Chiltern Oxford Link completed

[The Planner]

Interesting to see where they would stable them if they went to either LM or Chiltern. Stabling is a bit of an elephant in the room everywhere now.

 

[II]

Would the new depot at Banbury have the capacity?

 

[TH172341]

Interesting to see where they would stable them if they went to either LM or Chiltern. Stabling is a bit of an elephant in the room everywhere now.

Good point - Tyseley may have a bit of spare capacity - I think I saw in a "Today's Railways"article last year that some 168s are to be maintained at Tyseley as part of a new deal? Banbury's new depot will likely have helped Chiltern.

 

[Oxfordblues]

Passing Willesden Depot this week I counted at least four Class 172s languishing in the sidings. Do they have any booked diagrams? They're less than 2 miles from Chiltern's Wembley depot!

 

[87015]

Passing Willesden Depot this week I counted at least four Class 172s languishing in the sidings. Do they have any booked diagrams? They're less than 2 miles from Chiltern's Wembley depot!

A couple trundle around most days on a few things to keep them operable. Offered to everyone under the sun for short or not-so-short transfer (which would have involved no return to Gospel Oak duties) but no takers.

 

[TH172341]

A couple trundle around most days on a few things to keep them operable. Offered to everyone under the sun for short or not-so-short transfer (which would have involved no return to Gospel Oak duties) but no takers.

Bit of a disappointment that no-one has taken them on whilst the line is shut with LM a unit down and Chiltern certainly whereby a few trains being lengthened wouldn't go a miss. Assume it's to do with cost etc.

In regard to the 'no return' - if an operator had taken them on that basis, what would be running the Gospel Oak duties in the interim period between the reopening and the 710s being delivered?

 

[Class 170101]

Maybe some Class 315s for Gospel Oak to Barking available soon once the Class 345s start entering service.

 

[Nym]

Maybe some Class 315s for Gospel Oak to Barking available soon once the Class 345s start entering service.

No chance...

 

[a good off]

Would the new depot at Banbury have the capacity?

The former cattle roads at Banbury were ideal but they were removed in the summer...:-x

 

[The Planner]

What is there now far outweighs the use of the Cattle Roads, even if stabling is at a massive premium. All we need now is for a pot of magic beans to sort Fenny up loop.

 

[a good off]

They took out one of the most useful sets of points at Banbury North which used to allow access from the DM to the Down Loop. Since the resignalling, if there is a train occupying the old Down Relief platform, there is no access to the loop! This caused us major issues a couple of weeks ago on nights when a liner failed at Heyford and had to be assisted all the way to Fenny.

 

[swt_passenger]

Maybe some Class 315s for Gospel Oak to Barking available soon once the Class 345s start entering service.

TfL have repeatedly been quoted as saying this will not happen.

 

[adamedwards]

I did the line to Oxford over Xmas and what stood out was people standing all the way from Marylebone to Bicester Village to get to the shops. 6 car train with every seat taken. After Bicester, the train was about a third full! Chiltern must be making a huge fortune from this and good luck to them for doing so.

 

[route:oxford]

Passing Willesden Depot this week I counted at least four Class 172s languishing in the sidings. Do they have any booked diagrams? They're less than 2 miles from Chiltern's Wembley depot!

Would they be suitable for the Border's line?

 

[Andyjs247]

I did the line to Oxford over Xmas and what stood out was people standing all the way from Marylebone to Bicester Village to get to the shops. 6 car train with every seat taken. After Bicester, the train was about a third full! Chiltern must be making a huge fortune from this and good luck to them for doing so.

I heard Bicester Village reckons about 1 in 10 customers travel by train I believe - at 7 million visitors that's around 700,000 customers for the railway!

 

[Cherry_Picker]

Bicester Village is doing so well out of the people who arrive there by rail that they now have permanent members of staff in situ at Marylebone Station to assist people (lots of whom speak little English as they are on holiday in the UK when they visit Bicester Village) onto the right train with the correct ticket. It's absolutely booming and I'm still quite surprised that Great Western didn't make more of a song and dance about it when they were the ones running trains along the Oxford to Bicester Branch.

 

[ainsworth74]

Perhaps Chiltern have just had that little bit more of an entrepreneurial spirit about them (is that Brunel I hear spinning at the thought ) when it comes to developing the link? I've used a couple of time (most recently this weekend) I was impressed each time by the loadings at Bicester Village and Oxford Parkway (particularly how full the car park already is). Also seemed a decent through flow to Oxford itself as well.

