Wrexham & Shropshire launch date

[whole diary]

[willc]

There's an interview with Peter Wilkinson, one of the directors of Renaissance Trains, Chiltern/DB^» (Deutsche Bahn - German State Railway - about)'s partner in W&S^▸ (Wrexham and Shropshire (Open Access Operator)) and the founders of Hull Trains, in the current issue of Rail, in which he says: "For now Shrewsbury and Telford are key to this service's success".

They already have some satisfied customers there, according to their website: Cllr Brian Williams, Speaker and Vice Chairman of Shropshire County Council, who said: ^I am pleased to say that myself and other officers and members of the County Council have already used and were well satisfied with this service and we will continue to use it regularly.^

Wrexham is more of a slow build in Mr Wilkinson's view, but going on experience of the old BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) through trains on Friday and Sunday evenings, I would expect there's a healthy level of demand to and from the stations in Wales and the north of Shropshire at those times of the week.

One interesting footnote is that he says the cost of running the Class 67s and Mk3s is about the same as running 170s, which Hull Trains began life with.

[IndustryInsider]

As promised, from December there are noticable improvements in the WS&M schedules allowing for faster journeys. The majority of trains are quicker, with a few of them saving almost half-an-hour on the trhough trip. Marylebone to Shrewsbury is now possible in 3hrs 01m, and Wrexham to Marlebone can be done in 3hrs 45m - still not exactly lightening fast and you can comfortably beat that from Wrexham to Euston via Virgin Trains, but any improvement is going to be good for business. It's also noticable that the largest improvements have been made on the busiest business services - the first two up trains and the 2nd from last down train.

The weekday summary is as follows (current service in brackets)

Wrexham         05:12  (05:42)     07:23  (07:25)     11:23  (11:10)     15:23  (15:10)     17:23  (18:10)
Shrewsbury      05:52  (06:25)     08:07  (08:10)     12:07  (11:53)     16:07  (15:53)     18:07  (18:53)
Marylebone      08:57  (09:54)     11:23  (11:49)     15:22  (15:23)     19:22  (19:22)     21:20  (22:15)

Marylebone      06:45  (06:45)     10:17  (10:17)     12:17  (13:17)     16:33  (16:10)     20:03  (20:03)
Shrewsbury      09:58  (10:10)     13:32  (13:41)     15:32  (16:34)     19:34  (19:36)     23:10  (23:13)
Wrexham         10:44  (10:44)     14:23  (14:28)     16:23  (17:25)     20:23  (20:28)     23:57  (23:57)

[willc]

Good to see some of the worst meanderings through the West Midlands have been trimmed a bit.

It's important not to forget the problems posed for W&S^▸ (Wrexham and Shropshire (Open Access Operator)) and ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))) by pathing on the single-line sections between Gobowen and Wrexham and from Wrexham to the outskirts of Chester, which are creaking under the strain like the Cotswold Line, with increasing numbers of passenger trains fighting for space with steel services between South Wales and Shotton.

[IndustryInsider]

Indeed. I was on a boating holiday down the Llangollen Canal earlier in the year which included navigating across the Chirk Aquaduct which is right next to the railway viaduct. We also stopped (as is the tradition) at a local pub which had a fine view of the crossings and I was surprised just how many trains passed over during our stop.

[Btline]

I hope that these times to not affect the reliability of services (and LM^▸ (London Midland - recent franchise), ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))), CH services).

But it is much better.

I still fear many will opt for the Virgin service though...

[willc]

I still fear many will opt for the Virgin service though...

But they are proposing a grand total of one through train from Wrexham and one back, at a hefty morning peak premium over W&S^▸ (Wrexham and Shropshire (Open Access Operator)) fares, unless they are going to cut their current open returns. And, more importantly for W&S, Virgin aren't serving Shrewsbury and Telford, which is where W&S is generating a lot of business travel revenue, which can only be boosted by a 9am arrival in London.

[John R]

Yes, the arrival before 0900 will make the service more attractive for business travellers, as 0954 is a bit too late. And pushing back the late afternoon departure by 20 mins will also allow more leeway for business travellers. So all together a big improvement, and I hope they succeed.

I have pondered whether they should seek to fill the gaps by adding an extra diagram, maybe only Shrewsbury to London, to gain maximum productivity of the extra set? If this could result in 2 extra services from Shropshire into London then it would take away the main disadvantage, which is the large intervals between trains. I wouldn't want to just miss one because I was held up on the tube.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Ah, but the tube will be so much better in future, John: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7634288.stm

 

[willc]

First overhauled W&S^▸ (Wrexham and Shropshire (Open Access Operator)) DVT^‡(resolve) is now out on test, see http://www.daves-trains.fotopic.net/p53770106.html

[eightf48544]

I hope that these times to not affect the reliability of services (and LM^▸ (London Midland - recent franchise), ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))), CH services).

I don't think you need fear for reliability of W&S^▸ (Wrexham and Shropshire (Open Access Operator)) and CH, the signalmen like them.

ATW and LM, well they take their chance.

[Btline]

I hope that these times to not affect the reliability of services (and LM^▸ (London Midland - recent franchise), ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))), CH services).

I don't think you need fear for reliability of W&S^▸ (Wrexham and Shropshire (Open Access Operator)) and CH, the signalmen like them.

ATW and LM, well they take their chance.

[Steve44]

Was At Marylebone today and the 16.10 looked pretty well loaded =]

[Lee]

A Shropshire council has called on people to use the town's rail link to London amid fears it could be scrapped (link below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/shropshire/7833125.stm

Wrexham and Shropshire Railway is reviewing its timetable and said Wellington could be dropped from the new timetable in May.

It said it had concerns about the layout of the station and the number of fare dodgers using it.

Richard Harper, commercial manager, said passenger numbers on the London route had also been disappointing.

[John R]

Does anyone know whether the concern about passengers on the London route is specific to Wellington, or a more general comment. If the latter then it doesn't bode well for the service, which would be a terrible shame.

[willc]

BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) story is a skimpy follow-up of a report in the Shropshire Star two days previously, which gives rather more detail and I think makes it clear they mean Wellington-London passenger numbers, not generally.

It's a short run between Wellington and Telford Central, neither of which has ticket barriers (and I think Wellington's booking office shuts at lunchtime as well), and it's probably not a massive surprise the train W&S^▸ (Wrexham and Shropshire (Open Access Operator)) have particular concerns about is just after schools finish for the day. Presumably it's children hoping for a free ride down to the Telford shopping centre to hang out down there.

http://www.shropshirestar.com/2009/01/14/fears-for-future-of-rail-link/