Wrexham & Shropshire - their rise and fall (merged topic)

[whole diary]

[John R]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/north_east/7920528.stm

I do hope this doesn't mean that the service is at risk of failing. Having Virgin muscle in as appears to be threatened could be the last straw.

[willc]

At this stage it is more likely a realistic assessment of traffic, after nine months' experience, though I am surprised at them dropping the mid-morning train out of London, which I have used and seemed to have a decent loading for that time of the day, certainly as far as Shrewsbury. While it might have been neater and tidier to change things in December, they probably wanted to see if there was any shift in loadings from the start of the year

The BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) rather skated around them saying they want to run a fourth train on Sundays, while from May they will be operating from London at about 6.30pm, which is sure to have a positive effect. And the biggest shareholder is Deutsche Bahn, who have been quite clear they are committed to building their business in Britain in the long term.

The company's announcement is here http://www.wrexhamandshropshire.co.uk/news-item.php?id=31

[paul7575]

A local MP^▸ (Member of Parliament), Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin), quoted in his local rag, quickly demonstrated he had no idea about open access with:

^This is an outrage. The Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone Railway made commitments when they won the franchise. They cannot take a pick-and-mix approach to this rail service.^

http://www.shropshirestar.com/2009/03/03/london-rail-services-slashed/

Paul

[Btline]

A local MP^▸ (Member of Parliament), Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin), quoted in his local rag, quickly demonstrated he had no idea about open access with:

^This is an outrage. The Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone Railway made commitments when they won the franchise. They cannot take a pick-and-mix approach to this rail service.^

http://www.shropshirestar.com/2009/03/03/london-rail-services-slashed/

Paul

It is a shame. However, they now mainly have peak trains. If Virgin start other peak competing services - W&S^▸ (Wrexham and Shropshire (Open Access Operator)) will be finished.
 

Hopefully the 1833 will help!

[John R]

Mark Pritchard is also a supporter of the proposals by Virgin Trains to run two daily services from Shrewsbury to Euston, which would almost certainly kill off W&S^▸ (Wrexham and Shropshire (Open Access Operator)). If I were Andy Hamilton I would be arranging a meeting with him to remind him that W&S have restored a direct link to the capital. with decent rolling stock and service, and how Virgin's sudden interest in both Wrexham and Shrewsbury is unlikely to last much beyond the date when they see off the competition.

It's depressing how our elected representatives can be so ill informed. 

http://www.markpritchard.com/search/article.php?id=1333

[willc]

Maybe Mr Pritchard should start talking to his fellow Shropshire Tory MPs^▸ (Member of Parliament) (and the Labour MP for Wrexham) before he opens his mouth on this subject again.

http://www.owenpaterson.org.uk/record.jsp?type=news&ID=324

And remember, the Beardie Express is by no means a done deal - they are going to have to face a lot more scrutiny than there was over the Wrexham via Chester train.

[Btline]

I was under the impression W&S^▸ (Wrexham and Shropshire (Open Access Operator)) were planning on introducing an 1833 departure from May. Chiltern even altered their timetable to allow for it!

However, according to the new W&S timetable, no such service is coming. I wonder why? - a departure at that time would be popular.

[Mookiemoo]

1. Why can a train pulled by a DVT^‡(resolve) not go through certain platforms at new street but can with a loco?  And whats the major difference between them?

2. Why d they have the weirdest path ever - in through solihull - loop out east, back in through new street, out again to the M6 and then into wolverhampton

[inspector_blakey]

1. Not sure about the platform issue. However... I might have misinterpreted your post, but if you're asking what the difference is between DVT^‡(resolve) and loco it's that the DVT (driving van trailer) is itself unpowered. It's basically just an extra carriage with a driving cab, control desk and pointy end. End result is that you only need one loco because the driver can control the loco at the rear from the front of the train (obviously s/he could never drive from a loco on the rear because they wouldn't be able to see where they were going...)

2. I think at least part of this is due to "moderation of competition" clauses with franchised operators, to avoid "revenue abstraction" from the likes of Virgin, XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) and Chiltern. This also explains why many of the W&S^▸ (Wrexham and Shropshire (Open Access Operator)) stops are pick-up or set-down only. Other reasons are I suspect related to pathing constraints in the Midlands, which again may be partly down to trying to avoid delays to any franchised operations.

[Btline]

2. This is because W&S^▸ (Wrexham and Shropshire (Open Access Operator)) are allowed to call at B'ham Int, and the W&S want to avoid New Street at all costs (but some services have to go through to get a path). I think ultimately, all services will avoid New Street.

[willc]

The paths used by W&S^▸ (Wrexham and Shropshire (Open Access Operator)) through Birmingham vary according to the train and the time of day it's running - they're just what Network Rail came up with to do the job.

Given the legendary congestion at New Street, it may seem bizarre that some services go this way, and sit at the platforms as though they are stopping there, before being sent off by a member of platform staff, but they can't get paths from Leamington through Coventry and International up to Stetchford to run to Wolverhampton that way.

However, some W&S trains coming the other way are able to go via Bescot, Aston and Stechford, then sit in the loop platform at International - where again no-one is able to get on or off, as W&S are not exercising their rights to call at present due to the pathing issues - to allow a Virgin or XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) service to overtake before they can go on to Coventry.

[Btline]

You would think that as they have to wait at International, they might as well unlock the doors!

[Mookiemoo]

You would think that as they have to wait at International, they might as well unlock the doors!

That was the one station noticable by its absence yesterday

We went through widney manor - then on a route I did not recognise until we swept in from the east - I think this was the tysely line (bringing up memories from years ago when I worked there) before going through new street, out through bescott and then into wolverhamptom

I got nothing done for an hour trying to work out where the hell I was!

[Btline]

Obviously you went via Small Heath and then to New Street on the Bordesley curves. NR^» (Network Rail - home page) have probably rammed them in anywhere they can.

Must have been frustrating knowing you were yards from Moor Street and a direct train to Kidderminster!

[Mookiemoo]

Obviously you went via Small Heath and then to New Street on the Bordesley curves. NR^» (Network Rail - home page) have probably rammed them in anywhere they can.

Must have been frustrating knowing you were yards from Moor Street and a direct train to Kidderminster!

Nah - car was at ludlow

:-(

Getting to kiddie was no help