered platform.   There is also space south of the road bridge for a platform on what would be the northbound side, and level (though a bit longer than is ideal access around - using the main road bridge to cross between the platforms, with a light controlled road crossing, could save the cost of an access for all footbridge, and have the traffic calming benefit (program the lights on the brow?) to provide a protected bus stop called "Melksham Station" and providing integrated transport opportunities.   Somewhat academic, as I would expect the line through Melksham itself to remain single track with most of the viable loop options, only being doubled if the whole line was.


Key for diagram

To the South West
Green 1 - passenger flows Frome, Taunton and beyond
Green 2 - passenger flows Yeovil, Dorchester and Weymouth
Green 3 - passenger flows Stonehenge, Salisbury, Southampton Central, Southampron Airporrt
Green 4 - South West to London (diversion route) flows
Blue 1 and Blue 2 - Mendip Quarries (stone)
Blue 3 - Quidhampton (spoil / landfill)
Blue 4 - Southampton Docks (containers; various goods)
Blue 5 - Westbury (Track panels)

To the North East
Green 11 - Oxford, Milands, North
Green 12 - Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford, beyond
Green 13 - Reading and London
Green 14 - South West to London (diversion route) flows
Blue 11 - via East / West rail to northern home counties
Blue 12 - via Banbury to Midlands and north of England

On line
Red 21 - Swindon (current stations)
Red 22 - Chippenham
Red 23 - Melksham
Red 24 - Trowbridge
Red 25 - Westbury
Grey 31 - Royal Wootton Bassett (suggested)

[grahame]

Press release from Go-op, updating their plans and with more specific meeting info {{here}}

Community owned rail operator submits proposals for new services to connect market towns to the rail network

Rail travel could get a boost in Somerset and Wiltshire as a new train operator proposes a significant addition to the rail timetables from summer 2020. Unusually, the operator is a co-operative: a not- for-profit business owned by those who travel on its trains and work for it. GO-OP^▸ (Original Poster / topic starter) Co-operative Limited is keen to hear from potential new members – which could be both prospective travellers on the new service, and those seeking employment.

[continues]

[grahame]

From This is Wiltshire - a Swindon centric version.   With - I note - a new event date of 6th June for Westbury.

TRAIN passengers could speed between Swindon and Oxford in under an hour, if a new railway co-operative has its way.

Go-Op, a company founded a decade ago by frustrated rail passengers from Somerset, hopes to run regular services between Somerset and Nuneaton.

The firm hopes to launch the project next summer, with the service up and running by 2031. It needs to raise £3.5m over the next three to six months.

Alex Lawrie, operations director and a founder member of the co-operative, said: “The technical difficulties are hard to overstate. The UK^▸ (United Kingdom) railways are for good reason carefully regulated and we must prove in great detail that our ideas stack up.

[snip]

Go-op will run a consultation event in Taunton, Somerset, tonight. Other events to show off the plans to the public will be held in Frome on April 4 and Westbury on June 6.

I can't help feeling that a typo has crept into the article with the proposed service start date;  talk last week was of summer 2020 - perhaps the date in the article should be 2021?

[grahame]

This is a "diary" thread about meetings ... update on the "Go-op update" thread:

http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=11010.msg260888#msg260888

Noting that 2031 is the end date of the plan (2020 to 2031) rather than the start date - solves the mystery of where that year cam from in the press report.

[ChrisB]

These meetings, according to their website, all have different main topics. Only tonight's deals with the train service; April 4th appears to be concerning being an entrepreneur (1530-1700) and June 6 appears to be a Stakeholder update and AGM^▸ (Annual General Meeting)

[grahame]

These meetings, according to their website, all have different main topics. Only tonight's deals with the train service; April 4th appears to be concerning being an entrepreneur (1530-1700) and June 6 appears to be a Stakeholder update and AGM^▸ (Annual General Meeting)

April 4th .... a second following meeting?  From The Wiltshire Times

A NEW community rail co-operative is to stage a public meeting in Frome next Thursday (April 4) for commuters to find out more about its proposed services.

[snip]

Alex Lawrie, Go-Op’s managing director, will brief commuters at the Cheese & Grain in Frome from 5-6.30pm. There will be another meeting at Bridge House, Trowbridge, on June 6, from 11am.

I wonder how many commuters will be (back) in Frome for a 5 p.m. meeting ...

[grahame]

I wonder how many commuters will be (back) in Frome for a 5 p.m. meeting ...

And an incoming message to prove my point!

Keep me updated as I cannot get to the meetings due to work commitments