Paignton Branch: Newton Abbot to Torbay - Torre, Torquay and Paignton (merged topic)

[whole diary]

[readytostart]

If it's anything like the XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) system (I believe GW^▸ (Great Western) and XC both utilise Tyrell) then someone has put the additional information that gets sent out to staff in the main body of the message, rather than where it's supposed to be.

[Henry]

 Makes you wonder how drivers/signallers managed when they only had signal post telephones.

 Progress I suppose.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) press release:

DO YOU KNOW THIS MAN? POLICE HUNT MAN WHO ASSAULTED TRAIN GUARD ^ PAIGNTON
 
British Transport Police (BTP) officers are calling on the public to help find a man who assaulted a train guard on board a train in Devon.

Officers have today released CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele Vision) images of a man they want to speak to in relation to the incident which happened between 3.13pm and 3.34pm on Saturday 16 July 2011 on board a train between Paignton and Newton Abbot.

PC Steve Holliday, investigating officer, said: ^A group of about 10 men joined the 1513hrs Paignton to Exmouth train at Paignton railway station. During the journey, the female train guard was carrying out ticket checks when one of group of men slapped her bottom. Other members of group later apologised to the victim but the man who is believed to have slapped the guard said nothing. The group alighted at Newton Abbot at 3.34pm, although the guard believes they all had tickets to travel to Exeter. Enquiries are ongoing and we are now in the position to release CCTV images of a man we believe will have information which can assist the investigation.

^We are now calling on the public to help identify and locate him. Incidents such as this towards rail staff will not be tolerated and we will do everything in our power to find those responsible and take the appropriate action. But we need the public^s assistance. If you know the identity or whereabouts of the man in the photographs, I would urge you to contact BTP.^

Anyone with information which they believe can assist the investigation is asked to call British Transport Police on Freefone 0800 40 50 40, quoting incident number B5/WWA of 02/09/2011. Alternatively, you can call the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Edit note: Images now removed due to expiry of copyright permission. CfN

[81F]

Torquay is my favourite place to visit for a few days of r and r, and I have been a regular visitor for a few years now. The station used to regularly have one or two helpful people in the booking office and another person on the platform helping passengers and dispatching trains for most of the day.
This year I have noticed that the number of staff has been cut back, and on occasions the booking clerk has to close the office, leaving a queue of people waiting while he goes to the platform to deal with the ramp for disabled passengers and dispatch the train. There also appears to be only one shift -- there weren't any staff at all after about 1600.
Is Torquay destined to follow Torre and become an unstaffed halt? I do hope not!

PS A good point -- there are clear dot-matrix departure indicators now instead of the hard-to-read TV screens, though still no announcements of departures.

[vacman]

typical gangs of drunken yobs that frequent the Paignton branch who think theyre funny but are just idiots.

[eightf48544]

Is Torquay destined to follow Torre and become an unstaffed halt? I do hope not!

Probably.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Purely in the interests of continuity and background information, I've taken the opportunity to merge a couple of very similar topics here ... 

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the British Transport Police press release:

BRITISH TRANSPORT POLICE APPEAL FOR INFORMATION AFTER ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR ON TRAIN ^ NEWTON ABBOT/TORRE

British Transport Police (BTP^▸ (British Transport Police)) officers are appealing for information after a man refused to pay for his fare subjected a member train conductor to abuse on board a train in Devon.

Officers have today released a CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele Vision) image of a man they want to identify and speak to in connection with the incident which took place on a train between Newton Abbot and Torre railway stations at around 1.40pm on Friday, 7 October 2011.

Investigating officer, PC Michael Stupple, said: ^The female guard on board the 1303hrs Exeter St Davids to Paignton service was checking tickets on the service when she encountered a man who had no ticket and refused to pay for one. He then subjected the guard to a torrent of abuse repeatedly swearing at her. This was also head by other passengers on board the train.^

The man was in the company of another man, who paid his fare and caused the guard no issues. Both of the men, who also had dogs with them, got on the train at Newton Abbot rail station

PC Stupple added: ^After viewing CCTV images from on board the train, I would like to identify and speak to the man in these photographs as I believe he will have information which can assist. The man we would like to speak to also had a dog with him which is described as a brown Staffordshire Bull Terrier with dark markings.

