Worcestershire Parkway station progress

[Mintona]

I know a lot of drivers at Worcester and they’ve been told that the semaphore signals will be going in 2043.

 

[HowardGWR]

If a guard is found not bothering to issue tickets, surely that is a disciplinary matter? What possible excuses exist on that line for not selling tickets, as lancastrian reported above?

 

[Mintona]

If a guard is found not bothering to issue tickets, surely that is a disciplinary matter? What possible excuses exist on that line for not selling tickets, as lancastrian reported above?

A broken ticket machine seems as good a start as any.

 

[HowardGWR]

A broken ticket machine seems as good a start as any.

Indeed. Lancastrian did not mention that possibility. His point is a very good one, because when justifying a re-dualled line, getting the pax count and revenue correct will be so important, even disregarding the previously lost revenue.

 

[takno]

I know a lot of drivers at Worcester and they’ve been told that the semaphore signals will be going in 2043.

I'll believe it if I live to see it. I reckon 2047 at the absolute earliest!

 

[The Planner]

It will happen when the money is found for it, it won't be that late and is only put like that as its on a "bit difficult to do" pile.

 

[Dhassell]

In other news... work is progressing at Worcestershire Parkway.

 

[Class172]

It will happen when the money is found for it, it won't be that late and is only put like that as its on a "bit difficult to do" pile.

Indeed, I've always interpreted it as a completely arbitrary date, along with Shrewsbury which also falls under the same category if I remember.

 

[lancastrian]

A broken ticket machine seems as good a start as any.

It would be brilliant if there had been a ticket machine at Honeybourne. When I fist visited Honeybourne to check train times (No Timetable on Platform One by the way) I called the Help Line, and asked about buying tickets. I was told to buy them on the train, big laugh. Also there is No Permit to Travel Machine either. I am happy to pay the Fair, and I did. But for others who just see an opportunity for FREE travel and are grabbing it with both hands. Perhaps if the revenue was collected, then there might be the money to improve the infrastructure on the Cotswold Line, similar to how Chiltern have been improving their lines and services.

 

[Class172]

http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news...ontinues-as-new-images-show-finished-station/

Article contains latest drone footage of construction works, showing frame for main building and bridge over the XC-route in situ.

 

[backontrack]

http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news...ontinues-as-new-images-show-finished-station/

Article contains latest drone footage of construction works, showing frame for main building and bridge over the XC-route in situ.

Thanks - interesting. Good to see that they're making good progress.

 

[2T57]

https://bromsgrovestandard.co.uk/ne...ew-of-the-new-worcestershire-parkway-station/

The article contains new drone footage as well as a misleading caption stating that Platform 1 will be for Birmingham 'via Worcester'!

 

[MarkyT]

https://bromsgrovestandard.co.uk/ne...ew-of-the-new-worcestershire-parkway-station/

The article contains new drone footage as well as a misleading caption stating that Platform 1 will be for Birmingham 'via Worcester'!

And an equally misleading caption for Platform 3 being for London Paddington via Oxford, but not mentioning Worcester, Hereford.

 

[geoffk]

And an equally misleading caption for Platform 3 being for London Paddington via Oxford, but not mentioning Worcester, Hereford.

They should name the station "White Elephant".

 

[jimm]

They should name the station "White Elephant".

Why? Whatever the rights and wrongs of its creation, it is a fact on the ground now and I have no doubt it will be far from a white elephant when it comes to travel to and from Oxford, Reading and London - hardly surprising when there are just 120 parking spaces at Shrub Hill and none at all at Foregate Street, while the new station will have 500 for starters and spare people from the ordeal of trying to reach either of the central stations.

That it will not have any services to Bristol or beyond and access to Birmingham, Cheltenham and Gloucester will be reliant on Class 170s on the Cardiff service - that aren't up to the job of handling demand at the existing stops on the service - is a sorry state of affairs but you could just as well make that comment about the failure to do anything to improve capacity on the entire XC network, with the cancellation of the franchise contest only likely to lengthen the period of time before something is done about it.

