Cotswold Line redoubling: 2008 - 2011

[whole diary]

[willc]

Following the Westbourne Park crash and the loss of one HST^▸ (High Speed Train) set, the old 1820 to Hereford was cancelled and one of the Cheltenham services was extended via Worcester, so I assume FGW^▸ (First Great Western) might go for that option this time around. Remember it well as my first time on the train coincided with Cheltenham Festival -absolute carnage from Cheltenham to Worcester with Irish racegoers.

Do you mean Ladbroke Grove? And I'm not sure you're right about this, unless it was a very short-term measure - I wasn't using the line to commute then, but you wouldn't be taking out one of the key trains on the Cotswold Line and what was one of only two evening peak HSTs then operating.

Some regular timetabled FGW services via Cheltenham did run through to and from Worcester until relatively recently - December 2004? There was one in the morning, (about 10-ish departing northbound from Cheltenham, I think), and an evening peak service. Both were shown in Cotswold Line timetables. It sounds like you were on the latter train, as the Festival is in March, about five months after the crash happened.

During the blockade, I would expect one or two morning Hereford trains to London and the same back in the evening, but just slightly sceptical that with the extra time required via Stroud and Cheltenham, including reversal at Gloucester (assuming they are going to be worked as extensions of existing Cheltenham services), that there will be any others the rest of the day, when changing at Newport usually gives a journey time of about 2hr 50min, inclusive of a 10-minute connection.

Current best via the Cotswold Line is 3hr 4min, thanks to a good 10 or 15 mins of padding added recently. Hopefully some of this can be cut out from 2010, though this does depend on Oxford-London timings, especially when the work at Reading gets under way in earnest.

[IndustryInsider]

Following the Westbourne Park crash and the loss of one HST^▸ (High Speed Train) set, the old 1820 to Hereford was cancelled and one of the Cheltenham services was extended via Worcester, so I assume FGW^▸ (First Great Western) might go for that option this time around. Remember it well as my first time on the train coincided with Cheltenham Festival -absolute carnage from Cheltenham to Worcester with Irish racegoers.

Do you mean Ladbroke Grove? And I'm not sure you're right about this, unless it was a very short-term measure - I wasn't using the line to commute then, but you wouldn't be taking out one of the key trains on the Cotswold Line and what was one of only two evening peak HSTs then operating.

My memory is a bit hazy, but I do remember one of the Cotswold Line HST trains being removed for several months due to the routing restrictions imposed after the Ladbroke Grove crash. There was an additional connecting Turbo that ran from Didcot Parkway to Oxford and (I think) on to Worcester Shrub Hill in roughly the timings of the cancelled train. Can't remember for sure whether a Cheltenham train was extended through to Hereford, but it would have made sense.

[stebbo]

My memory of the Cheltenham trains being extended to Hereford for a period of time is very clear - I used them several times (viz. my recollection of the carnage at Cheltenham Festival time).

[willc]

Fair enough. Though surprised it lasted so long.

And a footnote for all those who jumped all over me about the nature of the events at Cotswold Line stations next month. Posters promoting the local one have now gone up at Moreton-in-Marsh station headed "Cotswold Line improvements"...

And still no mention of them anywhere on the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) website.

[willc]

This week's meet the manager/roadshows/whatever have been postponed due to the weather - probably wise given that yet more of the white stuff was landing all the way from Oxford to Moreton tonight.

New dates to be arranged.

[willc]

Network Rail update on what will happen over the summer:

COTSWOLD RAIL SCHEME HITS NEW MILESTONE

The Cotswold redoubling scheme, which will bring new tracks between Evesham and Charlbury, has entered the final stages of design, moving a step closer to delivering work on the ground.

