Appeal to boost train services at Hinckley

[Qwerty133]

http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/A...tory-20818336-detail/story.html#ixzz2wFR4VMcs

A proposal to increase the number of trains stopping at Hinckley has been backed by councillors.

Borough councillor Michael Mullaney, who represents Hinckley, proposed a motion calling on CrossCountry trains to restore its twice-hourly rail services from Hinckley station.

Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council chief executive Steve Atkinson has written to the company and the Transport Secretary asking for the services to be restored.

Councillor Mullaney said: "The Hinckley urban area, including Burbage, Barwell and Earl Shilton, is growing and its commuters deserve a more regular rail service."

Can't see it happening, as Narborough is busier and AFAIK there are no plans for any extra stops there and Stansted services are already crowded.

 

[The Planner]

They could probably shoe horn them in the timetable if they nicked some of the Leicester and Nuneaton dwell times.

 

[Qwerty133]

They could probably shoe horn them in the timetable if they nicked some of the Leicester and Nuneaton dwell times.

Probably, but I'd like to see Narborough be added instead especially on the 09:4x from leicester towards Birmingham.

 

[Philip Elliott]

Probably, but I'd like to see Narborough be added instead especially on the 09:4x from leicester towards Birmingham.

I seem to remember you live nearby or did. Eastbound, stops at Hinckley & Narborough are possible without affecting end to end times on the Standsteds or at least could before the last EMT timetable change - I looked at a random service on TRUST once which dwelled at Leicester for 9 minutes despite leaving on time!

Narborough is very well used for what is a village station (about time it was renamed back to Narborough & Littlethorpe) however the official figures are a work of fiction - the numbers are substantially boosted by split season tickets - resulting in each person recording 4 daily uses of the station despite never stepping foot on the platform. I commuted from there for 4 years and the numbers boarding in the morning was pretty much the same as Hinckley.

 

[gordonthemoron]

as I may be working nearby occasionally, I'd agree that more trains should stop at Narborough, at least in the peak

 

[Cherry_Picker]

Narborough is very well used for what is a village station (about time it was renamed back to Narborough & Littlethorpe) however the official figures are a work of fiction - the numbers are substantially boosted by split season tickets - resulting in each person recording 4 daily uses of the station despite never stepping foot on the platform.

Could you expand on what that is all about? Who splits at Narborough? Hinckley-Leicester commuters or someone else?

 

[G0ORC]

http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/A...tory-20818336-detail/story.html#ixzz2wFR4VMcs
Can't see it happening, as Narborough is busier and AFAIK there are no plans for any extra stops there and Standsted services are already crowded.

Council elections coming up are they? Or is the initial thrust for a General Election.

Its the only time any politician, local or otherwise (outside of the south-east) would be interested in the rail network.

Oh and I see its the Leicester Mercury - the only paper I know to suggest, when a train hit a herd of cattle that the train had chased them across three ploughed fields before it got 'em - well not quite, but you know what I mean.

 

[gordonthemoron]

AFAIR Leicester Mecury is owned by Daily Mail, as is Nottingham Post. So no surprise on their stories

 

[Philip Elliott]

Could you expand on what that is all about? Who splits at Narborough? Hinckley-Leicester commuters or someone else?

Leicester to Birmingham commuters.

Leicester - Birmingham, annual - £3,340

Leicester - Narborough, annual - £912

Narborough - West Midlands All Zones - £1748

Total with split - £2660

Saving = £680 - nothing to be sniffed at!

 

[91103eastcoast]

The Stansted bound trains do seem to sit at Leicester forever, but not so much in the other direction. I think one of the morning trains stops at all stations without losing any time in the Stansted direction (EDIT: It's this one) but in the other (Birmingham) direction it's 5 minutes later at Nuneaton.

 

[43074]

I think there is more of a need for 3 trains per hour between Leicester and Birmingham, and a useful side effect of this would be 2tph at Narborough and Hinkley. If XC were inclined, the Stansted service could save time by removing dwell time at Leicester (Eastbound) and Nuneaton (Westbound), and skipping Coleshill altogether because demand has been significantly lower than expected - An hourly service would suffice there IMO.

 

[Hyphen]

AFAIR Leicester Mecury is owned by Daily Mail, as is Nottingham Post. So no surprise on their stories

Now part of the Local World group, which bought Northcliffe Media (immediate owners of both papers) from Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT) in late 2012. It's headed up by an ex-chief exec of the Daily Mirror!