 

[Old Hill Bank]

They should name the station "White Elephant".

I agree. This Worcestershire Council Tax payer is told that the building costs will be recovered through "Station Access Charges", well if no TOC wants to stop trains at the place it will take a long time. Add onto that the fact it is of no use to the majority of Worcestershire residents unless they either clog up the roads driving to the place or change trains to even get there. White Elephant it is.

 

[Llanigraham]

They should name the station "White Elephant".

Why?
I have friends in the north and east of Worcester who are looking forward to using the new station, so they don't have to go into Worcester, with all the problems of parking and access.

 

[geoffk]

Why? Whatever the rights and wrongs of its creation, it is a fact on the ground now and I have no doubt it will be far from a white elephant when it comes to travel to and from Oxford, Reading and London - hardly surprising when there are just 120 parking spaces at Shrub Hill and none at all at Foregate Street, while the new station will have 500 for starters and spare people from the ordeal of trying to reach either of the central stations.

That it will not have any services to Bristol or beyond and access to Birmingham, Cheltenham and Gloucester will be reliant on Class 170s on the Cardiff service - that aren't up to the job of handling demand at the existing stops on the service - is a sorry state of affairs but you could just as well make that comment about the failure to do anything to improve capacity on the entire XC network, with the cancellation of the franchise contest only likely to lengthen the period of time before something is done about it.

As a former Gloucester and Worcester resident, my views are these.

In the 1980s Worcestershire Parkway (WP) would have been a welcome addition to the rail network. The train service at the two Worcester stations was just beginning to improve from an irregular provision, with trains to Birmingham running via Kidderminster. Ashchurch station had not reopened and Bromsgrove had a very sparse train service. Services on the Cotswold line were infrequent.

The situation now is very different. Ashchurch reopened in 1997 and has around 100,000 users per annum, among whom are users from south Worcestershire. Bromsgrove has a massively improved service, with the recent extension of the Cross-City line electrics to a new four-platform station. Services from Herefordshire and Worcestershire via the partly redoubled Cotswold Line to and from London are far superior to those back in the 1980s, both in quality and frequency. Services on the main Cross Country route between Bristol - Birmingham/Northern England are far more frequent, operate at considerably higher speed, and have reduced journey times.

WP is likely to abstract significant numbers of users from other nearby stations, in particular Pershore, Ashchurch, Worcester Shrub Hill and Foregate Street, and maybe Malvern Link and Great Malvern. Rather than reducing car usage, people will be tempted to drive to the new station in preference to using their existing facility, thus greatly increasing congestion around Worcester. A single high level platform at WP does not appear to allow for double tracking the section of the Cotswold Line between Norton Junction and Evesham.

Anyway, it's being built and we will see. XC has steadfastly refused to call at Ashchurch to provide a decent service to Birmingham and the opening of WP will make this even less likely. What would be useful is a Bristol - Birmingham International semi-fast service calling at all stations between Gloucester and Bromsgrove including WP, but there is no spare stock for such a service and probably no spare paths over much of the route, and who would run it?

 

[HowardGWR]

XC has steadfastly refused to call at Ashchurch to provide a decent service to Birmingham and the opening of WP will make this even less likely. What would be useful is a Bristol - Birmingham International semi-fast service calling at all stations between Gloucester and Bromsgrove including WP, but there is no spare stock for such a service and probably no spare paths over much of the route, and who would run it?

Perhaps a new bidder. The existing franchises could hardly complain about revenue extraction if they aren't willing to serve these places anyway.

 

[jimm]

As a former Gloucester and Worcester resident, my views are these.

In the 1980s Worcestershire Parkway (WP) would have been a welcome addition to the rail network. The train service at the two Worcester stations was just beginning to improve from an irregular provision, with trains to Birmingham running via Kidderminster. Ashchurch station had not reopened and Bromsgrove had a very sparse train service. Services on the Cotswold line were infrequent.

