Brighton to Great Malvern

[RSDonovan]

Hello one and all!

I notice that there is a direct train service between Brighton and Great Malvern.

One train per weekday in each direction, taking forever, and passing through many of the largest cities and towns in South and Southwest England.

It sounds like a great trip, has anyone done it? Does anyone know the reason for this service round the houses?

Long may it continue!

 

[Ianno87]

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It sounds like a great trip, has anyone done it? Does anyone know the reason for this service round the houses?

It's basically what would be a Westbury-Gloucester service in the standard hour (you'll see a regular hourly service to that effect), but extended at both end for a specific purpose.

I.e. the extension to Brighton is timed as the return working of a morning peak additional service into Brighton. It just so happens to form a through train to Great Malvern.

 

[4-SUB 4732]

It’s an awful trip, and it honestly should not continue. I did it once from Bath to Brighton and wish I’d gone via London. The only reason I did it, was because I had to for work, as I worked at FGW!

It’s a daft hangover from years ago. Things would be vastly better-served by a high-quality half-hourly service from Brighton to Southampton (yes, I did say that) using 4/377 (no 313s, no 3 cars) and maybe a trolley (!). Then let the Portsmouth be half-hourly from London via Gatwick and Horsham, as the connections made (and very limited through passengers) at Havant on a same platform would be perfectly good.

 

[RSDonovan]

I wouldn't do it if I was in a hurry, but I prefer slow trains to fast ones and it calls at an extraordinary number of big-name stations!

 

[SickyNicky]

It can be very cheap indeed. I have used it on a number of occasions to get to a company I've used in Brighton, and have often found dirt cheap advances from Malvern to Brighton.

The service can get very full in the Bristol/Bath/Westbury area (certainly pre-COVID). But starting at Malvern or Brighton it's fine.

Just take everything you need with you - a flask of tea, some sandwiches, headphones etc., and it's fine. Quite a nice journey, in fact, if you can live with the rolling stock and the constant turnover of passengers.

 

[RSDonovan]

It’s an awful trip, and it honestly should not continue. I did it once from Bath to Brighton and wish I’d gone via London. The only reason I did it, was because I had to for work, as I worked at FGW!

It’s a daft hangover from years ago. Things would be vastly better-served by a high-quality half-hourly service from Brighton to Southampton (yes, I did say that) using 4/377 (no 313s, no 3 cars) and maybe a trolley (!). Then let the Portsmouth be half-hourly from London via Gatwick and Horsham, as the connections made (and very limited through passengers) at Havant on a same platform would be perfectly good.

That's a heck of an extension!

The coastline service from Brighton to Portsmouth Harbour / Southsea is used to access the Isle of Wight and a change at Havant would put the timing out for ferries and hovercraft.

 

[ABB125]

I'm sure there used to be a couple of these services each day, presumably coronavirus has reduced it to a single trip. I've never personally used this service (all the GWR Malvern/Worcester trains) south of Bristol, so can't comment on what it's like.

Two of the trains go to Weymouth, most of the rest to Westbury, and one or two terminate at Bristol. Quite a variety of destinations! In the past, some used to terminate at Warminster as well.

 

[swt_passenger]

I'm sure there used to be a couple of these services each day, presumably coronavirus has reduced it to a single trip. I've never personally used this service (all the GWR Malvern/Worcester trains) south of Bristol, so can't comment on what it's like.

Two of the trains go to Weymouth, most of the rest to Westbury, and one or two terminate at Bristol. Quite a variety of destinations! In the past, some used to terminate at Warminster as well.

There hasn’t been two per weekday FULL services eastbound for some years. The first arrival at Brighton is, (and has been for quite a while), a GWR that starts from Portsmouth, which has stabled at Fratton overnight. So effectively it’s a short working that has binned the majority of the western end of its route. The second service of the day only runs back to Bristol Parkway, but the western destination of the second train hasn’t always been Great Malvern either, I think it’s run to Gloucester before now.