^Anti-social behaviour towards rail staff is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Staff have the right to go about their duties without being subjected to abuse or aggression from passengers. Similarly, other passengers should not be subjected to foul language or anti-social behaviour from others.^

Anyone with information is asked to contact British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40, quoting incident number B5/WWA of 24/11/2011, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Edit note: Images now removed due to expiry of copyright permission. CfN

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Torquay Herald Express:

Extra trains on the Riviera Line



Rail passengers are set to benefit from more frequent trains on the Riviera Line between Newton Abbot, Torre, Torquay and Paignton from December 9, thanks to European funding.

There will be four extra trains each way between Newton Abbot and Paignton, calling at Torre and Torquay.

There will also be two new stopping services each way between Exeter St Davids and Paignton, and more connections at Newton Abbot with main line trains to and from Exeter, Plymouth, Bristol and London.

The improved service is thanks to an EU^» (European Union - about) project called Citizens' Rail to develop local and regional railways in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom), France, Germany and the Netherlands. Along with the extra trains, improvements will be made to stations on the Riviera Line between Paignton and Exeter, a major marketing campaign, work to involve the community in the line and a new officer employed at the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership to coordinate activities.

The project is 50 per cent funded by the EU's INTERREG IVB programme. Local partners include Devon County Council, Torbay Council, First Great Western, Plymouth University and the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership.

The aim is for two trains an hour, said Cllr Andrew Leadbetter, Devon County Council Cabinet member for economy and growth. He said: "We know from local experience that having more frequent trains is key to attracting new passengers.  We hope that, as patronage grows, services can develop to meet our aim of two trains an hour between Exeter and Paignton."

Torbay Council's highways spokesman Cllr Ray Hill, said: "This is a major step forward for Torbay's railway, the Riviera Line. We welcome the extra journeys which complements the work already undertaken between Torbay Council and First Great Western, providing improvements to the appearance of the stations. Not only will they make local public transport journeys even more convenient, they will also mean easier and more reliable connections to main line services to travel up and down the country. This is vital in attracting rail passengers to come and visit Torbay."

Project Manager, Richard Burningham of the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership said: "By being part of this international project, we will be able to learn from rail expertise from across North West Europe.  A big part of Citizens' Rail is about getting people involved with their railway. Local residents and community organisations will be asked what improvements they would like to see and there will also be lots of opportunities too for volunteers to get involved, from lending their gardening skills to helping with redecorating."

The new timetable and further information about the project is available at www.citizensrail.org/devon or by calling 01752 584777.

[JayMac]

Highly unlikely that any of these extra trains will be Class 180s, and they certainly won't be in the livery featured in the accompanying picture. 

Any West Country journalists or copy editors out there who would like some up to date pictures of passenger rolling stock in use on the Greater Western network, do drop me a line. You can have some of mine for nothing more than picture credit. 

[grahame]

Highly unlikely that any of these extra trains will be Class 180s,...

27 classes less, in fact ...

[noddingdonkey]

or even 37.

[chuffed]

or even 59 if they get really hard up ! Be nice if they could get steam railmotor 93 and trailer !

[JayMac]

or even 59 if they get really hard up!

Class 121 bubble cars? Nice idea, but working examples are getting harder to come by. Be happy with your 143s. 

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Bristol Post:

Suicidal man 'caused havoc' and left Bristol Rovers fans stranded in Exeter when he threatened to jump off bridge

A suicidal man left hundreds of Bristol Rovers fans stranded in Exeter on the first day of the football season when he threatened to jump from a bridge onto a main line.

Jeremy Stewart tried to jump off the same bridge in Torbay twice in the space of a few weeks and injured a police officer who tried to stop him.

He caused 12 trains to be cancelled on August 5 and caused havoc for trains in the South West after services were cancelled.

A judge ordered he should receive help from the probation service after hearing how he was suicidal at the time.

Stewart, aged 40, of Bay View, Paignton, admitted trespassing on the railway and disrupting trains on August 3 and causing actual bodily harm to Sergeant John Branwell during the earlier incident on July 27.

He was made subject of a community order under which she will receive supervision from the probation service for 12 months.

Judge Francis Gilbert, QC, told him:^I understand the circumstances in which this happened and accept you did not intend to hurt the police officer but were reckless when you did so.^