The situation now is very different. Ashchurch reopened in 1997 and has around 100,000 users per annum, among whom are users from south Worcestershire. Bromsgrove has a massively improved service, with the recent extension of the Cross-City line electrics to a new four-platform station. Services from Herefordshire and Worcestershire via the partly redoubled Cotswold Line to and from London are far superior to those back in the 1980s, both in quality and frequency. Services on the main Cross Country route between Bristol - Birmingham/Northern England are far more frequent, operate at considerably higher speed, and have reduced journey times.

WP is likely to abstract significant numbers of users from other nearby stations, in particular Pershore, Ashchurch, Worcester Shrub Hill and Foregate Street, and maybe Malvern Link and Great Malvern. Rather than reducing car usage, people will be tempted to drive to the new station in preference to using their existing facility, thus greatly increasing congestion around Worcester. A single high level platform at WP does not appear to allow for double tracking the section of the Cotswold Line between Norton Junction and Evesham.

Anyway, it's being built and we will see. XC has steadfastly refused to call at Ashchurch to provide a decent service to Birmingham and the opening of WP will make this even less likely. What would be useful is a Bristol - Birmingham International semi-fast service calling at all stations between Gloucester and Bromsgrove including WP, but there is no spare stock for such a service and probably no spare paths over much of the route, and who would run it?

Just because there are more trans running in Worcestershire and Ashchurch has reopened doesn't solve the longstanding inadequacies of the central stations in Worcester. No parking at one, and fewer spaces at the other than at several of the stations in small towns and villages between Worcester and Oxford, both located in a city with serious traffic problems much of the time due to a medieval street pattern in the centre, overloaded arterial roads and just one central bridge over the River Severn. How exactly do you propose to solve any of those issues?

Whether you like it or not, building a station close to the M5 and the eastern and southern bypasses is going to make it a lot easier for many people to get to a railway station in the Worcester area, even if most of them are in cars for the first bit of their journey.

I've no idea what Bromsgrove is supposed to have to do with this, since by a huge margin its key flow is to and from Birmingham, hence the CrossCity Line extension. Plenty of people from the Tewkesbury area drive over to Evesham - and have done for years - to catch London trains, so in their case they would simply be changing the direction of the car journey (and finding it much easier to get a parking space).

Amazingly enough - ie not at all - the design of the new station allows for alterations to be made to a short section of the single platform, should double track be reinstated on the Cotswold Line through the area, and the installation of a second platform.

I doubt there is a person alive who doesn't think there needs to be a serious shake-up and boost in capacity for train services between Birmingham, Worcester, Cheltenham, Gloucester and Bristol/Cardiff.

 

[deltic08]

Just because there are more trans running in Worcestershire and Ashchurch has reopened doesn't solve the longstanding inadequacies of the central stations in Worcester. No parking at one, and fewer spaces at the other than at several of the stations in small towns and villages between Worcester and Oxford, both located in a city with serious traffic problems much of the time due to a medieval street pattern in the centre, overloaded arterial roads and just one central bridge over the River Severn. How exactly do you propose to solve any of those issues?

Whether you like it or not, building a station close to the M5 and the eastern and southern bypasses is going to make it a lot easier for many people to get to a railway station in the Worcester area, even if most of them are in cars for the first bit of their journey.

I've no idea what Bromsgrove is supposed to have to do with this, since by a huge margin its key flow is to and from Birmingham, hence the CrossCity Line extension. Plenty of people from the Tewkesbury area drive over to Evesham - and have done for years - to catch London trains, so in their case they would simply be changing the direction of the car journey (and finding it much easier to get a parking space).

Amazingly enough - ie not at all - the design of the new station allows for alterations to be made to a short section of the single platform, should double track be reinstated on the Cotswold Line through the area, and the installation of a second platform.

I doubt there is a person alive who doesn't think there needs to be a serious shake-up and boost in capacity for train services between Birmingham, Worcester, Cheltenham, Gloucester and Bristol/Cardiff.

A turn back siding is now needed at Parkway then extend the overheads and service from Bromsgrove.

 

[The Planner]

Good luck with that one.

 

[MarkyT]

A turn back siding is now needed at Parkway then extend the overheads and service from Bromsgrove.