All a bit random really, but there are currently 2 services each way at Brighton:

Realtime Trains | Departures from Brighton all day on 26/10/2021

Train information at Brighton all day on 26/10/2021. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

The morning arrival was mentioned in a route study a few years ago as a weak point in peak commuter capacity into Brighton as it was only a 2 car unit, I thought the best option would have been to run a much longer Southern EMU in the eastern end of the path, and start the GW service up an hour later. It shouldn’t be necessary for GWR to be solving a capacity issue at Brighton.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

216 miles in five and a half hours on a 158? No thanks, however lovely the scenery!

 

[Stigy]

It can be very cheap indeed. I have used it on a number of occasions to get to a company I've used in Brighton, and have often found dirt cheap advances from Malvern to Brighton.

The service can get very full in the Bristol/Bath/Westbury area (certainly pre-COVID). But starting at Malvern or Brighton it's fine.

Just take everything you need with you - a flask of tea, some sandwiches, headphones etc., and it's fine. Quite a nice journey, in fact, if you can live with the rolling stock and the constant turnover of passengers.

The stock is usually 158 so isn’t too bad, but doing it on a smelly, noisy 165/6 is imagine would be a bit tenuous. Especially if sat in the former 1st Class areas with the constant whine from the A/C system (or what sounds like it’s coming from that at least….a bearing or something?).

 

[Towers]

216 miles in five and a half hours on a 158? No thanks, however lovely the scenery!

I'd struggle to think of much current stock that would provide a better degree of comfort, quite honestly? Excepting a summer's day/no aircon scenario!

 

[Stigy]

216 miles in five and a half hours on a 158? No thanks, however lovely the scenery!

What about five and a half hours on a turbo?

 

[PHILIPE]

What about five and a half hours on a turbo?

On occasions it is a Turbo

 

[JonathanH]

What about five and a half hours on a turbo?

Again this is just a load of local trains strung together for convenience and through journey opportunities in the Bristol area. By far, the predominant use is for short distance journeys for which a Turbo is the perfect train.

If some people want to make five hour through journeys so be it but they have to recognise that this does not govern the rolling stock used.

 

[158747]

There hasn’t been two per weekday FULL services eastbound for some years. The first arrival at Brighton is, (and has been for quite a while), a GWR that starts from Portsmouth, which has stabled at Fratton overnight. So effectively it’s a short working that has binned the majority of the western end of its route. The second service of the day only runs back to Bristol Parkway, but the western destination of the second train hasn’t always been Great Malvern either, I think it’s run to Gloucester before now.

Back in the days of Wessex Trains the first arrival at Brighton started at Westbury, departing at 05.25. This service still runs, but instead of continuing to Brighton it now terminates at Salisbury.

 

[Stigy]

Again this is just a load of local trains strung together for convenience and through journey opportunities in the Bristol area. By far, the predominant use is for short distance journeys for which a Turbo is the perfect train.

If some people want to make five hour through journeys so be it but they have to recognise that this does not govern the rolling stock used.

I know, however the question was about travelling the length of the route, hence why I mentioned the turbos.

 

[kentrailman]

Pre covid most of the tiny trains between Bristol and Southampton used to be jammed full of people sometimes with barely room to even stand up, pretty much all day. Never enough coaches for the numbers wanting to travel. Sometimes with coaches being locked out or removed at Westbury when travelling south. Anyone know if things are still just as bad ?

 

[swt_passenger]

Pre covid most of the trains between Bristol and Southampton used to be jammed full of people sometimes with barely room to even stand up, pretty much all day. Never enough coaches for the numbers wanting to travel. Anyone know if things are still just as bad ?

I think there’s a much better ongoing discussion about that here:

https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/cardiff-portsmouth-rolling-stock-solutions.220656/

The theory is they should nearly all be 5 car 165/166 pairs. But I don’t think that’s ever been applied to the Brighton extensions yet.

