Plymouth Station - refurbishment, improvements, timetable changes, events and incidents (merged topic)

[whole diary]

[vacman]

Leaving St Germans on the "down" is notorious for poor rail adhesion, it's quite a steep incline, as for making up time, it's not possible these days, can't speed due to data recorders.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Herald:

Items ranging from a cat to more than ^30,000 in cash have been left on trains which run through Plymouth.
Rail operator CrossCountry said that the pet called Holly and the money in used banknotes in a green holdall were mislaid on its services this year.
Also lost in 2008 were a pair of crutches, a wheelchair and an antique typewriter.

See http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/news/30k-cash-left-train/article-531877-detail/article.html

From the Express & Echo:

^30,000 left on Exeter train

What do a pair of crutches, a cat called Holly and ^30,000 in used notes have in common?
They are just three of the many unusual items left onboard trains passing through Exeter.
The cat was claimed, the crutches were sent to the hospital and the ^30,000 ... that was found by a member of CrossCountry rail staff on the Plymouth to Edinburgh train. When the train stopped the honest member of staff handed the cash in and it was passed on to the police.
A spokeswoman for CrossCountry, one of Britain's largest train operators, said: "As far as we know nobody has ever claimed the money which makes us all feel perhaps it was a little dodgy."

See http://www.thisisexeter.co.uk/news/30-000-left-Exeter-train/article-531071-detail/article.html

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

i lost a green bag on a train from york to exeter 2 months ago

[ReWind]

And it got handed in!!! 

There are honest people in Plymouth then!! 

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

kind of.... it used to have ^100 grand in it

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) press release:

British Transport Police (BTP) is appealing for the public^s help to identify a man officers want to speak to in connection with an assault at Plymouth railway station.

Officers have today released CCTV images of a man they believe can help with their enquiries into the incident which happened shortly after 9pm on a platform at Plymouth railway station on Sunday 27 December 2009.

The victim, a 51 year old train driver, was approached by a man who complained about the service, verbally abused him and poked him in the face with his finger.

The train service had originated from Penzance and carried a number of rugby fans.

The driver walked off in an attempt to diffuse the situation but while using the station telephone, he was again approached by the offender who continued to abuse him and poked him in the face with his finger a second time.

The man then walked off down the stairs to the subway which leads to the station exit.

The man police wish to speak to is described as white, in his 40s, about 6ft 2in to 6ft 6in, about 14-15 stone, with short, dark hair. The man, who had a local accent, was wearing a fleece jacket described as orange with different shapes on it.

Anyone who knows the identity of the man or his whereabouts, or has information about the incident, should contact British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40, quoting log 295 of 27/12/2009, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

[woody]

This from the Western Morning News today.                                                                              Businesses are being urged to help Plymouth look its best to impress Fifa and help bring the 2018 World Cup to the city.Top of the agenda was to fast-track long called for improvements to the citys "red carpet" areas the entry points for arriving visitors.
  Tim Jones chairman of the Devon and Cornwall Business Council said "We need to get rid of some of the old skeletons that Plymouth has got and the view that greets visitors arriving at Plymouth station has to be addressed.Its a shabby point of arrival that we have been complaining about for years".Mr Jones said proposed changes to rail contracts,which could see franchises granted for 20 years could provide the momentum for revamping the railway station.
 

[devon_metro]

Let's knock the council building down! What an eyesore.

[woody]

Let's knock the council building down! What an eyesore.

Believe it or not that what the city council wants to do but it has been prevented from doing so,one of those preservation thingys has been slapped on it at National level.Example of 1960s architecture and all that even though bits are falling off the building exterior resulting in a protective covering having to have been erected over the main ground floor pedestrian entry area.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Plymouth Herald:

A former University of Plymouth student spotted acting suspiciously at Plymouth rail station was carrying heroin worth up to ^24,100, a court heard.

A British Transport Police officer saw Oliver Sloley (pictured) acting suspiciously in the Spar shop at around 1.15pm on September 9 last year, Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor David Gittins told Plymouth Crown Court. He then walked to the station car park, going up and down the stairs but not approaching any vehicle.

The officer stopped him and asked what he was doing, Sloley replying: "Waiting for a train."

He was searched and in an inside jacket pocket the officer found a carrier bag containing a cricket-ball-sized lump of brown powder. It turned out to be 241g of heroin with a wholesale value of ^6,000 to ^8,000 and a street value of up to ^24,100, said Mr Gittins.

The prosecution accepted that he was acting as a courier taking the drug back to Cornwall, he said.

Jason Beal, for Sloley, said being accepted for a Geology course at The University of Plymouth was a dream come true for Sloley, from Ludgvan near Penzance. He had good career prospects but had dropped out of university and come under the influence of new friends.

During a drunken night in Bristol, he agreed to travel to Plymouth to collect a package, being paid ^150.

Mr Beal said his client had not been thinking straight, but despite knowing he would go to prison had now returned to live with his mother, taken low-paid jobs and renewed his old pastimes. "He is a young man of much promise," he said.

Judge Francis Gilbert QC told Sloley, 21: "Couriers are an important part of the supply chain"

He praised the work of the British transport Police.

Judge Gilbert sentenced Sloley to 40 months in jail and ordered the heroin to be destroyed.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Plymouth Herald:

A fire broke out in the compartment of a passenger train travelling through Plymouth.

The driver of the First Great Western train alerted the emergency services to the blaze which had taken hold of overhead electrical wire piping.

The train was carrying goods and had no passengers on board, a spokesman for the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said.

The brakes on the train unexpectedly kicked in and the driver went to investigate, uncovering the smoke and flames.

Crews from Greenbank, Plympton and Plymstock were called to the main line at Embankment Road, Laira, at around 12.45am following the discovery of the fire.

The fire teams used breathing apparatus, a hose reel jet, small tools and a thermal imaging camera to extinguish the fire.

The hose layer from Tavistock and water bowser from Plympton crewed by Ivybridge were also mobilised to the scene where fire teams worked for over an hour to put out the blaze.

A spokesman for First Great Western said the train was moving from the city station to the depot at Laira when the fire started.

As a result two services were cancelled but there were no on going delays.

[LiskeardRich]

headline in your link about being a passenger train to look major,
then you read it says carrying goods no passengers.

[bobm]

All sounds a bit confused. Given the time it sounds like it was an ECS^▸ (Empty Coaching Stock) working at the end of the day's service.

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

i would like to point out that the website is 'this is plymouth' ...... the express and errors site is 'this is exeter' .... nuff said?

better site http://www.dsfire.gov.uk/News/Newsdesk/IncidentDetail.cfm?IncidentID=16747&siteCategoryId=3&T1ID=26&T2ID=41

the unit was 150221

[devon_metro]

i would like to point out that the website is 'this is plymouth' ...... the express and errors site is 'this is exeter' .... nuff said?

They all run the same stories anyway, a simple bit of manipulation can make the above story appear on the Bristol Evening Post website!