Twyford to Henley branch line - services, timetables, incidents and improvements

[whole diary]

[bobm]

I assume not stopping at Shiplake is now a practical option following the installation of half barriers at the level crossing.  Before the train had to crawl over the open crossing so not much time would have been saved.

[autotank]

I think non-stop runs are currently only possible in the up direction. The white light doesn't illuminate for the down train until it's been in the platform for 20-30 seconds. Probably not the most complicated upgrade ever, but a it could result in a longish wait at the crossing for vehicles if the down train stops at Shiplake (but it's a very minor road).

I think you are right in suggesting that introducing non-stop runs would be controversial for Shiplake and Wargrave passengers but the figures are quite convincing. An hourly service would be easier to remember than the current 45 minute interval shuttle - but I'm not sure that would wash with residents!

[bobm]

I think non-stop runs are currently only possible in the up direction. The white light doesn't illuminate for the down train until it's been in the platform for 20-30 seconds. Probably not the most complicated upgrade ever, but a it could result in a longish wait at the crossing for vehicles if the down train stops at Shiplake (but it's a very minor road).

Coiuld employ similar technology as there is at Bradford on Avon which just precedes Greenland Mills crossing for trains heading towards Bath.  A non stop train activates the crossing at the appropriate time to prevent it having to slow down while a train calling at the station doesn't active the crossing until a plunger on the platform is pressed.

[Electric train]

I assume not stopping at Shiplake is now a practical option following the installation of half barriers at the level crossing.  Before the train had to crawl over the open crossing so not much time would have been saved.

If the Shiplake crossing is set up the same as Furze Platt and Cookham the line speed is still 10mph, given NR^» (Network Rail - home page)'s safety concerns with level crossings I doubt very much they would increase the line speed even having install half barriers, all they have done is improve the pre-existing level of safety and not permit a line speed enhancement

[Network SouthEast]

I think non-stop runs are currently only possible in the up direction. The white light doesn't illuminate for the down train until it's been in the platform for 20-30 seconds. Probably not the most complicated upgrade ever, but a it could result in a longish wait at the crossing for vehicles if the down train stops at Shiplake (but it's a very minor road).

Coiuld employ similar technology as there is at Bradford on Avon which just precedes Greenland Mills crossing for trains heading towards Bath.  A non stop train activates the crossing at the appropriate time to prevent it having to slow down while a train calling at the station doesn't active the crossing until a plunger on the platform is pressed.

It may not be as simple as that.

Greenland Mill is an AHB crossing (Automatic Half Barriers).

Shiplake is an AOCL^▸ (Automatic Open Crossing (Locally monitored) A level crossing without barriers that is observed by the train crew before they proceed over the crossing)+B (Automatic Open Crossing, Locally monitored + Barriers).

AOCL+B crossings like Shiplake are a relatively recent innovation from Network Rail. In a nutshell, an AOCL+B crossing is to all intents and purposes still an AOCL, but with the addition of barriers. I could easily take this thread way off topic talking about level crossings and all the various types!

The point I'm really trying to make is that AOCL+B crossings are much less expensive than other barrier crossing types. It's reported that the conversion is something like 80% the cost of that to an ABCL^▸ (Automatic Barrier Crossing Locally monitored), let alone an AHB like Greenland Mill. Costs are saved by way of things that may not be obvious at first glance, such as the non provision of emergency telephones and not altering the strike-in distance.

However, one may argue that with impending electrification maybe it might be the right time to look at a further crossing upgrade at Shiplake.

I think the idea of 1tph fast and 1tph stopping is a really good one for the Henley branch. But unless Shiplake receives a further upgrade I don't think it is viable.

It may be of interest to some, that the St Albans Abbey line is a single track line with a 45 minute frequency, with demand for a more frequent service like Henley. London Midland trailed a 1tph fast train to/from Watford Junction and a 1tph stopping service, and sadly it was not an operational success.

[grahame]

Most encouraging [the meeting]. I feel we have come forward a huge way in the seven years since this forum was set up - all across the south west / FGW^▸ (First Great Western) operated services, and in particular in realtionship to the smaller lines.  The whole culture seems to have changed from one where the the train operator on the main lines had swallowed up the regional, local and commuter services and was cutting services and shortening trains, with local authorities saying "we can help with roads and buses but not trains".

