Gunnislake Line - Tamar Valley Line - ongoing discussion, merged posts

[whole diary]

[Dispatch Box]

....hence my comment above, 'never assume anything'....

And the same goes for Brexit.

[grahame]

Tamar Valley Line - Plymouth to Gunnislake

From Plymouth at
04:58, 06:33 about every 2 hours to 18:28 then 21:30 (these Monday to Saturday)
04:58 is Monday to Friday only, and misses smaller intermediate stations
09:10, every 2 hours to 15:19, 17:44 on Sunday

Back at 05:43 (Monday to Friday), 07:29, 09:16 and about every 2 hours to 19:18 and 22:20
10:10, 12:07, 13:58, 16:11 and 18:35 on Sundays.

Plymouth - PLY^» (Plymouth - next trains) - Connections to Exeter and London, and to Penzance
overview - local map - wider map

Devonport - DPT - Also served by a some trains to/from Cornwall. Double track, 2 platforms
overview - local map - wider map

Dockyard (Devonport) - DOC - Also served by a few trains to/from Cornwall. Double track, 2 platforms
Trains call on request.
overview - local map - wider map

Keyham - KEY - Also served by a few trains to/from Cornwall. Double track, 2 platforms
overview - local map - wider map

Between Keyham and St Budeaux, the main line to Penzance turns off to St Budeaux Ferry Road and beyond, and the single line - formerly the Southern main line to Exeter - carries on to

St Budeaux Victoria Road - SBV
overview - local map - wider map

MOD Ernsettle - Occasional freight services

Site of Tamerton Foliot

Bere Ferrers - BFE
overview - local map - wider map

Bere Alston - BAS.  Single platform, trains reverse here off the old main line before proceeding. Main line use to carry on to Tavistock, Okehampton and Exeter.
overview - local map - wider map

Viaduct over the Tamar into Cornwall ...

Calstock - CSK
overview - local map - wider map

Gunnislake - GSL
overview - local map - wider map

Line used to carry on to Callington.  Bere Alston to Gunnislake is the only passenger railway remaining on the national rail network which was opened under a light rail order.

[autotank]

That first round trip M-F seems very early - does it get much custom?

[grahame]

That first round trip M-F seems very early - does it get much custom?

My understanding is that it carries passengers to work in the Dockyard.  I recall it being under threat in the 2006 timetable changes which lead to the creation of this forum, but was one of the ones bought back.

[Pb_devon]

That first round trip M-F seems very early - does it get much custom?

My understanding is that it carries passengers to work in the Dockyard.  I recall it being under threat in the 2006 timetable changes which lead to the creation of this forum, but was one of the ones bought back.

Correct Grahame, Dockyard start time is 0730, schools 0830 (ish), then the leisure/shoppers after 0900. Challenge is to serve all three flows on the single line!
Personally I?m not missing the 0730 start since retiring!

[TaplowGreen]

Alterations to services between Plymouth and Gunnislake

Due to a shortage of train crew between Plymouth and Gunnislake all lines are closed.
Train services running to and from these stations will be suspended. Gunnislake, Calstock, Bere Alston, Bere Ferrers and St Budeaux Victoria Road will not be served. Disruption is expected until 12:15 18/09.

Customer Advice
Due to a shortage of train crew, the Gunnislake branch is suspended until 12:20.
Replacement road transport services are conveying passengers between Plymouth and Gunnislake in both directions until further notice.

[bobm]

Ironically the first train of the day to Gunnislake did run - but only as far as Devonport where a fault with the doors led to it being terminated and returned to Plymouth.