 

[MK Tom]

Passing Willesden Depot this week I counted at least four Class 172s languishing in the sidings. Do they have any booked diagrams? They're less than 2 miles from Chiltern's Wembley depot!

The LO 172s are going back into GOBLIN service for a bit after it reopens aren't they?

If you saw four Chiltern 172s that's all of them!

 

[G_A_C_C_C]

The main issue with the 172/0 is NO TOILET!! If they had a gangway they could at least by attached to another unit that does have one. So, no one will touch them as they are.

[I'd run them on the Greenford and Marlow braches - no need for a toilet on these short trips]

 

[ainsworth74]

As far as I'm aware a toilet can be easily fitted (I believe at the ROSCO's insistence) but I can see why that would deter people from short term hire as it's hardly going to be worth the cost of having it fitted only for it to be taken out again soon afterwards!

 

[Hophead]

I've used a couple of time (most recently this weekend) I was impressed each time by the loadings at Bicester Village and Oxford Parkway (particularly how full the car park already is). Also seemed a decent through flow to Oxford itself as well.

The car park is one of Oxford's longstanding Park & Ride sites, so I'd suggest that many of the visitors will be catching the bus into the City Centre.

 

[coppercapped]

The car park is one of Oxford's longstanding Park & Ride sites, so I'd suggest that many of the visitors will be catching the bus into the City Centre.

The longstanding Park & Ride site is the Water Eaton car park. There is an additional new car park, called Oxford Parkway station car park which has been built between the Water Eaton Park & Ride and the railway line. These are two separate facilities which happen to be beside each other.

 

[Hophead]

The longstanding Park & Ride site is the Water Eaton car park. There is an additional new car park, called Oxford Parkway station car park which has been built between the Water Eaton Park & Ride and the railway line. These are two separate facilities which happen to be beside each other.

Aah - didn't know that

 

[HowardGWR]

The longstanding Park & Ride site is the Water Eaton car park. There is an additional new car park, called Oxford Parkway station car park which has been built between the Water Eaton Park & Ride and the railway line. These are two separate facilities which happen to be beside each other.

What are the prices, do you know? I mean, two people park and then either get the bus in, or the train. They may have destinations more convenient in Oxford, one way or the other, but, disregarding that, which is cheaper?

 

[berneyarms]

Parking charges are the same as far as I can tell.

500 Bus is £2.60 return per person
Train is £2.90 off peak return and £3.40 anytime day return

 

[HowardGWR]

Parking charges are the same as far as I can tell.

500 Bus is £2.60 return per person
Train is £2.90 off peak return and £3.40 anytime day return

Thanks, so it may depend on one's personal circumstances (senior railcard would beat the bus fare and you could get a bus from the station to elsewhere in Oxford), as I believe they don't give concessions on P and R AIUI.

A bit OT for this forum, apols.

 

[Andyjs247]

Parking charges are the same as far as I can tell.

500 Bus is £2.60 return per person
Train is £2.90 off peak return and £3.40 anytime day return

Yes, the car park charges are the same. So £2 for up to 11 hours, £4 up to 24 hours; £8 up to 48 hours; and £12 up to 72 hours (max stay). As I've posted on the Parkway thread previously, Oxford Parkway and Water Eaton Park & Ride are effectively one and the same now and Water Eaton name has almost disappeared. Makes parking at OXP very reasonable compared to other Chiltern stations.

Bus fares seem to have changed on route 500 now that it extends to Woodstock. They broadly match the train on price, if slightly lower just to Oxford city as berneyarms has said. Bus to the station is £2.10 single /£3.50 return. Train is £2.20 anytime single.

 

[PeterC]

Thanks, so it may depend on one's personal circumstances (senior railcard would beat the bus fare and you could get a bus from the station to elsewhere in Oxford), as I believe they don't give concessions on P and R AIUI.

All Oxford P&R services are classed as "local" and accept ENCTS cards at the appropriate times.

 

[deltic]

Given its been running for a few months now how busy are the Chiltern services into Oxford? Is there any sign of people from say High Wycombe using it to commute to work in Oxford or Bicester?

 

[route:oxford]

Given its been running for a few months now how busy are the Chiltern services into Oxford? Is there any sign of people from say High Wycombe using it to commute to work in Oxford or Bicester?

Yes, know a few people who have switched from car to train. One of them switched the moment that Parkway opened - despite owning a parking space in Jericho.

She now commutes into Oxford's main station daily from Gerrard's Cross. Apparently it's an easy and reliable platform change, she gets an extra hour in bed, has started enjoying reading again, has got rid of one of the family cars, and the monthly season ticket costs less than what she sells her parking space for...