Yatton Station - car parking, staffing, incidents and engineering work (merged topic)

[whole diary]

[Phil]

Parking at our stations is still value for money

  

[Zoe]

It could be argued that increasing prices for parking will encourage more people travel to the station by public transport.  This does require the bus fares to be reasonable though.

[grahame]

It could be argued that increasing prices for parking will encourage more people travel to the station by public transport.  This does require the bus fares to be reasonable though.

Good point.   

Also requires buses services that arrivae at the station in good time to connect with trains, and leave a few minutes after the train gets in, and with a last bus that will wait if the train is late. Good examples that I can recall being quoted - Nailsea, Cam & Dursley.  Bad example - Chippenham for buses to Lacock, Melksham, Semington which leave from the bus station on the other side of town during the day, and in the evening are not syncronised.

[clevedonian]

Hi, I noticed today that some track has been renewed at Yatton, but have also noticed that they have installed a cross over from the south bound to the north bound track.

Why and what purpose would this be for, are First Great Western planning on starting/terminating trains at Yatton?

[devon_metro]

It's an emergency crossover - it's always been there, perhaps they've recently renewed it.

[anthony215]

I know that the crossover has been used a few times by the 21:55  & 23:35 Bristol - Exeter St Davids  services to allow them to reverse and work wrong line between Yatton & Worle when there is engineering work late at night

[clevedonian]

I know that the crossover has been used a few times by the 21:55  & 23:35 Bristol - Exeter St Davids  services to allow them to reverse and work wrong line between Yatton & Worle when there is engineering work late at night

I guess that is why it takes 50mins to do a 5minute journey! I did wonder, i thought the timetable was just wrong.

They do seem to be doing a lot of work, does anybody know exactly what they are doing?

Thanks

[JayMac]

From the Weston Mercury:

Railway bosses have moved to allay fears that improvements to Yatton station will disturb nearby residents. First Great Western had alarmed some with the news that it was upgrading the public address system at the station.

Planning bosses had received five objections to the scheme, which also includes new CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele Vision) cameras.

Pensioner Thelma Wareing, of Wemberham Crescent, said: "I was concerned that if they were going to change it I would not want it any louder."

A spokesman for First Great Western said the improvements were part of its franchise commitments. The spokesman added: "It is just an update with the latest systems and it will pretty much be the same, but more reliable and newer."

A decision on the application was expected by July 8, but a result is yet to be published.

The company is also putting new customer help points on both platforms.

[TheLastMinute]

Should anyone wish to view them, the planning applications and objections can be viewed here (CIS^▸ (Customer Information System)) and here (help points).

Cheers,
TLM

[devon_metro]

For real?

I'd be more concerned about trains passing through at 100mph

[clevedonian]

The past week or so, a lot of preparation work, portakabins etc have been set up at Yatton Station, turned up this morning and their is half of a temporary footbridge in construction.

I assume the existing one needs refurbishing? Anybody know for sure? and when they are going to crane the new bridge span into place?

Thanks!

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Weston Mercury:

Car park charges to remain

First Great Western (FGW^▸ (First Great Western)) has defended its decision to charge commuters to park at Yatton train station following complaints from residents over an increase in off-street parking.

Motorists are charged ^2.10-^2.30 per day to use the car park and residents said it has had a knock-on effect on people using nearby roads to park for free.

Steve Tyler, central area manager for FGW, said there was no prospect of the charges being removed. He said: ^When we introduce or increase charges at a car park, it is always going to cause upset.^

The increasing number of cars parked in the roadside could cause a safety issue according to residents at Yatton Parish Council^s AGM^▸ (Annual General Meeting) on Monday night.

Rhiannon Price-Owen, who runs the village PACT group, said many people were concerned. She said: ^Now there are charges to use the car park it has had a knock-on effect on streets in the surrounding area. We get commuters parking on the road and it is having a huge impact on community safety.^

Mr Tyler said he would continue to ask Network Rail to improve the car park^s state amid further complaints from residents. But he said FGW had made great strides since it first took over the franchise in 2006.

He said: ^It wasn^t the greatest start to a franchise as there weren^t enough carriages and they were not on time enough.^ But he claimed reliability has steadily improved with more than 90 per cent of trains on time in March.

The future however remains uncertain with a 15-year franchise up for grabs next year. Mr Tyler confirmed FGW would be bidding.

The Department of Transport will outline guidelines later this year details what train companies would have to provide. It could mean booking offices are closed to save costs.

Mr Tyler said it was an important decision with the electrification of the London to Bristol line due by 2016. But with Weston not due to see its line electrified, Mr Tyler called for the decision to be reviewed. He said: ^Anyone who works in the rail industry knows that is somewhat stupid.^

[vacman]

OMG^▸ (Oh My doG ) people moaning about paying ^2.30 a DAY! get real!

[Chris from Nailsea]

To offer a bit of perspective, perhaps: for those choosing to drive into Bristol, the charge for one day's parking in the Temple Gate multi-storey, next to Bristol Temple Meads, and operated by Bristol City Council, is ^10.

[inspector_blakey]

The railway is in a bit of a difficult position with parking charges: in town they have to charge market rates, otherwise the car park will fill up with non-rail users which will also cause endless complaints.

I suppose in an ideal world car parking would be charged at (or perhaps slightly above) the market rate but with the option for the money spent to be recouped against train fares. However I can't see this scheme ever being particularly widespread at somewhere like Temple Meads given all the various complications of season ticket holders/private car park operators etc etc.