Ashchurch for Tewkesbury Station - campaign for renaming and other improvements

[whole diary]

[Lee]

I visited this station on 12/10/2007.

Quote from Wikipedia (link below.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashchurch_for_Tewkesbury_railway_station

"When reopened in 1997, there were considerably more northbound services, with many trains from Cardiff calling here. However, in the early 2000s these services were withdrawn, reducing the usefulness of the station. Passengers wishing to travel to Birmingham usually have to travel south to Cheltenham Spa, change onto northbound train, then return northwards, passing through Ashchurch without stopping. From December 2006, some peak time services to and from Birmingham were reintroduced."

I do find it rather weird that more trains dont call here off - peak other than the 2 - hourly FGW^▸ (First Great Western) service. Currently , the every 15 minutes "rail - link" bus service to Tewkesbury seems completely wasted.

There is also a large car park , which again is an example of potential wasted due to the relatively sparse service and wide catchment area.

Still , the station is in relatively good condition , and I have never seen an empty platform when stopping there on my way through. Wessex buffs may wish to know that one of the former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)'s area / rail network maps is still on display.

Also , I noticed that the line towards Evesham appears to be in situ. When passing through AFT , I always assumed that this was just a short siding. Anyone know how far the line extends? I know that there were cargo loading sidings for the nearby army base and that some still exist.

As stated above , some peak Nottingham - Cardiff trains do call at Ashchurch for Tewkesbury , and I caught one of these (the 1606) to Newport.

I must say that getting a seat on a clean , comfortable 3 - coach Central Trains Class 170 unit really does give you a sense of "how the other half live."

[Lee]

Angry Ashchurch parish councillors staged a protest as their authority was consigned to the history books after 114 years. They showed their disappointment at the local government changes which have led to the council being abolished (link below.)
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=231771&command=displayContent&sourceNode=231774&contentPK=20304698&folderPk=108867&pNodeId=231888

As of midnight on Monday, Ashchurch Parish Council was no more. It is being replaced by three new parish councils, representing Northway, Ashchurch Rural and Wheatpieces.

[Lee]

From the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) website :

12:51 Great Malvern to Weymouth due 17:10
This train will be terminated at Worcester Shrub Hill and restarted from Bristol Temple Meads at 14:49.It will no longer call at: Ashchurch For Tewkesbury, Cheltenham Spa, Gloucester, Cam & Dursley, Yate, Bristol Parkway, Filton Abbey Wood, Stapleton Road and Lawrence Hill.This is due to a train fault.

[Btline]

Why has Ashchurch been mothballed by FGW^▸ (First Great Western) and XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise))/CT.

I was told by a local, that one day all the commuters who travelled to places such as Worcester or Birmingham turned up one day, only to find that their services no longer existed!

At least LM^▸ (London Midland - recent franchise) are going to fill some gaps with some magiced up 170s!

If they want numbers (and revenue) to go up, re-brand it as a parkway station for Tewkesbury and install some canopies and ticket machines.

[charlies aunt]

A preliminary meeting is being organised on Tuesday, 12 January at 7.00 at Northway Parish Council Offices, Ray Shill Building, Lee Walk, Northway for anyone interested in helping to set up a 'Friends of Ashchurch Railway Station' organisation. The organisation will be concerned with promoting Ashchurch Station, encouraging rail companies to stop more often at the station etc.

This is an open meeting and further information can be obtained from Alistair Cameron on 01242 584081 or 07901 564616.

[grahame]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.  I know that Ashchurch for Tewkesbury has been a major concern for some of our members here, so I hope you're able to liaise well with them, and get to a more appropriate service.

Your post (above) appears to duplicate a contribution you've added to another thread ... I know it's very easy to paste the same thing twice (perhaps by accident), but you'll find you can get the message through and a far better response if you don't repeat the same thing in lots of places.   Perhaps you could add something on to this thread to tell us a little more about the current services to Ashchurch, and what the (potential) users are looking for, or even go back and add it in to the post above so that it becomes a thorough reference point?  Thanks!

[charlies aunt]

 
Ashchurch, Tewkesbury and District Rail Promotion Group (ATDRPG).
 
The group is being set up to promote Ashchurch Station and press for improvements to the services and facilties for the station. We believe the station has enormous potential due to its good road links and car parking. People from all over North Gloucestershire and South Worcestershire would be able to use it but it needs better services.
 
We will press the rail companies to stop more at the station and will also lobby the Department of Transport and local bus companies for improvements. We will work with local authorities, local business groups and local communities.
 
The organisation will be non-political and will engage with rail operation companies and other interested parties in a non-confrontational and constructive manner.
 
We had our preliminary meeting on Tuesday and are arranging a full public meeting on Tuesday, 23 February at the Ray Shill Building, Northway Parish Council Offices, Lee Walk, Northway, Tewkesbury starting at 7 pm where there will be invited speakers.
 
Any advice or previous experiences will be greatly received.

Thanks in anticipation

[charlies aunt]

Following the successful open meeting in February ATDRPG (Ashchurch,Tewkesbury and District Rail Promotion Group) will be holding another get together for anyone with an interest.  This meeting will be held on Tuesday 13th April 7 for 7.30pm at The Royal Hop Pole Hotel (Wetherspoons) Church Street, Tewkesbury, where the intention is to work towards formalising the constitution. Any input will be very welcome.
There is now a dedicated e-mail address atdrpg@rocketmail.com and a facebook page  'Ashchurch Tewkesbury Rail Atdrpg'
Hope to hear from you soon.
Thanks

[JayMac]

From The Citizen (Gloucester):

A Campaign to give Ashchurch railway station a new name is building up a head of steam.

Earlier this year, the Ashchurch, Tewkesbury and District Rail Promotion Group began moves to get the station's name changed to Tewkesbury Parkway.

It hopes the new name would raise the station's profile and make people realise it is the station for Tewkesbury.

Group secretary Helen Burns said hundreds of people had signed a petition calling for the change.

[inspector_blakey]

Hmm. Are people really too stupid to figure out that "Ashchurch for Tewkesbury" indicates that Tewkesbury is nearby? Or is it that (a) no-one wants to go there or, more likely (b) because the service there isn't that great, it's just not particularly useful...?

[Chris from Nailsea]

Hmm. 

So a campaign to rename a railway station is "building up a head of steam", is it?  Journalists, eh? 

As to it being renamed a 'parkway': there are 55 spaces, each costing ^4.50 a day, according to National Rail.  However, "hundreds of people ... signed a petition calling for the change."

See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashchurch_for_Tewkesbury_railway_station

[willc]

Not too hard to get plenty of names on a petition if you stand in the middle of Tewkesbury on a Saturday morning. And Parkway seems a perfectly sensible name - people usually understand this indicates it's not in the town centre. As for car park size, Bodmin Parkway has, er, 70 spaces, though at a bargain ^2 a day (owned by FGW^▸ (First Great Western), not the council, which is the case at Ashchurch). Development in recent decades has effectively closed the gap between Ashchurch and Tewkesbury anyway, making them one large community.

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

for me having parkway added to a station name normally means concrete sh*t hole in the middle of nowhere with poor bus connections so you have to use your car to get there somewhat defeating the object of the place

[willc]

you have to use your car to get there somewhat defeating the object of the place

Eh? What do you think the PARK bit of the name is for? That is the object of the place.

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

  that was slightly silly of me, my point was it hardly gets people out of cars if they have to use them to get to the station