[grahame]

Alterations to services between Plymouth and Gunnislake

Due to a broken down train between Plymouth and Gunnislake the line is closed.
Train services running to and from these stations will be suspended. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

Customer Advice
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The train used on the Gunnislake branch line has multiple faults, which an engineer has attempted to fix. We are working to find an alternative train that can be used on the line, but the following trains are cancelled until further notice:

17:44 Plymouth to Gunnislake
18:35 Gunnislake to Plymouth
20:01 Plymouth to Gunnislake
20:52 Gunnislake to Plymouth
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We are sorry for the disruption this might cause to your journey today.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Replacement road transport services are conveying passengers between Plymouth and Gunnislake in both directions until further notice. The road transport will depart from the following locations:

Plymouth: Front of the station.
Devonport: Albert Road bus stops, adjacent to Exmouth Road.
Dockyard: Bus stops on Keyham Road (B3396) near the turning to Keat Street.
Keyham: Bus stops on Saltash Road, next to HMS Drake Barracks.
St Budeaux Victoria Road: Bus stops on Wolseley Road, by the bank (towards Plymouth) or by the supermarket (towards Gunnislake).
Bere Ferrers: Station Road nus stop near the Community notice board and post box.
Bere Alston: Car park at the front of the station.
Calstock: Bus stop at the entrance to the station approach road (Lang Gardens).
Gunnislake: Station car park.

Further Information
An update will follow within the next 2 hours.
If you hold a valid single, return, or weekly ticket, you will be able to claim compensation for delays of 15 minutes or more. Please keep your ticket and visit GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway).com/DelayRepay
Last Updated:14/08/2022 19:23

That reads to me as if this continues into tomorrow ... and I wonder about the day after.   Are GWR really that short of working trains or people to drive one over from another depot if there isn't a working one in Plymouth?

[bobm]

Not very well worded I agree but if you think about it if the disruption was going to continue past today why would you only cancel afternoon trains due to lack of a unit?

In any event the trains quoted are Sunday times so could not apply to weekdays.

[bobm]

Normal service today - except the on board toilet isn't working.

[TaplowGreen]

Normal service today - except the on board toilet isn't working.

Seems to be Exmouth - Paignton which is virtually wiped out today.

[IndustryInsider]

Seems to be Exmouth - Paignton which is virtually wiped out today.

Virtually wiped out?  A slight exaggeration.

[grahame]

Seems to be Exmouth - Paignton which is virtually wiped out today.

Virtually wiped out?  A slight exaggeration.

Five round trips wiped off the timetable - out of 35 (there are 7 trains on that circuit, running at 30 minute intervals. So average delay to random passengers is 30 minutes / 7 = 4.5 minutes.  A frequent service can withstand it.

Contrast ...

Just two round trips wiped off the timetable our of 8 (that's just a quarter or one train) on a line like Swindon-Westbury which runs at intervals of about 2 hours and 15 minutes. Average delay to passengers = 34 minutes. So an infrequent service does wipe out practical use at a far lower number of cancellation - if the average holdup for passenger is one half an hour not less that five minutes, that's darned serious -and it's with less than half the cancellations that Exmouth suffered today.

Proof:
1. You can prove anything with statistics
2. Infrequent services to hamlets like Newquay and Melksham should be stepped up to minimise passenger delay.

[TJ]

Wonderful statistics but I live in the real world.

Yes many cancellations will not cause too many problems but when they occur at peak times it is another matter.

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)'s current reliability record leaves much to be desired across the whole of their patch.

[grahame]

Wonderful statistics but I live in the real world.

Yeah ... real world micro-example ... 90 minute wait at Trowbridge for a taxi because an infrequent train has been cancelled is far more painful than a 30 minute wait at Exmouth for the next train.

Yes many cancellations will not cause too many problems but when they occur at peak times it is another matter.

Peak times ARE an issue ... everywhere, and not only on wait times but on capacity on the next service.  A corollary of the issues are that if a train is taken out of service / not available for a whole day, it will inevitably cause cancellations in both peaks as well as during the day.  To some extent that can be mitigated by trying to "pull" a diagram on which the train is running the clock-face service counter-flow during the peak of the peak.  You can see this in practice where  it's the Bristol to Westbury service that is "gapped" in the morning peak if needs must, and not the Westbury to Bristol major morning flow direction.

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)'s current reliability record leaves much to be desired across the whole of their patch.

Can't disagree with you there as a generality. I can ask whether that's due to GWR's team, First Group direction, DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) direction, general problems of running a business, or unrealistic expectations from us the customers.