Network Rail West of England Line Study 2020

[Meerkat]

Axminster has similar passenger numbers to Honiton, both nudging 0.4m, like Gillingham, whereas Crewkerne, Yeovil Jn, Sherborne and Tisbury are all around the 0.2m mark, and everywhere shows a small decline in recent years, as noted in the report, assumed to be due to major weather-related interruptions to service and general quality issues. What you're really asking for is an additional express tier of service, which could only work with double-tracking unless many of these stations were closed. I don't think the extra passengers that might be gained on the major flows you suggest would compensate for the extra operational or capital costs of infrastructure, stock or staffing of a new tier. It is a low-cost railway today that has historically provided good, well-used service between these places en route, and connects them all to Exeter, Salisbury, Andover, Basingstoke and the London area, with myriad connections all over the south-east at Basingstoke, Woking and Clapham Junction in the east and at Exeter and Salibury in the West. With quality improvements, it can re-establish that position and continue to serve and grow these markets. That's its bread and butter. I don't see a new express service tier on this route being justified at all.

I broadly agree but they are adding extra services. Those should be stoppers and let the through trains drop some stops.

 

[MarkyT]

I broadly agree but they are adding extra services. Those should be stoppers and let the through trains drop some stops.

I think Whimple and Feniton will, and Pinhole might be dropped with the start of a new Devon local service, but Cranbrook, being a new town slated for major expansion, will likely stay a long distance call, and it makes sense to develop it as an Exeter east parkway and airport interchange.

 

[edwin_m]

The 15 minutes overall saving for electrification alone would only be a handful of minutes per single line section at the western extremities, so might be handled by judicious loop lengthening.

Wouldn't you have to lengthen the first loop by a handful of minutes running time, and the second one by two handfuls, and so on until the optimum positions for the loops bear no relation to where they are now?

 

[Wychwood93]

Tisbury - the drawback to the restoration of a down platform is the fact that the platform and associated land was sold when the line was singled. The loop, at a cost of £435,000, was installed and in operation in 1986. Should the land issue be resolved at some stage, then a footbridge with lifts would be required - another £2 million.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tisbury_railway_station

 

[fgwrich]

Tisbury - the drawback to the restoration of a down platform is the fact that the platform and associated land was sold when the line was singled. The loop, at a cost of £435,000, was installed and in operation in 1986. Should the land issue be resolved at some stage, then a footbridge with lifts would be required - another £2 million.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tisbury_railway_station

I believe that site was up for sale recently. There certainly shouldn't be any issues though, the goods shed has been vacant for some time and the buildings further down at the end of the site look like they will fall down at any time (though in use currently). I can see the site being purchased and additional land being used for a new car park, possibly replacing the current one.

 

[34006]

It's all well and good spending money to extend the loops west of Yeovil, for the benefit of GWR diverted services, but that doesn't bring in any extra income or passenger numbers for the Salisbury to Exeter line.

 

[RPI]

A lot of stations west of Salisbury may well look in the middle of nowhere but they serve as railheads for the local area, Axminster for example sees a lot of passengers from Lyme Regis, Chard and Seaton, Honiton whilst a relatively sizeable town compared to others on the West of the route also serves as a railhead for Sidmouth and Ottery St Mary (Ottery is closer to Feniton but the more infrequent service seems to push people to Honiton)

 

[Meerkat]

A lot of stations west of Salisbury may well look in the middle of nowhere but they serve as railheads for the local area, Axminster for example sees a lot of passengers from Lyme Regis, Chard and Seaton, Honiton whilst a relatively sizeable town compared to others on the West of the route also serves as a railhead for Sidmouth and Ottery St Mary (Ottery is closer to Feniton but the more infrequent service seems to push people to Honiton)

Not talking about stats here, but the impression you get from the train - it feels very slow because it keeps stopping in the middle of nowhere for a handful of people to get on and off. Compared to flying down the A303

 

[Dunfanaghy Rd]

Not talking about stats here, but the impression you get from the train - it feels very slow because it keeps stopping in the middle of nowhere for a handful of people to get on and off. Compared to flying down the A303

You flew down the A303? Lucky you. Was it in the middle of the night?
Pat

 

[Envoy]

Would it not be possible to re-build the chord from the Dorchester line into Yeovil Junction in order that an interchange of passengers can take place? For example, train arrives at Yeovil Junction from Exeter (heading to Waterloo). Passengers for Dorchester & Weymouth get off and shortly afterwards are ‘picked up’ by a southbound train on the Bristol to Weymouth route.

