• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

GO-OP Plan Services Between Bishops Lydeard and Swindon

Status
Not open for further replies.

Steddenm

Member
Joined
2 Mar 2017
Messages
790
Location
Clane, Co. Kildare
Just seen this...

https://www.somersetcountygazette.c...p-plans-passenger-staff-owned-train-somerset/
GO-OP's plans include connecting mainline rail with Bishops Lydeard on the independent West Somerset Railway line.

A GO-OP spokesperson said: "By starting a not-for-profit business owned by those who travel on its trains and work for it, GO-OP’s ambition is to establish a new rail corridor between Taunton and Swindon.

Discussions between GO-OP and the West Somerset Railway could lead to a scheduled daily service linking the national rail network, via Taunton, to the heritage railway at Bishops Lydeard for the first time in 50 years.
I know GO-OP have proposed services before, but according to the story Network Rail have confirmed that there is capacity available between Taunton and Swindon for stopping services via Castle Cary.

Also Bishops Lydeard to have direct services to Taunton via the Somerset Railway. Seems like a good idea giving Castle Cary additional services though.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

fgwrich

Established Member
Joined
15 Apr 2009
Messages
9,252
Location
Between Edinburgh and Exeter
Given how far they seem to have got with their other proposals, I don't hold out much hope. I see there's no indication of the type of stock they are proposing to use for this either.
 

Steddenm

Member
Joined
2 Mar 2017
Messages
790
Location
Clane, Co. Kildare
The website states 769s for use on the line.

Our objective is to meet not only the aspirations of our members but also the requirements of Network Rail and the Office of Rail and Road. We believe we have made good progress on all of these, including:

• Putting in place a professional, experienced and broad-based management team

• Showing that the route will be able to operate profitably within four years

• Having a credible plan for recruitment and operations

• Setting up a bond guarantee for our contributions to network maintenance

• Confirming insurance cover for whole service

Proving the feasibility of a plan to secure suitable class 769 rolling stock

• Preparing a detailed safety management system

However the Wiki page states class 195s.

 
Last edited:

The Planner

Veteran Member
Joined
15 Apr 2008
Messages
15,844
Been at it for years, with less success than Mr Yeowart which is saying something.
 

gimmea50anyday

Established Member
Joined
8 Jan 2013
Messages
3,456
Location
Back Cab
Yeowart wasn't exactly unsuccessful given that he was behind Grand Central before Arriva took over, and his GNER and GNWR plans are still in development
I see there's no indication of the type of stock they are proposing to use for this either.
442s hauled by 45015 with 90050 under the wires, naturally....
 

Ianno87

Veteran Member
Joined
3 May 2015
Messages
15,215
Go-Op seem mildly obsessed with finding something that makes use of the route via Melksham....
 

swt_passenger

Veteran Member
Joined
7 Apr 2010
Messages
31,276
Go-Op seem mildly obsessed with finding something that makes use of the route via Melksham....
Their efforts will be in vain if the local authority and GWR/SWR proposal for extension of the Romsey rounders to Swindon ever happens…
 

fgwrich

Established Member
Joined
15 Apr 2009
Messages
9,252
Location
Between Edinburgh and Exeter
Yeowart wasn't exactly unsuccessful given that he was behind Grand Central before Arriva took over, and his GNER and GNWR plans are still in development

442s hauled by 45015 with 90050 under the wires, naturally....


The plans may be in development, but with Arriva pulling the plug on GCWC, I can’t see anyone else attempting Open Access, particularly on the West Coast, for a while.

Go-Op seem mildly obsessed with finding something that makes use of the route via Melksham....

Melksham and Swindon it seems. I remember the various incarnations of their plans, wasn’t one of them Bristol to Oxford via Melksham or was that the Yeovil to Oxford via Melksham proposal?
 

swt_passenger

Veteran Member
Joined
7 Apr 2010
Messages
31,276

greatvoyager

Established Member
Joined
15 Aug 2019
Messages
2,426
Location
Exeter
Given how far they seem to have got with their other proposals, I don't hold out much hope. I see there's no indication of the type of stock they are proposing to use for this either.
It’s got to the point where I wonder whether to take the proposal seriously.
 

stuu

Established Member
Joined
2 Sep 2011
Messages
2,729
A friend of mine works in Swindon, and his mum lives in Bishops Lydeard. I suspect that might be the whole market for end to end journeys.

How does this nonsense keep getting publicity?
 

