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Worcestershire Parkway station progress

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Class172

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Disappointing re the delay.

Question. Will Ashchurch/Cheltenhan (and points south) to Worcester tickets be valid via Worcs Parkway?

Will that include South West Rover tickets, which are valid as far as Great Malvern?
My understanding is yes - the difference in track distances between going direct via the curve and via Worcs Parkway is so small that it would easily satisfy the "less than three miles longer" rule for routeing validity.
 
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jimm

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And finally... with just five days to go to the supposed opening date, it looks like Worcestershire County Council and GWR have got round to issuing a press statement about the delay.

The opening of England's newest railway station has been hit by fresh delays.
Trains were due to start calling at Worcestershire Parkway, near junction seven of the M5, this month.
But passengers will not be able to travel to or from the £22m station until "early next year".
The opening would be confirmed "as soon as possible," said Worcestershire County Council.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-50730763

Edit: And the Worcester News version

https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/18093387.worcestershire-parkway-delayed-will-not-open-new-year/
 
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jimm

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Looks as though a deal has been done for the new 22.50 from Paddington to run through to Worcester Shrub Hill for the time being, as it is now showing in journey planners and on realtimetrains as doing so from Friday, December 20.

This will be the first time the service runs to Worcester, as there is overnight engineering work between Oxford and Worcester the first four nights of next week, with buses replacing the 22.50 beyond Oxford and bustitution of a couple of other late evening trains on the Cotswold Line as well.
 

Class172

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Perhaps I missed it but has an official reason been published for the delayed opening yet?
 

Adam Williams

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Paperwork (safety approvals etc).
What an ORRdeal!*

In all seriousness though, hopefully these tasks can be sorted out reasonably quickly. With Kenilworth I don't think it was too long before formal approval was given.

* The impression I got from Kenilworth is that the ORR were pretty good at doing their bit ASAP after they got documentation from the council so I doubt they are to blame here
 

Mag_seven

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Paperwork (safety approvals etc).

But they should all have been programmed in to be completed before the planned opening date - so is there a problem with the actual paperwork or a construction issue that led to a delay to paperwork completion?
 

pdeaves

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But they should all have been programmed in to be completed before the planned opening date - so is there a problem with the actual paperwork or a construction issue that led to a delay to paperwork completion?
It looks (as one not involved in the scheme) that the consultant tasked with looking after the job 'forgot'/wasn't as knowledgeable in the processes as the council thought it was.
 

Kingham West

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It looks (as one not involved in the scheme) that the consultant tasked with looking after the job 'forgot'/wasn't as knowledgeable in the processes as the council thought it was.
Yesterday afternoon at 15.00, sooner it is open the better

40BA6D0E-F607-4100-B922-48495F0FEC6F.jpeg
 

edwin_m

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It looks (as one not involved in the scheme) that the consultant tasked with looking after the job 'forgot'/wasn't as knowledgeable in the processes as the council thought it was.
I think this is the second or third station where the promoter is not Network Rail, and the processes to be followed aren't necessarily fully defined.
 

LNW-GW Joint

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But they should all have been programmed in to be completed before the planned opening date - so is there a problem with the actual paperwork or a construction issue that led to a delay to paperwork completion?

I can't remember where I read it, but ORR say they haven't yet received the necessary inspection reports and documentation for opening approval.
It wouldn't be the first case where local (non-NR) project managers didn't get the final hurdle right.
 

GoneSouth

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Yup, it’s a beautiful glass and steel structure in the middle of a field. It does look impressive (apart from the lack of shelter on the platforms which could make it a very wet and lonely wait for some) but it’s a white elephant for sure.

Bus services in Worcestershire are dire and I can’t see anyone offering a reasonably frequent service to connect this to anywhere. That makes it necessary for many to start their journey from FS or SH. Should have just invested in upgrading infrastructure around those and diverted XC services through the centre of the city like they used to for a while with the Birmingham to Cardiff service.
I know many will disagree ;)
 

jimm

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Yup, it’s a beautiful glass and steel structure in the middle of a field. It does look impressive (apart from the lack of shelter on the platforms which could make it a very wet and lonely wait for some) but it’s a white elephant for sure.

Bus services in Worcestershire are dire and I can’t see anyone offering a reasonably frequent service to connect this to anywhere. That makes it necessary for many to start their journey from FS or SH. Should have just invested in upgrading infrastructure around those and diverted XC services through the centre of the city like they used to for a while with the Birmingham to Cardiff service.
I know many will disagree ;)

Too right - if you can tell us in what way the infrastructure around Foregate Street or Shrub Hill could be improved, I'm sure we - and city and county councils - would all be delighted to hear about how this should be done.

Foregate Street is perched up on top of a viaduct, surrounded by buildings in the city centre. Shrub Hill is not in the city centre and is stuck away in a location with less than ideal access by any stretch of the imagination. It has just 120 parking spaces. Foregate Street has no parking at all, not even a drop-off bay near the entrance.