 

[kentrailman]

I think there’s a much better ongoing discussion about that here:

https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/cardiff-portsmouth-rolling-stock-solutions.220656/

The theory is they should nearly all be 5 car 165/166 pairs. But I don’t think that’s ever been applied to the Brighton extensions yet.

Oops, yes, so I see, thanks / sorry !

 

[swt_passenger]

Oops, yes, so I see, thanks / sorry !

No problem, it’s been going a while so not so noticeable.

 

[dk1]

What about five and a half hours on a turbo?

And that hideous ‘ding’ when the doors release.

 

[Bishopstone]

It’s a daft hangover from years ago. Things would be vastly better-served by a high-quality half-hourly service from Brighton to Southampton (yes, I did say that) using 4/377 (no 313s, no 3 cars) and maybe a trolley (!). Then let the Portsmouth be half-hourly from London via Gatwick and Horsham, as the connections made (and very limited through passengers) at Havant on a same platform would be perfectly good.

Your high-quality half-hourly service from Brighton to Southampton should also be limited stop: the same large towns and junctions the token GWR services call at.

With the A27 being a poor quality road, rail should be shooting at an open goal, but the Brighton-Soton (and Pompey) services are hamstrung by being required to act as Metro trains in the greater Brighton conurbation, and again west of Chichester. I don’t want to call at Fishersgate and Fishbourne on the way to my meeting, thank you very much!

 

[Islineclear3_1]

Actually, pre-Covid, the service could be heavily loaded from Brighton

The service might be a bit more attractive if a heritage loco and Mk 1 coaching stock with buffet was laid on

 

[swt_passenger]

Your high-quality half-hourly service from Brighton to Southampton should also be limited stop: the same large towns and junctions the token GWR services call at.

With the A27 being a poor quality road, rail should be shooting at an open goal, but the Brighton-Soton (and Pompey) services are hamstrung by being required to act as Metro trains in the greater Brighton conurbation, and again west of Chichester. I don’t want to call at Fishersgate and Fishbourne on the way to my meeting, thank you very much!

That’s not much of a problem, the forum infrastructure planners will probably get it four tracked soon enough…

 

[Islineclear3_1]

Your high-quality half-hourly service from Brighton to Southampton should also be limited stop: the same large towns and junctions the token GWR services call at.

With the A27 being a poor quality road, rail should be shooting at an open goal, but the Brighton-Soton (and Pompey) services are hamstrung by being required to act as Metro trains in the greater Brighton conurbation, and again west of Chichester. I don’t want to call at Fishersgate and Fishbourne on the way to my meeting, thank you very much!

This is what the West Worthing services should be doing whilst the longer distance trains make fewer stops. But pre-Covid, the West Coastway was intensively used and often, the GWR service was stuck behind the stopper

 

[75A]

I think there’s a much better ongoing discussion about that here:

https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/cardiff-portsmouth-rolling-stock-solutions.220656/

The theory is they should nearly all be 5 car 165/166 pairs. But I don’t think that’s ever been applied to the Brighton extensions yet.

An issue with using 5 car units is that that it would restrict them to only platforms 1 & 2 @ Brighton, as coming in via Hove,platform 3 can only take a 4 car unit.

 

[swt_passenger]

An issue with using 5 car units is that that it would restrict them to only platforms 1 & 2 @ Brighton, as coming in via Hove,platform 3 can only take a 4 car unit.

Yes of course, but please bear in mind I was replying to a more general question about “most trains between Bristol and Southampton“, hence suggesting the other thread.

 

[75A]

Fair point.

 

[Master29]

Isn't this the longest 2 prefix local service in the country or does Edinburgh to Mailaig beat it? It covers GWR most South Easterly and North Westerly corners.

 

[Stigy]

Isn't this the longest 2 prefix local service in the country or does Edinburgh to Mailaig beat it? It covers GWR most South Easterly and North Westerly corners.

It’s not a 2 prefix