It's still not - won't be / can't be - "ask and it shall be done", for there are cost, planning, benefit, resource avialability, operational, consistency, commercial, capacity, marketing, management, side effect, regulatory, maintenance, health, safety, legal and other matters to consider.  And us passengers know little of many of those matters.  I do though have a feeling the the new First Great Western team - under the current MD, following on from an excellent start by the previous one, make sure that the team has the time to listen, evaluate, help, explain to those of us who are working in the user groups / community to advocate full and better use of rail, and who will ask good (but sometimes tough) questions.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Henley Standard:

Rail users^ group to be set up



Commuters in Henley are to form a new group in a bid to have a say on rail services.

The idea was raised at a public meeting at the Christ Church centre on Friday evening organised by Henley MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) John Howell.

About 45 people turned up to put questions to Mark Hopwood, managing director of First Great Western, and Tim Leighton, senior programme manager at Network Rail.

They raised issues including delays, overcrowding and late-night services and asked for more frequent services from London Paddington to Henley.

David Singer, of King^s Road, Henley, said he would like half-hourly services in the evening during the week. He said: ^The 6.05pm train is invariably late. During October and November it was late 10 times.^

Sarah Weldon, from Henley, said: ^The biggest problem I find is getting stuck at Twyford when you are rushing to catch a train and you miss it by one minute. In winter, when the toilets and waiting room are locked, you^re stuck on the platform with nothing to do.^

Patricia Mulcahy, of Milton Close, Henley, added: ^You think of overcrowding in terms of carriages. I^m thinking of the number of bodies crammed in. Sometimes in the evening there will be 50 or more people standing in a carriage. You can^t cram people into a bus because there is a maximum passenger number but you can put any number of people on a train and trains go much faster.^

Mr Hopwood said some first class carriages on First Great Western trains had been converted to create more space and that more would follow in the coming months. He said the next opportunity to change the train timetables would be May 2015.

He continued: ^We recognise that punctuality and reliability haven^t been as good as we would like. We have had some real challenges to face and we are reviewing a number of key areas, particularly customer information.^

Mr Hopwood said he had received many emails about the 6.05pm service from Paddington, which he said had a ^chequered^ past.

He added: ^I have set up a performance task force to address some of the poor-performing services we have had in the last few months and can assure you the 6.05pm train is top of the list.^

Mr Hopwood said he would return to Henley for a follow-up meeting in three months and would make a presentation addressing all the issues raised during the 90-minute meeting.

Mr Howell, who organised the meeting after receiving complaints from constituents about problems with rail services, said: ^I think two really positive things came out of this meeting - that a rail users^ group is going to be set up and that Mr Hopwood will come back for another meeting. There were some who doubted First Great Western would take notice of their concerns but it has done so and a follow-up meeting to outline how it is going to take them into account is important. One of those attending the meeting commented afterwards that the good thing was First Great Western understood the feelings of commuters.^

Patrick Fleming, of Henley in Transition, will be collecting the names of anyone interested in joining the Henley rail users^ group. He said: ^At this stage it^s about getting people together to decide what we want to do and how to form the group. The idea is to give people a way of talking to First Great Western and Network Rail to improve services for passengers but also to encourage and promote rail use in general.^

[Chris from Nailsea]

From Henley on Thames News:

Henley line could have shuttle trains by December


A train pulls in to Henley Station.

Half-hourly shuttle trains between Henley and Twyford could be introduced by December. The trains would run both ways every day via Shiplake.

This was one of the improvements put forward by train operator First Great Western to improve the Henley branch line after complaints by commuters about delays.

The timetable change would mean an hourly service to and from Wargrave with the aim of restoring a half-hourly service when the line is electrified.

There would also be an earlier service from Twyford to Henley on Sunday mornings and a later service from Paddington to Henley in the evenings.

A second lot of changes, which would come into force in May, would see faster and more regular services from Paddington to Henley with a maximum journey time of 49 minutes, compared with up to 63 minutes currently.