XC was not willing to accept the substantial time penalty involved in running trains via Shrub Hill and Droitwich, where there is also the issue of line capacity between Droitwich and Bromsgrove, which is single track and WMR and the councils want to run extra Birmingham-Hereford trains anyway.
 

Neen Sollars

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Yup, it’s a beautiful glass and steel structure in the middle of a field. It does look impressive (apart from the lack of shelter on the platforms which could make it a very wet and lonely wait for some) but it’s a white elephant for sure.
Bus services in Worcestershire are dire and I can’t see anyone offering a reasonably frequent service to connect this to anywhere.
I know many will disagree ;)

This looks a very impressive result and when finished the landscaping should look equally impressive. Agree more shelters should be provided, passengers likely to shelter in and around access and egress points in the building and make last second dash for trains. It is called a "Parkway" but hopefully as actual demand becomes clear bus services could easily call in to the accessible station en route, so no bus service Worcester to Pershore? I think this will prove to be anything but a white elephant, will be interesting to see how many passengers switch trains at this interchange.
 

jimm

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This looks a very impressive result and when finished the landscaping should look equally impressive. Agree more shelters should be provided, passengers likely to shelter in and around access and egress points in the building and make last second dash for trains. It is called a "Parkway" but hopefully as actual demand becomes clear bus services could easily call in to the accessible station en route, so no bus service Worcester to Pershore? I think this will prove to be anything but a white elephant, will be interesting to see how many passengers switch trains at this interchange.

As I have already pointed out today in another thread, once it is open, Worcestershire Parkway will be served by First Worcestershire buses on route X50/51 between Worcester, Pershore and Evesham, which currently run straight past the entrance to the station.

This service runs hourly, seven days a week, with the last bus both ways at about 18.15. The county council will not subsidise any later evening journeys, as it no longer has the funding available for that.
 

GoneSouth

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As I have already pointed out today in another thread, once it is open, Worcestershire Parkway will be served by First Worcestershire buses on route X50/51 between Worcester, Pershore and Evesham, which currently run straight past the entrance to the station.

This service runs hourly, seven days a week, with the last bus both ways at about 18.15. The county council will not subsidise any later evening journeys, as it no longer has the funding available for that.
Not as bad as I thought but having the last bus at 1815 is pretty poor. I’m guessing no Sunday service either? I stand by my comment about bus services in Worcestershire being abysmal.

I may have been a tad negative when I said the whole thing is a white elephant. now I think about it, those fields will be a huge new housing sprawl within 5 years given recent policy on house building. Ready made customer base for the station.
 

PartyOperator

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Too right - if you can tell us in what way the infrastructure around Foregate Street or Shrub Hill could be improved, I'm sure we - and city and county councils - would all be delighted to hear about how this should be done.
Leaving aside the merits of the Parkway station, there is plenty that could be done to improve the existing stations in Worcester. Not necessarily anything the local council can do, but still... Sorting out the track layout so Foregate Street could operate as a standard two-platform station rather than two bi-directional single platforms (one for Droitwich and one for Shrub Hill) would help. West Midlands Railway could stop using little DMUs for busy Birmingham commuter services. Then there are the long single-track sections between Droitwich and Bromsgrove and from Norton Junction to Evesham. There's the ancient semaphore signaling system. Electrification to Bromsgrove would allow some Cross-City services to be extended. Even the platforms at Foregate Street could be extended (to the east). None of this would be cheap, but it would be possible. Having a station right in the centre of the city is an enormous advantage for Worcester that shouldn't be forgotten.
 

Neen Sollars

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As I have already pointed out today in another thread, once it is open, Worcestershire Parkway will be served by First Worcestershire buses on route X50/51 between Worcester, Pershore and Evesham, which currently run straight past the entrance to the station.

This service runs hourly, seven days a week, with the last bus both ways at about 18.15. The county council will not subsidise any later evening journeys, as it no longer has the funding available for that.

Thank you for the info jimm. The Prime Minister has brought "Boris Buses" to London and has pledged to invest in bus services throughout the UK, so lets hope the X50/51 services are upped to half hourly and to run later into the evenings. I would have thought the pledge would have to involve some Govt subsidy.
 

The Planner

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Leaving aside the merits of the Parkway station, there is plenty that could be done to improve the existing stations in Worcester. Not necessarily anything the local council can do, but still... Sorting out the track layout so Foregate Street could operate as a standard two-platform station rather than two bi-directional single platforms (one for Droitwich and one for Shrub Hill) would help. West Midlands Railway could stop using little DMUs for busy Birmingham commuter services. Then there are the long single-track sections between Droitwich and Bromsgrove and from Norton Junction to Evesham. There's the ancient semaphore signaling system. Electrification to Bromsgrove would allow some Cross-City services to be extended. Even the platforms at Foregate Street could be extended (to the east). None of this would be cheap, but it would be possible. Having a station right in the centre of the city is an enormous advantage for Worcester that shouldn't be forgotten.
All at least 10 years away. Its being looked at but that is it.
 

R G NOW.