 

[edwin_m]

Would it not be possible to re-build the chord from the Dorchester line into Yeovil Junction in order that an interchange of passengers can take place? For example, train arrives at Yeovil Junction from Exeter (heading to Waterloo). Passengers for Dorchester & Weymouth get off and shortly afterwards are ‘picked up’ by a southbound train on the Bristol to Weymouth route.

It gets talked about every few years. Problem is that the main market of Dorchester/Weymouth to London (or anywhere else east of Basingstoke) is catered for by direct trains, so it would have to justify itself based on some rather secondary flows such as Exeter to Dorchester/Weymouth, while lengthening the journey quite a bit for the (probably larger number of) people travelling between Bristol/Bath and Dorchester/Weymouth.

 

[Envoy]

It gets talked about every few years. Problem is that the main market of Dorchester/Weymouth to London (or anywhere else east of Basingstoke) is catered for by direct trains, so it would have to justify itself based on some rather secondary flows such as Exeter to Dorchester/Weymouth, while lengthening the journey quite a bit for the (probably larger number of) people travelling between Bristol/Bath and Dorchester/Weymouth.

It is very difficult to go by road from Dorchester/Weymouth to Exeter so, even though the rail route via a change at Yeovil Junction is far from a straight line, it would surely be useful. Let us also remember that such a link would also benefit all travellers from places west of Exeter and via a change at Dorchester, might also attract customers for Wareham, Poole & Bournemouth rather than going the long way around via Southampton.

If the added time factor were to be such an issue for the Bristol to Weymouth services, rather than build the chord, why not simply build a new Yeovil Junction station where the lines cross - similar to the one at Worcestershire Parkway?

 

[stuu]

Would it not be possible to re-build the chord from the Dorchester line into Yeovil Junction in order that an interchange of passengers can take place? For example, train arrives at Yeovil Junction from Exeter (heading to Waterloo). Passengers for Dorchester & Weymouth get off and shortly afterwards are ‘picked up’ by a southbound train on the Bristol to Weymouth route.

The services are very infrequent on the Weymouth route, getting them to meet for sensible interchange times in Yeovil for a handful of passengers is very much the tail wagging the dog IMHO.

 

[BayPaul]

Would it not be possible to re-build the chord from the Dorchester line into Yeovil Junction in order that an interchange of passengers can take place? For example, train arrives at Yeovil Junction from Exeter (heading to Waterloo). Passengers for Dorchester & Weymouth get off and shortly afterwards are ‘picked up’ by a southbound train on the Bristol to Weymouth route.

Would it not be easier to add a single platform to the GWR line, just south (or north) of where it goes under the bridge. It's only a 500m walk from the east end of the Waterloo line platforms. This would add the interchange possibilities without a major delay of the train - a couple of minutes for the stop rather than adding distance and needing to reverse. I agree that it is frustrating when two lines cross without interchange possibilities, and this would give quite a few useful connections.

 

[BrianW]

Would it not be easier to add a single platform to the GWR line, just south (or north) of where it goes under the bridge. It's only a 500m walk from the east end of the Waterloo line platforms. This would add the interchange possibilities without a major delay of the train - a couple of minutes for the stop rather than adding distance and needing to reverse. I agree that it is frustrating when two lines cross without interchange possibilities, and this would give quite a few useful connections.

Interchange, while sounding good can be hard if trains are infrequent. To enable a passenger on train from A to B to change at C for D and E is one thing. To also enable B to C, C to B, E to A etc a nightmare. I wonder for instance how many change at Worcestershire Parkway, or Tamworth? Any stats that might help?

 

[Ianno87]

Would it not be easier to add a single platform to the GWR line, just south (or north) of where it goes under the bridge. It's only a 500m walk from the east end of the Waterloo line platforms. This would add the interchange possibilities without a major delay of the train - a couple of minutes for the stop rather than adding distance and needing to reverse. I agree that it is frustrating when two lines cross without interchange possibilities, and this would give quite a few useful connections.

Given that new stations cost multi £x millions these days, not sure it would be money well spent, unless it were a Worcestershire Parkway-style development with new housing etc provided next to the station.