The Henley Branch User Group presented the proposals to members of the public during a meeting at the town hall on Thursday last week.Members of the group^s committee agreed to support the proposals.

Councillor Will Hamilton, who represents Henley Town Council on the group, said: ^The thought of going from 45 minutes to a 30-minute shuttle is fantastic. The big question is capacity ^ they are really going to have to look at that.^

Marco Taylor, who represents Twyford, raised concerns about overcrowding and asked First Great Western to consider how the number of passengers using the services would be managed.

The group was formed in April after a meeting organised by Henley MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) John Howell following complaints to him about rail services.

Cllr Hamilton formally thanked Patrick Fleming and Neil Gunnell, the group^s founding members. He said: ^I want to thank you for the enormous amount of work that has gone into this already. This would never have happened if you hadn^t got together. This first response is remarkably good.^

The group would like feedback from commuters on the proposals and is looking for a representative from Wargrave to join the committee. Anyone interested should email henleybranchusergroup@gmail.com

[BBM]

From the Twyford Advertiser:

Theresa May seeking answers over rumoured reduction in Wargrave train services



Twyford MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) Theresa May has expressed concern about a rumoured reduction in train services from Wargrave.

As part of proposals to introduce a daily shuttle service between Henley and Twyford, it has been suggested that trains will stop at Wargrave less frequently than at present.

This could mean Wargrave will receive only an hourly service.

A statement from Theresa May's office said that Wargrave commuters have reacted with alarm to the plans and many have contacted her to express their concern.

The Home Secretary has written to the managing director of FGW^▸ (First Great Western) to ask him to clarify what plans they have for Wargrave services.

The statement said Mrs May has 'made clear' no changes should occur that are detrimental to Wargrave commuters.

She said: ^Yet again it looks like we have to go into battle to protect Wargrave^s train service.

"I^m really concerned about any reduction in services from Wargrave and I am surprised that this proposal has come forward, seemingly without any input from Wargrave commuters.

"I^ve asked FGW to come clean on their plans and have been clear there should be no changes that lead to a worse service for Wargrave commuters.^

A spokesman for First Great Western said he was aware they have been working with a new Henley rail user group about improving services.

He added he was not sure if any options put forward will impact Wargrave and is looking into it further.

[John R]

It depresses me when politicians mouth off like this without bothering to find out the details beforehand. Pre-electrification can either keep the current service, or increase it's frequency offering a much more attractive service to Henley (730k ons and offs), at a slight detriment (but more regular interval service) to one of the intermediate stations (each around 90k ons and offs).

So tell me, Theresa, you can only choose one, which is it to be?

[JayMac]

First Great Western's Service Level Commitment:

From Henley in the morning, between 0630 and 0915, a twice hourly service HAS to be provided, with one gap of 45 minutes allowed. Also, a twice hourly service from Henley to Twyford HAS to provided from 1730 to 2030.

From Twyford in the evening, between 1715 and 2015, a twice hourly service HAS to be provided. In the morning, toward Henley between 0615 and 1015, two additional services in addition the the baseline hourly service, HAVE to be provided.

These commitments apply to all station calls on the line.

So the majority of commuters (those travelling in the morning and evening peaks in either direction) have a protected twice hourly service. The nature of the line precludes a clockface half hourly pattern, but between the specified hours FGW^▸ (First Great Western) are providing the requisite number of services.

Outside these hours, the minimum requirement is an hourly service in each direction calling all stations. Currently, roughly one service every 45 minutes is provided off peak, so I'm not quite sure what Ms May is complaining about. If she wants FGW to provide a twice hourly service off peak, in addition to the protected twice hourly peak service, then she really needs to be speaking with her cabinet colleague Mr McLoughlin to get the the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) to include such a twice hourly service throughout the day in the Service Level Commitment.

Just how inconvenienced would Ms May's 'Wargrave commuters' be if FGW were to offer the minimum Service Level Commitment of an hourly service between 10am and 5pm instead of the current 45 minute one? I ask from an operational and cost point of view, not because I'd want to see a service reduction.

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

[eightf48544]

It depresses me when politicians mouth off like this without bothering to find out the details beforehand. Pre-electrification can either keep the current service, or increase it's frequency offering a much more attractive service to Henley (730k ons and offs), at a slight detriment (but more regular interval service) to one of the intermediate stations (each around 90k ons and offs).