DMGT still retains a 39% stake in Local World though

 

[The Planner]

I think there is more of a need for 3 trains per hour between Leicester and Birmingham, and a useful side effect of this would be 2tph at Narborough and Hinkley. If XC were inclined, the Stansted service could save time by removing dwell time at Leicester (Eastbound) and Nuneaton (Westbound), and skipping Coleshill altogether because demand has been significantly lower than expected - An hourly service would suffice there IMO.

No chance, Coleshill is growing at a significant rate, XC won't bin that.

Hinckley for 2012-13 shows 281,188 with an increase of only 0.3% on 2011-12 whereas Coleshill shows 192,242 with an increase of 12.8% on 2011-12.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Just to add a little railway history to the stations in discussion, the South Leicestershire Railway was founded in 1850 as the Nuneaton and Hinckley Railway. When in the 1960's, British Railways decided upon a station closure on this line, only Hinckley was reprieved, but as a result of subsequent public objections, in 1970, Narborough was reopened.

 

[Cherry_Picker]

How much of that is to do with level of service though? Hinckley only gets the hourly train. It's a shame the Nottingham - Coventry service will never return.

 

[The Planner]

To remove Coleshill XC would need to change their track access contract to do it, Coleshill is a specified stop on the Stansted, Cambridge and Leicester services. Narborough and Hinckley are at XC discretion apart from the Leicester service where they are spec'd as a regular call.

 

[43074]

Just to add a little railway history to the stations in discussion, the South Leicestershire Railway was founded in 1850 as the Nuneaton and Hinckley Railway. When in the 1960's, British Railways decided upon a station closure on this line, only Hinckley was reprieved, but as a result of subsequent public objections, in 1970, Narborough was reopened.

That's interesting, thank you for sharing

 

[Philip Elliott]

Just to add a little railway history to the stations in discussion, the South Leicestershire Railway was founded in 1850 as the Nuneaton and Hinckley Railway. When in the 1960's, British Railways decided upon station closures on this line, only Hinckley was reprieved, but as a result of subsequent public objections, in 1970, Narborough was reopened.

Slight correction for you there Stations were also closed at Elmesthorpe, Croft, Blaby and [Wigston] Glen Parva. Re-opening Blaby has been on the cards for a long time but Leicestershire CC seem to have totally turned against rail - it would be a really useful station with 8 busses per hour below on the A426 linking Glen Parva, Aylestone, Whetstone, Blaby, Countesthorpe, the Wigstons and further afield. Narborough station is a pain to get to, the level crossing certainly not helping!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Slight correction for you there Stations were also closed at Elmesthorpe, Croft, Blaby and [Wigston] Glen Parva. Re-opening Blaby has been on the cards for a long time but Leicestershire CC seem to have totally turned against rail - it would be a really useful station with 8 busses per hour below on the A426 linking Glen Parva, Aylestone, Whetstone, Blaby, Countesthorpe, the Wigstons and further afield. Narborough station is a pain to get to, the level crossing certainly not helping!

I did say in my posting that originally, only Hinckley was reprieved in the closure programme. I am well aware of which railway stations were actually closed, being the person who runs the Closed Stations Journey quiz on the Quizzes and Games forum.

 

[O L Leigh]

Sorry, but adding Hinckley to the Stansteds is certainly not a "given".

Time sat at Leicester and Nuneaton may be described as dwell time, but in reality it is nothing of the sort. It is recovery time and, while a train may sit there for some considerable time if all runs exactly to plan, it is time that is often desperately needed if imported delays are to be avoided.

I seem to recall that Hinckley was a stop on some of the cross country services running from East Anglia to the West Midlands under BR's Provincial Services sector in the 1980s and 1990s, and so there may be some historic reasons for including it back onto these runs. However, my observations are that Hinckley seems to be no better used than South Wigston or Narborough. There are also additional services that call at these stations during peak hours, including more than one long distance service running to/from Stansted. In light of all this, it would seem that the esteemed representative is politicking.

O L Leigh

 

[edwin_m]

This route suffered from the Central Trains service reductions of the early 2000s probably more than any other. As well as the Nottingham-Coventry already mentioned, there was a Lincoln-Leicester-Birmingham-Shrewsbury which was discontinued between Leicester and Birmingham.

 

[Martin_1981]

Perhaps EMT's Lincoln-Leicester service should be extended to run to and from Birmingham and call at South Wigston, Narborough and Hinckley. Whilst increasing the frequency of Leicester-Birmingham services to 3 per hour, this would also restore a direct link between Lincoln and Birmingham which was lost around 2005/2006.