The scheme aims to bring a marked improvement in the level of train punctuality from 76% to 92%, which is the highest performance standard set by the Office of Rail Regulation. The capacity boosting scheme will also enable more passenger trains to run on the line.
A key element in the scheme is the restoration of a total of 20-miles of track across Evesham ^ Moreton-in-Marsh and Ascott-under-Wychwood ^ Charlbury. At present, these sections of single line are limiting capacity growth and train movements, causing congestion and further delays when parts of the route fails.
Mike Gallop, route enhancement manager for Network Rail said, ^This is an exciting milestone for a scheme that has come far. In this final stage of design, detailed improvement work for the next two-and-a-half years will be nailed down. We have a big task ahead to bring the scheme to commission, and we will continue to work hard to progress these improvements. We are also really grateful for the support from the industry and community and this is vital for the future success of this scheme.^
The first intensive work is planned for 18 July ^ 30 August 2009, when the track, and underground signal cables between Evesham ^ Moreton-in-Marsh and Ascott-under-Wychwood ^ Charlbury will be re-aligned. The improvement will help create space for the new tracks and for engineers to access the railway without having to close the line for subsequent track work.
Delivery of the work will also be staged, so that parts of the railway line can remain open when improvements are being carried out. Alternative services will also be available for trains that are not running during this period. Engineers will be maximising the time available with an aim to complete the work as early as possible.
Majority of the subsequent improvement work will not affect train services and will deploy efficient engineering techniques to reduce construction time on the site.
Notes to Editors:
The railway line will be closed during the following times and passengers are advised to contact National Rail Enquiries on 08457 48 49 50 to check their travelling times before they start their journey -
Oxford ^ Worcester, 18 July (00:10) ^ 3 August (05:00) 2009
Moreton ^ Evesham, 3 August (05:00) ^24 August (05:00) 2009
Oxford ^ Worcester, 24 August (05:00) ^ 1 September (05:00) 2009

[IndustryInsider]

Thanks, Will.

Hopefully FULL details of the replacement bus service and altered trains will be finalised in time to be included in the summer pocket timetables, and nice and early on the website, rather than appearing in separate booklets a week or so before the work begins.

[Btline]

This is excellent stuff.

When will the benefits be felt? Will it be the December 2010 timetable?

[willc]

December 2010 is the target for a new timetable on the line.

I agree it would be good for the pocket timetable to be as comprehensive as possible and can't see why not, as FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have relevant experience to draw on.

They had a kind of dry run for this sort of closure a few Augusts back, when it was shut Oxford-Moreton one week and Moreton-Evesham the next for track replacement and bridge work.

A fleet of First Group coaches was brought up from South Wales for the duration and it all seemed to work well. And not forgetting the flood damage closure in 2007.

[Don]

This is excellent stuff.

When will the benefits be felt? Will it be the December 2010 timetable?

I gather that due to a requirement to advertise for contractors in Europe, there may be a delay which would push this back to the May 2011 timetable. 

[Burty76]

Hi everyone, as a Worcester lad with a keen interest in railways, have thoroughly enjoyed reading this forum, and thought Id post my first thoughts about the Cotswold Line, a route Ive travelled on (and suffered on) many times!

Delighted that the redoubling has gone ahead, but am wondering what the level and speed of services will be after the work has taken place.

I gather an hourly London service is planned - this is excellent.  But Ive worked out that this can be done now with the current infrastructure.  So I assume that the work is purely to increase reliablilty and delay recovery.

But I sincerely hope that there will be a significant reduction in journey times.  I have a copy of the 1986 timetable for the route.  This shows the 10.10am HST^▸ (High Speed Train) from Paddington reaching Worcester Shrub Hill in 1 Hour 52 Minutes.  The fastest HST these days, including the "crack" commuter HST's in the peaks, take 2 hours 15, on the same infrasturcuture as 23 years ago !

Of course there are more trains on the line now, but what this route REALLY needs with the new infrastructure is two-hourly sub 2 hour trains from London to Worcester, that are extended to Hereford in 2 hrs 45. The other two hourly service would stop at more places (ie Hanboro, Honeybourne and Pershore) and terminate at Worcester.  There could be 1 or 2 additional services in the peaks, with an infrequent stopper from Bicester - Oxford - Moreton using a 165.