It seems to me that the above figures suggest that the 30 minute srervice to Shiplake and Henley gives the best service to 90% of the users.

Also as others have said it much easier to remember when the trains run with a 30 minute and hourly regualr interval service rather than a 45 minute one. The other important factor to my mind is that  it will give the same connections to and from Paddington (and intermediate stations) and Reading.

Making planning a journey to Henley from Taplow much easier. (optitians) 

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Henley Standard:

Wargrave rail travellers lose out



Rail travellers in Wargrave are upset at plans to reduce the frequency of train services to and from the village.

Home Secretary and Maidenhead MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) Theresa May is among those to protest to train operator First Great Western.

The company is proposing to run half-hour shuttle trains between Henley and Twyford, via Shiplake, all day whereas currently the off-peak service is every 45 minutes.

This was one of the ideas it put forward to improve the Henley branch line after complaints by commuters about delays. But it would result in only an hourly off-peak service to and from Wargrave.

Philip Meadowcroft, of Watermans Way, Wargrave, said the move would be a ^serious setback^ for people travelling to and from the village by train between 10am and 3pm. He said: ^I think Wargrave could continue to cope with 45-minute services like Henley and Shiplake do but this could be an attempt to be too clever by half. The present situation is reasonable, not brilliant, and you would like to tweak it but this is a flawed plan because it has very little margin for punctuality. Of critical concern will be the amount of time connecting at Twyford for onward journeys.^

Mr Meadowcroft claimed the Henley Branch User Group, which was formed in April to represent the views of passengers in Henley, Shiplake and Wargrave, had not done enough to involve Wargrave residents in discussions with FGW^▸ (First Great Western).

He will now represent the village on the group along with parish councillor Chez Payne-Annetts.

Mr Meadowcroft said: ^I have about 40 people plugging into my emails to see what^s going on and I^m confident we have got enough interest here. We don^t want to get to loggerheads with Henley BUG but this all started because Henley users got fed up and contacted their MP. They didn^t engage with Wargrave and all this went as far as it did without any input from us.^

In a statement, Mrs May said: ^m really concerned about any reduction in services from Wargrave and I am surprised that this proposal has come forward, seemingly without any input from Wargrave commuters. I^ve asked First Great Western to come clean on their plans and have been clear there should be no changes that lead to a worse service for Wargrave commuters.^

Neil Gunnell, who co-founded the Henley user group, said that losing a stop at Wargrave was inevitable if the new services were to run on time. He said: ^Effectively you have to do shorter trips because you can^t quite fit the whole journey into half an hour. You have to lose a station but it^s not going to be Twyford or Henley because they are at the two ends of the line. That leaves Shiplake or Wargrave.

^There^s a level crossing at Shiplake where the train has to slow down already so to get to half hourly services they would have to drop the stop at Wargrave. The half-hourly peak-time services already get quite a lot of delays. To do a half-hourly service all day is quite hard but for two hours at a time they might manage it. When the track gets electrified the electric trains will be able to go faster and then First Great Western will be able to go for half-hourly services all day.^

Mr Gunnell added: ^We have tried to get Wargrave representation in the past and had posters at Wargrave station.^

A First Great Western spokesman said: ^The plans we are about to put forward for consultation are about balancing the needs of all rail users. With complex timetables inevitably you can^t improve services for the majority of users without having an impact on others. Wargrave will see an increase in the total number of services.^

[grahame]

To help me understand this, I did a bit of maths:

Passenger counts (or rather ticket data) for year to March 2013:
Henley-on-Thames - 727994
Shiplake - 93466
Wargrave - 91298

Line currently has 8,500 or so round trips per year.  So that's an average of 42 passenger off and 42 passengers on to each train at Henley-on-Thames, and 2 on and 2 off each train as it calls at each of Shiplake and Wargrave.

[John R]

and 2 on and 2 off each train as it calls at each of Shiplake and Wargrave.

Can you think of any stations which might welcome the hourly service Wargrave could move to, and which probably will be averaging more per train than it?