43096

On Moderation
Joined
23 Nov 2015
Messages
15,165
A friend of mine works in Swindon, and his mum lives in Bishops Lydeard. I suspect that might be the whole market for end to end journeys.

How does this nonsense keep getting publicity?
Quite.

This bunch of chancers need to be told to stop wasting people's time and just go away!
 

davetheguard

Established Member
Joined
10 Apr 2013
Messages
1,807
Was the press release delayed from 1st April by Covid? At the very least, the timescales seem amazingly ambitious.
 

Gloster

Established Member
Joined
4 Sep 2020
Messages
8,290
Location
Up the creek
Was this the same lot who floated the idea of Frome/Warminster (alternate)-Bicester trains around twenty years ago?
 

fgwrich

Established Member
Joined
15 Apr 2009
Messages
9,252
Location
Between Edinburgh and Exeter
Not sure what a 789 is, but the website actually says 769s. The wikipedia page is very out of date, not having been revised since 2019
I'm not sure which milestone will actually come first, GO-OP actually running a service or a TOC actually having a fleet of 769s delivered on time and fully providing a reliable service.
 

tbtc

Veteran Member
Joined
16 Dec 2008
Messages
17,882
Location
Reston City Centre
Go-Op seem mildly obsessed with finding something that makes use of the route via Melksham....

I was thinking that - it's like the way that certain people keep bringing up the same re-opening suggestion, but with different justifications each time - just wait six months and the Go-Op people will find a new Cunning Plan (which coincidently involves the line through Melksham)... my money is on a Okehampton - Melksham - Colne service!

(there's a Gwenneth Paltrow joke in the Go-Op name...)
 

fgwrich

Established Member
Joined
15 Apr 2009
Messages
9,252
Location
Between Edinburgh and Exeter
I was thinking that - it's like the way that certain people keep bringing up the same re-opening suggestion, but with different justifications each time - just wait six months and the Go-Op people will find a new Cunning Plan (which coincidently involves the line through Melksham)... my money is on a Okehampton - Melksham - Colne service!

(there's a Gwenneth Paltrow joke in the Go-Op name...)

Will their services come pre-fragranced then?...:lol:

Looking at their website, They seem to be proposing Westbury to Bishop's Lydeard, then to extend their service up to Melksham and Swindon in one direction, and Weston Super Mare (via a reversal in Taunton) in the other direction.

And yet, after reading that, I still just think : WHY?

Our proposal is to operate an entirely new route, principally on the Taunton - Swindon corridor. At first we can only introduce three direct services to Swindon, due to high levels of congestion beyond Westbury. However, we will also operate a further three services to Frome or Westbury, with the aim of connecting with services to Swindon already on the timetable. This greatly enhances the connectivity of the network in the west country, giving hundreds of thousands of people a real alternative to car travel. Journeys that were previously very difficult or impossible by rail (for example, Yeovil to Taunton, or Frome to Chippenham, or Taunton to Frome, should now become practical. In years to come we hope to ensure at least one train very two hours for each of these.
 

NorthOxonian

Established Member
Associate Staff
Buses & Coaches
Joined
5 Jul 2018
Messages
1,483
Location
Oxford/Newcastle
Will their services come pre-fragranced then?...:lol:

Looking at their website, They seem to be proposing Westbury to Bishop's Lydeard, then to extend their service up to Melksham and Swindon in one direction, and Weston Super Mare (via a reversal in Taunton) in the other direction.

And yet, after reading that, I still just think : WHY?

At the risk of sounding like a pedant, you'd think they'd research how to spell their proposed destinations. No feeder bus will be going to "Shepton Mallett"!
 

Brissle Girl

Established Member
Joined
17 Jul 2018
Messages
2,487
They plan to have repurposed emus battery powered by the end of the year too. Given the recent history of such conversions, that feels ever so slightly optimistic too.
 

yorkie

Forum Staff
Staff Member
Administrator
Joined
6 Jun 2005
Messages
67,439
Location
Yorkshire
As there is no evidence this project is actually going to happen, there doesn't appear to be anything of any substance to discuss in terms of updates, so I have locked it.

If there are any actual developments, please feel free to report this post and let us know what you propose to post; we will consider unlocking the thread at that time.


...just wait six months and the Go-Op people will find a new Cunning Plan (which coincidently involves the line through Melksham)... my money is on a Okehampton - Melksham - Colne service...
I've created a thread for speculation/suggestions/predictions here:

 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top