Any thoughts?   

[Chris from Nailsea]

Hi, Burty76, and a warm welcome to the Coffee Shop forum!

I'm afraid my personal knowledge of the Cotswold Line is, frankly, non-existent - but you will probably have seen already that we have a number of other members here who are 'experts' on this subject.

I'm sure they will be delighted to answer your points!

[willc]

Burty, don't get your hopes up about any reduction in journey times. Almost all the Cotswold Line trains form part of the standard interval service between London and Oxford, which isn't going to be speeded up any time soon, especially not with the rebuilding of Reading station on the horizon. A good chunk of the extra time has gone on to timings south of Oxford.

If, fingers crossed, electrification happens, things might start to change, but as the Network Rail release makes clear, the key reason for the redoubling is punctuality and reliability. It will make planning the timetable easier, as pathing trains will be more straightforward, but again it's unlikely to produce huge time savings. You can run a near-hourly service now - see the weekend timetables -  but it requires near-perfect performance by every train.

While the 1986 time looks impressive, I'm guessing it involved a London-Oxford time in the order of 42-45 minutes or so, which was a lot easier back then, as there were far fewer other trains to get in the way east of Didcot. And in common with much of the GW^▸ (Great Western) network, the commuter belt now stretches far out from London and passengers expect relatively frequent services, not something every couple of hours.

We have gone over the ground of faster journeys to the western end of the line before. The key problem is that the stations at the eastern end (Moreton southwards) are where lots of the revenue is earned and traffic has been built up on the back of having regular through trains to London. That's why pretty much everything now stops at Hanborough. And Charlbury is the busiest intermediate station, having recently overtaken Evesham, despite being a much smaller community.

In the Vale, Honeybourne and Pershore both act as parkway stations and safety valves for Evesham, which was becoming overwhelmed when it was the only place the morning expresses to London stopped. Its car park is inadequate and can't be expanded so it makes sense to spread the load out.

If a cross-Oxford shuttle, running Didcot-Moreton, suggested further back in the thread, comes off from December 2010, it may ease some of the pressure by giving the likes of me more options for getting into Oxford but it should not be a substitute for the London trains. You won't retain custom at Hanborough by halving the through service there and telling them they have to change trains at Oxford minutes after setting out or a few miles short of the end of their journey.

And while lots more trains to Hereford might sound good, there simply isn't the traffic to pay for running them - nor enough HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) available in the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) fleet to allow for the time taken to get there and back while maintaining services to Oxford and Worcester. I believe the current service of five through trains to and from London actually matches the best that the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) ever offered.

[eightf48544]

Of course there are more trains on the line now, but what this route REALLY needs with the new infrastructure is two-hourly sub 2 hour trains from London to Worcester, that are extended to Hereford in 2 hrs 45. The other two hourly service would stop at more places (ie Hanboro, Honeybourne and Pershore) and terminate at Worcester.  There could be 1 or 2 additional services in the peaks, with an infrequent stopper from Bicester - Oxford - Moreton using a 165.

Any thoughts?   

Interesting thought re an hourly service of fasts and stoppers alternatively. This is the pattern on many DB^» (Deutsche Bahn - German State Railway - about) routes where you have a 2 hourly ICE/IC^▸ (Inter City)/EC at premium fare although there are good bargins to be had with advance tickets see post on Colgne to Berlin.

The second train is an RE^▸ (Religious Education)/R on which Lander tickets are available so that 5 people can travel together for less than 30 Euros.

Maybe the Cotswold line at least from Hereford to Oxford is one to try this service pattern out. Of course you have to get your hours right. Do you go for a 9 and 11 or an 8 and 10 arrival in Padd for the fast?

[Btline]

It would be nice for a "key" train each way to make the journey in about 2 hours.

Hopefully, as platforms will be longer, dwells will decrease as there will be no SDO^▸ (Selective Door Opening).