Bus / Rail integration meeting in Somerset

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From Somerset Bus Partnership

MEETING ON BUS/RAIL INTEGRATION IN SOMERSET

We have our next Somerset Bus Partnership meeting on Tuesday January 24th via Zoom starting at 7.30pm.

Speakers:
Luke Farley: Transport Integration Manager at Great Western Railway (GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway))
Andrew Ardley: Regional Development Manager at South Western Railway
Discussion led by
David Northey: Railway Senior Strategic Planner, Customer Experience Expert  and executive member of Somerset Bus Partnership

This session will explore the opportunities, benefits and the practical issues of bus/rail connectivity in Somerset.

The speakers have a proven track record having helped pioneer such schemes in neighbouring Devon which have linked Okehampton & Tavistock, Barnstaple & Lynmouth and Totnes & Salcombe.

The speakers will explore opportunities for Somerset stations to connect via bus links to towns and villages not on the rail network. How to connect those towns and villages to a rail station is one of the most frequently raised at Somerset Bus Partnership meetings held around the county.

So, this your opportunity to hear from the rail companies on their thoughts for example on projects like:
1. Templecombe to Wincanton
2. Yeovil Junction to Yeovil Pen Mill (onward rail connectivity) as well as access to the centre and work sites
3. Yeovil Pen Mill to Sherborne, Sturminster Newton & Blandford Forum
4. Taunton to Minehead, Wellington, Dulverton and employment and education sites in Taunton
5. Castle Cary to Shepton Mallet, Wells, Glastonbury and Wincanton and new route to Somerton
6. Bridgwater to Cannington, Glastonbury, Hinkley Point (biggest employment site in Europe)
7. Crewkerne to Ilminster, Beaminster and Bridport
9. Frome to nearby villages, Longleat, Radstock
10. Highbridge to Burnham on Sea and Wedmore
They will also explore what forms of transport are best suited for shorter journeys such as Yeovil Pen Mill, Taunton, or Bridgwater to key education and employment sites such as Yeovil Hospital, Westlands, Taunton Hospital, Taunton & Yeovil Colleges and Hinkley Point.

Bus/Rail Integration has proved itself able to grow patronage for both bus and rail operators. It also opens up new opportunities to start connecting communities across the county using a combination of rail and bus, so a journey from Taunton to Wincanton or Wells to Weymouth or Bournemouth to Axminster becomes feasible.

This is a very important meeting for your town or village to explore with rail industry management, who have a track record of making it happen, how improved bus/rail connectivity could work for your community.
We very much hope you will ensure your town or village will be represented.

[froome]

Promoting rail/bus integration is obviously good to see, but it is a shame there aren't any representatives from the main bus companies at this meeting, as the most intractable issue in the county is the complete lack of bus services to large swathes of the county.

[grahame]

Promoting rail/bus integration is obviously good to see, but it is a shame there aren't any representatives from the main bus companies at this meeting, as the most intractable issue in the county is the complete lack of bus services to large swathes of the county.

The Somerset Bus Partnership is very active indeed in the large swathes of the country (which include a great deal of rural Somerset) which have a complete lack of services - I have just "cherry picked" this particular meeting to tell members here about because we're predominantly rail still on the Coffee Shop.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066493422711
and
https://www.somersetbuspartnership.co.uk

[Bryony]

Promoting rail/bus integration is obviously good to see, but it is a shame there aren't any representatives from the main bus companies at this meeting, as the most intractable issue in the county is the complete lack of bus services to large swathes of the county.
[/

Marc Morgan Huws from First (Buses of Somerset) was on the meeting.

[grahame]

Some screen capture which give you some idea from the meeting
Stations gone
Remaining railways and stations in Somerset
Significant towns not on the current rail network
What the rail to bus connections are like
Low hanging fruit - some things that can be done quickly

[Mark A]

The population estimates might be a little low or the following might be a little awry. Not sure if anyone's discovered this tool that allows the user to interrogate 2021 census data*:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/customprofiles/draw/

Midsomer Norton, Paulton and Radstock together pan out with a population of around 26000. An arc-shaped route, using the S&D^▸ (Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway), electrified, from Bath to Radstock then back to Bristol via Pensford would have been a good thing (TM^‡(resolve)) as it would have made for a line serving around 75000.

Mark

*There's a lot to pick up, but given that the year is 2021, the travel data is *very peculiar*.

[grahame]

A BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) article telling of Salcombe being the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)'s most expensive Seaside town had me wondering about how the "Virtual Branch Line" is doing.


From a GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Press release dated September 2021

New partnership helps to deliver better bus and rail connections in South Devon

A bus service linking Kingsbridge and Salcombe to the national rail network at Totnes has been relaunched thanks to a partnership between Tally Ho Coaches, Great Western Railway and Devon County Council.

Reports / feedback, anyone?

[johnneyw]

A BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) article telling of Salcombe being the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)'s most expensive Seaside town had me wondering about how the "Virtual Branch Line" is doing.


From a GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Press release dated September 2021

New partnership helps to deliver better bus and rail connections in South Devon

A bus service linking Kingsbridge and Salcombe to the national rail network at Totnes has been relaunched thanks to a partnership between Tally Ho Coaches, Great Western Railway and Devon County Council.

Reports / feedback, anyone?

I use it quite a lot....well, more than once a month on yearly average.  In fact I did the Salcombe to Totnes leg only yesterday having done the reverse on Tuesday.
I find it a great improvement on the previous service, not only because of it's increased frequency but also due to the fact that there is no longer the need to change buses at Kingsbridge.  It certainly cut journey times and provided an increased number of useful train services available to me on any given day of travel.

In my experience service is well used and for far more than bringing passengers to and from Totnes Station.  Most passengers board and leave the service at Salcombe, Marlborough, Kingsbridge, and Totnes town centre but intervening settlements are also served...although with less custom.

As for reliability...well, the bus did once break down in Kingsbridge and I had to take the later train as it took a while for the mechanic who was on call from home to get to us.
The only other delay was due to a lorry accident along the route but that was out of the bus company's hands.

Overall, it's made my getting down to Devon and back much easier, faster and more flexible.  I hope that this new service continues.  It's actually reduced the amount of times we've opted to go down by car too.

[johnneyw]

As a footnote to my above post, the bus service doesn't just serve Totnes Station but also Ria End station on the magnificent K.D.L.R. (see link below).   

https://www.kdlr.co.uk/