The future of Hayle station

[whole diary]

[Andy]

The local press reports that a rail summit is planned to discuss the decreasing number of services stopping at Hayle (and the associated fall in passenger numbers) amid fears that if current trend continues, the station may close altogether. Link below.

http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/news/Fears-erosion-services-force-station-closure/article-1513387-detail/article.html

If, as many wish, stops are eliminated on Cornish expresses, could a Truro-Penzance stopper offer a solution?

[vacman]

Maybe if people from Hayle actually bothered to pay their fares instead of getting on at the opposite end to the guard, walking in the opposite direction and sitting as far away as possible then the passenger figures would reflect the true amount of people travelling, when working a train out of penzance, you can guarantee that the only people who wont have a ticket are the ones going to Hayle because they know that the guard cant get them all in the short journey time. People of Hayle, you can't have it all ways, take note of my comments and think about them seriously!

[Tim]

can't Penzance be gated?

[Henry]

Maybe if people from Hayle actually bothered to pay their fares instead of getting on at the opposite end to the guard, walking in the opposite direction and sitting as far away as possible then the passenger figures would reflect the true amount of people travelling, when working a train out of penzance, you can guarantee that the only people who wont have a ticket are the ones going to Hayle because they know that the guard cant get them all in the short journey time. People of Hayle, you can't have it all ways, take note of my comments and think about them seriously!

 Same thing Torre-Newton Abbot-Teignmouth.
 One person on the barrier/footbridge would surely pay.

[thetrout]

I have clients in Hayle... That would be really annoying... I struggle to get to Hayle and back to Westbury again in a day at the best of times... but to reduce train services to Hayle would make it almost impossble and would probably result in me getting the Sleeper or taking 2 days for a single callout as it's a 5 1/2 hour journey each way...

[marky7890]

Looking at the timetable most Down trains actually stop at Hayle even though there are only 2 mainline stations after Hayle. But only a few up trains stop (mostly local services), it would only take a couple more minutes to make an additional stop at Hayle. However trains might take a while to gain full speed going up the hill to Gwinear Road.

Mark

[vacman]

Looking at the timetable most Down trains actually stop at Hayle even though there are only 2 mainline stations after Hayle. But only a few up trains stop (mostly local services), it would only take a couple more minutes to make an additional stop at Hayle. However trains might take a while to gain full speed going up the hill to Gwinear Road.

Mark

hardly anyone uses the station though, it has a tiny platform making it a pain in the backside for HST^▸ (High Speed Train)'s, it's 3 mins from St Erth and like you say, it takes forever for HST's to accelerate up the steep bank towards Gwinear rd, especially this time of year!

[RailCornwall]

If ever the St. Erth P&R^▸ (Park and Ride) station complex opens it'd be simple to run buses to Hayle from that site in addition to trains to St. Ives, closing Hayle Station could be considered then as a realistic part of the scheme.

[Trowres]

I have clients in Hayle... That would be really annoying... I struggle to get to Hayle and back to Westbury again in a day at the best of times... but to reduce train services to Hayle would make it almost impossble and would probably result in me getting the Sleeper or taking 2 days for a single callout as it's a 5 1/2 hour journey each way...

Hi, Thetrout. Westbury to Cornwall isn't the easiest rail journey at the moment, is it? How often do you have to travel that way (and do you do the "Great Way Round" via Bristol in the morning?

[grahame]

hardly anyone uses the station though ...[/quote]

closing Hayle Station could be considered then as a realistic part of the scheme.

Hmmm ... the following stations have fewer ticket sales per annum than Hayle - I've started my list with those which are closest in numbers to Hayle and then drop off.

Ivybridge
Kintbury
Ashchurch
Lympstone Commando
Lawrence Hill
Polsloe Bridge
Severn Beach
Bicester Town
Lostwithiel
Gunnislake
Culham
Patchway
Avonmouth
Upwey
Bedminster
Pembroke Dock
Melksham
St James Park
Sea Mills
Honeybourne
Gomshall
Parson Street
Saltash
Weston Milton
Shirehampton
Pinhoe
St Germans
Bere Alston
Crediton
Calstock ...

I would imagine that a few people would be up in arms if you suggested that bussing to the nearest railhead was an option for these ...

[RailCornwall]

IF the service was frequent and reliable I see no problem, St Erth > Hayle is at worst 10 mins along the causeway so I think it quite realistic, especially if the number of available onward rail services at St Erth was significantly higher than Hayle.

 

[Phil]

IF the service was frequent and reliable I see no problem, St Erth > Hayle is at worst 10 mins along the causeway so I think it quite realistic, especially if the number of available onward rail services at St Erth was significantly higher than Hayle.

 

More frequent than the one train every 12 hours currently stopping at Melksham?

[grahame]

IF the service was frequent and reliable I see no problem, St Erth > Hayle is at worst 10 mins along the causeway so I think it quite realistic, especially if the number of available onward rail services at St Erth was significantly higher than Hayle.

 

More frequent than the one train every 12 hours currently stopping at Melksham?

There are 15 trains one way and 13 the other calling at Hayle in the current timetable, with a population of just under 9,000 and a footfall of 60174 journeys per annum ticketed to or from there. That's about 7800 trains per annum calling, each picking up / dropping off 8 passengers, and just under 7 journeys per head of population for the year.

Continuing Phil's Melksham comparision, 2 trains call each way for a population of around 22,000 and the ticket sales were 38081 for the most recent year for which we have figures.  That's around 1400 trains, each picking up / dropping off 27 passengers if the figures are to be believed (I don't), and between 1 and 2 journeys per head of population for the year.

I have just been up to one of our alternative railheads, Chippenham, to pick up a customer who arrived there at a time that didn't connect (in his opinion) with the only piece of public transport that links the towns on a Sunday - the 18:47 train.  The round trip took me about 50 minutes including wait time at Chippehnam, and it involved me going right through the town centre twice.

I'm always looking for comparisons and I know I sorta started this one but actually it doesn't work terribly well. Although passenger numbers Hayle -> Melksham are in the same ballpark, so much else is different.  7:1 ratio on trains calling, 3:1 ratio on population, 5:1 ratio on bus time ...

Critically, Melksham's passenger numbers is supressed by having just a skeleton service that gives no realistic round journey opportunities, and I suspect that's not a limiting factor at Hayle although the 7 journeys per head of population figure is a very low one to what we see at other stations in our neck of the woods.

[thetrout]

Hi, Thetrout. Westbury to Cornwall isn't the easiest rail journey at the moment, is it? How often do you have to travel that way (and do you do the "Great Way Round" via Bristol in the morning?

Not really... very nice journey though... I change at Bath Spa and take the Penzance Train... I travel that route on average 5 times a year... or when something goes horribly wrong with one of the servers (I work in IT ) I probably travel more to Liskeard & Plymouth more than Hayle. I quite like taking the train from Bath because it has a Travelling Chef and I can have a Vege Breaky brought to my seat... I can also get a good 3G signal for the majority of the journey meaning I can access my e-mails when needed

What I will probably do in the future is take the sleeper train as it will get me there for a 8:00 start... which means I could probably get back to Westbury for a reasonably acceptable time.

[STATION MASTER]

hi vacman maybe if anybody bothered to do tickets from hayle then we might get a true picture of how many people use the station.