Thursday 12th March 2009: Brief AGM▸ followed by presentation 'What's going on at South West Trains', speaker Phil Dominey Stakeholder Manager SWT▸ to be held at The Swan Hotel, Church Street, Bradford on Avon. AGM 7.00pm, presentation 7.30pm.
An interesting presentation by Phil (in a room that was so hot that I felt quite ill ... but that's off topic). I am going to say "all the usual SWT stuff" - not to decry it in any way, but to just get on to some of the headlines which effect areas also served by
FGW▸ ...
a) There were 2 Salisbury - Bristol services in the SWT franchise bid, optional, but they were taken, and there are actually 4 services running each way now, with 3 being through to / from London. The short workings from Salisbury provide a rush hour train into Bristol and a late night train out of Bristol, and are critical parts of the timetable. Catering was not being used on the Salisbury - Bristol section and has been withdrawn, but on the other hand SWT would like to add another service.
b) 58% of tickets are now bought at machines, rising to 70% at Watertloo. The ongoiong discussions with regard to when ticket offices must be manned are reaching detailed conclusion, with a general ruling that a ticket office must remain open if it has been selling more that 12 tickets in any particular hour.
c) 44 Extra car parking spaces at Grateley are helping the commuter flow there / removing parking from neighbouring streets. Andover is 'jammed' but SWT are exploring an old tunnel (seeing if it still exists) that was closed in 1927 to see if they can run cars under the station to park to the North. Further parking mentioned West of Salisbury.
d) Parking at Weymouth. The old "pay 7 pounds and get 5 back when you use the train" has gone, to be replaced by a flat three pounds. Phil did not know the background. Concern was expressed that it's much cheaper for nontravellers than council parking now, and will be taken over by people in town by car for the day.
e) Discussion on connections Swt -> Fgw and vice versa at Salsibury, where it seems that neither company holds trains and one can be pulling in as the other pulls out. Very awkard in the morning commute to wards London and frustrating as the train off Salisbury sits at Grately to await time. Also very frustrating when the last FGW leaves towards Bristol and misses the Swt.
f) Dean and Dunbridge remain with Fgw even though they have no trains calling there. Swt offered to take over if Fgw (who have payment for them in their contract) bring them up to the higher Swt standard, but that hasn't happened.
g) 6600 dwellings (circa 15,000 population?) at Cranbrook near Exeter and it will justify a station on the Waterloo - Exter line
I hope it gets a service as well as a station ... coming from Melksham with a population of 21,000 and a station, but scarecly a service, I wonder!h) "On time" - i.e. within five minutes has risen from 70% to 93% in the last five years. Truely on time (i.e. not even a few seconds late) is at 70% and SWT use this measure internally.
Personal Comment - Swt are naturally going to be reluctant to antagonise Fgw by looking to run services up to Swindon and / or serve places like Oldfield Park and Keynsham more, but there is scope for some rationalisation on Salisbury - Southampton (esp. the Fgw extras) to allow the northern end of the Southampton - Swindon corridor to get a better service. And it 'makes sense' in that the total number of passenger carried - so the total income overall - would INCREASE.
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