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I believe network rail had a plan to double the lines from tunnel junction to foregate street, but not from shrub hill at one time.
 

Robertj21a

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As I have already pointed out today in another thread, once it is open, Worcestershire Parkway will be served by First Worcestershire buses on route X50/51 between Worcester, Pershore and Evesham, which currently run straight past the entrance to the station.

This service runs hourly, seven days a week, with the last bus both ways at about 18.15. The county council will not subsidise any later evening journeys, as it no longer has the funding available for that.

It pains me to say it but even a supporter of bus connections would have to admit that an hourly service is not going to attract any significant patronage. Too many will find the wait for their train to be too great, or they'll fear missing the train by 5 mins. The 18.15 finish also kills it off.
 

jimm

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Not as bad as I thought but having the last bus at 1815 is pretty poor. I’m guessing no Sunday service either? I stand by my comment about bus services in Worcestershire being abysmal.

The county council has next to no money left to subsidise buses, like most other shire counties across the country. Oxfordshire provides no subsidies whatever and services there are are even worse - ie largely non-existent - than Worcestershire, outside the limited number of places where commercial operation is viable.

GWR provides a fast train service out to Pershore and Evesham (the places where most people are going to the east of Worcester) though the evening until 22.50, taking 20 minutes to reach Evesham. The buses take an hour - which one do you think people used, even when the buses ran a bit later into the evening?

I may have been a tad negative when I said the whole thing is a white elephant. now I think about it, those fields will be a huge new housing sprawl within 5 years given recent policy on house building. Ready made customer base for the station.

It was never going to be a white elephant, when it has been near-impossible for years to get a parking space at Worcester Shrub Hill unless you get there very early in the morning, on top of the limitations of Worcester's road network, which make getting there less than straightforward, which is one of the reasons why some people from the area are in the habit of driving all the way to Warwick Parkway to get a train to London.

Development around the station is going to be a way off, as there are areas of land closer to the city that are first in the queue.

It pains me to say it but even a supporter of bus connections would have to admit that an hourly service is not going to attract any significant patronage. Too many will find the wait for their train to be too great, or they'll fear missing the train by 5 mins. The 18.15 finish also kills it off.

You know this for a fact, do you? People connect between Cotswold Line trains at Moreton-in-Marsh and buses running on 90-minute and two-hourly frequencies on routes that finish in the early evening. I see no reason why people living in the south-eastern part of Worcester, or the villages to the east, served by the X50/51 won't use the bus to and from the station if it suits their journey needs.

Bus subsidies are not a statutory duty for county and unitary councils. Funding services like social care is, so that's where what money they get is going to be spent, as they have no choice in the matter.
 

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Noddy

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Yup, it’s a beautiful glass and steel structure in the middle of a field. It does look impressive (apart from the lack of shelter on the platforms which could make it a very wet and lonely wait for some) but it’s a white elephant for sure.

Bus services in Worcestershire are dire and I can’t see anyone offering a reasonably frequent service to connect this to anywhere. That makes it necessary for many to start their journey from FS or SH. Should have just invested in upgrading infrastructure around those and diverted XC services through the centre of the city like they used to for a while with the Birmingham to Cardiff service.
I know many will disagree ;)

Why would you wait on the platform when there is a large station building with a waiting room?

Reading this thread and other comments on the internet (eg see this ridiculous comment https://goo.gl/maps/GwUfVTKLLRH9mbXi6) makes me really wonder about people. It’s called Worcestershire Parkway - the clue is in the name. It’s for wider Worcestershire (not central Worcester) and you park your car (or bike) there. It’s not designed for someone living in St John’s or the Arboretum (etc) who would normally walk to their preferred station. It’s designed for someone living in St Peter the Great or Fernhill Heath (etc) who will drive there instead of driving somewhere else (Bromsgrove or Warwick Parkway etc).
 

Upton

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Yes, you can book tickets for the 26th from GWR and XC’s website now too.
Just tried booking tickets from Oxford to Worcestershire Parkway for 26th January with both Great Western and the Trainline and they’re both not allowing them. However if you go on the Trainline and the Cross Country websites you can buy tickets to Worcestershire Parkway from Birmingham New Street. So does that mean that the Bristol/Birmingham Line platforms will be open then but the Cotswold platform won’t be? Or has the whole opening date been put back again!
 
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jimm

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Apparently tickets should not have been made available from the 26th - yet another cock-up with this project - as there is still no decision on an opening date. Looks like you caught them in the middle of changing the databases to stop online sales.
 

pdeaves

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Just tried booking tickets from Oxford to Worcestershire Parkway for 26th January with both Great Western and the Trainline and they’re both not allowing them. However if you go on the Trainline and the Cross Country websites you can buy tickets to Worcestershire Parkway from Birmingham New Street. So dies that mean that the Bristol/Birmingham Line platforms will be open then but the Cotswold platform won’t be? Or has the whole opening date been put back again!
Realtimetrains seems to show for 27 January onwards that the only passenger calls are XC ones.
 
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