I'd have thought that, if extended at all, the local electric service would be best routed through Droitwich Spa and central Worcester rather than the main line. It might then access Worcestershire Parkway via Shrub Hill and a high level turnback at the new Parkway. Probably better to extend Kidderminster line trains to that turnback at Parkway though.

 

[swt_passenger]

A single high level platform at WP does not appear to allow for double tracking the section of the Cotswold Line between Norton Junction and Evesham...

Does that necessarily follow on from what’s been built? Surely a second track and platform would just be built on the other side of the existing track, after the necessary embankment work. Aerial views suggest the present track is correctly positioned on the up side of the overbridge.

 

[Class 170101]

I'd have thought that, if extended at all, the local electric service would be best routed through Droitwich Spa and central Worcester rather than the main line. It might then access Worcestershire Parkway via Shrub Hill and a high level turnback at the new Parkway. Probably better to extend Kidderminster line trains to that turnback at Parkway though.

Why would you need as turnback though? If it was possible to plan and signal how about the following on the single line in the following order
Up Paddington calls at Worcester Parkway (en-route to London)
Local Train from Birmingham via Kidderminster terminates at WP
Local train to Birmingham via Kidderminster departs WP
Down Paddington calls at Worcester (en-route from London

 

[4141]

Why would you need as turnback though? If it was possible to plan and signal how about the following on the single line in the following order
Up Paddington calls at Worcester Parkway (en-route to London)
Local Train from Birmingham via Kidderminster terminates at WP
Local train to Birmingham via Kidderminster departs WP
Down Paddington calls at Worcester (en-route from London

All very well in theory, but as was said on another thread recently, you have to see the totality of timetabling...when a butterfly flaps its wings etc...

 

[geoffk]

Does that necessarily follow on from what’s been built? Surely a second track and platform would just be built on the other side of the existing track, after the necessary embankment work. Aerial views suggest the present track is correctly positioned on the up side of the overbridge.

Will be interesting to see if GWR continues to call at Shrub Hill as well as Parkway. I thought that the part of the original funding of Parkway would come from closing Shrub Hill and redeveloping the site. but that's obviously not the plan and could Foregate Street cope with more trains terminating.

 

[Class 170101]

All very well in theory, but as was said on another thread recently, you have to see the totality of timetabling...when a butterfly flaps its wings etc...

Yes I know....

Will be interesting to see if GWR continues to call at Shrub Hill as well as Parkway. I thought that the part of the original funding of Parkway would come from closing Shrub Hill and redeveloping the site. but that's obviously not the plan and could Foregate Street cope with more trains terminating.

The GW Train Crew depot is at Shrub Hill so I can't see them not wanting to call there.

 

[jimm]

Will be interesting to see if GWR continues to call at Shrub Hill as well as Parkway. I thought that the part of the original funding of Parkway would come from closing Shrub Hill and redeveloping the site. but that's obviously not the plan and could Foregate Street cope with more trains terminating.

Shrub Hill is not closing and GWR services will continue to call there. The city council wants to create an office-heavy business zone around the station and down towards the city centre, with a large public open space in front of the station entrance.

 

[jayah]

Shrub Hill is not closing and GWR services will continue to call there. The city council wants to create an office-heavy business zone around the station and down towards the city centre, with a large public open space in front of the station entrance.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse.

The business case footfall is 367 return trips per day. The projected model share is 70% car (park) 25% car (drop off) and 1% taxi.

I cannot get excited about something that is the absolute definition of dis-integrated un-sustainable transport as it is possible to be.

There are problems with access at Shrub Hill - fix them. This expensive station is really not the answer to any transport or development problem.

How to make a bad situation worse? Build a lot of unsustainable office space next door! Where are the shops and supporting services? How will all these office workers get to work? By car mostly, especially if they are really proposing a ribbon development heading toward the city centre, much of it not accessible by rail from any of the 3 stations.

The only way to do it properly would be a completely new Garden City concentrated on the station site, but I bet that isn't on the agenda.