 

[BayPaul]

Interchange, while sounding good can be hard if trains are infrequent. To enable a passenger on train from A to B to change at C for D and E is one thing. To also enable B to C, C to B, E to A etc a nightmare. I wonder for instance how many change at Worcestershire Parkway, or Tamworth? Any stats that might help?

Exeter to Yeovil is fairly frequent, however - an hourly service in each direction, plus a fair number of additional services towards London should enable a lot of decent connections, even without changing any train times. Not perfect, certainly not turn up and go, but should give some decent options in journey planners

Given that new stations cost multi £x millions these days, not sure it would be money well spent, unless it were a Worcestershire Parkway-style development with new housing etc provided next to the station.

Probably not, but certainly cheaper than a new chord. I must say when I had a quick look on google maps I assumed that the southern platform island was in use - that could probably have allowed a 500m long level path from the end of that platform parralleling the line to a new single 4 carriage platform on the GWR line just south of the overbridge, however since it is actually disused, it would be necessary to include a new footbridge with disabled access as well, so pushing the price up a fair bit (though lifts could probably be avoided - just a long ramp up from the station car park over the W-N chord, and then back down to a new platform to the north of the overbridge.

 

[fgwrich]

It is very difficult to go by road from Dorchester/Weymouth to Exeter so, even though the rail route via a change at Yeovil Junction is far from a straight line, it would surely be useful.

I think you'll find it's not as difficult as you may think - The A35 runs from Poole, Dorchester, Bridport, Axminster into the A303 at Honition. If anything, it is easier to drive from Weymouth to the West Country (and a more scenic and occasionally quicker route than the A303!). There are a number of Duel Carriageway stretches along the route so road traffic flows quite nicely along there - Going by rail would actually take you along side two sides of a long and rather slow triangle (The Heart of Wessex being single track and fairly slow).

Dorchester

Dorchester

www.google.com

I'm sure I did see possible mention of a new chord running from the South to the West though, which would make Yeovil Junction more of an interchange station (and requiring the Weymouth services to reverse there), however I can't seem to find this anywhere again - I believe that was being left to the Dorset route / Council strategy though and not included in this as this concentrates on the WoE.

 

[swt_passenger]

Would it not be possible to re-build the chord from the Dorchester line into Yeovil Junction in order that an interchange of passengers can take place? For example, train arrives at Yeovil Junction from Exeter (heading to Waterloo). Passengers for Dorchester & Weymouth get off and shortly afterwards are ‘picked up’ by a southbound train on the Bristol to Weymouth route.

Has that South to West chord ever been made operational? There are no online OS maps that show track in position, it’s always just the earthworks.

 

[edwin_m]

Interchange, while sounding good can be hard if trains are infrequent. To enable a passenger on train from A to B to change at C for D and E is one thing. To also enable B to C, C to B, E to A etc a nightmare. I wonder for instance how many change at Worcestershire Parkway, or Tamworth? Any stats that might help?

I've had a few journeys over the years where the planner has suggested a change at Tamworth as the best option, including Nottingham to/from Milton Keynes, Blackpool and even Glasgow. But the service at both levels is better than it would be at a Yeovil interchange so that's more likely to happen even when no attempt is made to co-ordinate timings between them.

 

[Bob M]

Re: Yeovil. Personally I think the best solution would be to build the south-to-west chord, and divert the Weymouth line trains via Yeo Junction. That would provide the connections, but not delay the east-west trains.

 

[30907]

Let us also remember that such a link would also benefit all travellers from places west of Exeter and via a change at Dorchester, might also attract customers for Wareham, Poole & Bournemouth rather than going the long way around via Southampton.

By the time you get Bournemouth, Yeovil PM via Weymouth and Yeovil Jn via Southampton have very similar running times (ignoring connections). Walking between the Dorchester stations would cut that a bit, of course.
The least difficult business case would probably be for Yeovil Jn LL, but modern access standards would be costly.

 

[Envoy]

If you look at Yeovil Junction on Google - you can see what the situation is including the course of the former chords. (I see that one even went from Yeovil Pen Mill onto the Salisbury bound line). Also note the sizeable village of Bradford Abbas just to the east. A station on the north-south line would be within walking distance of this village if they made a footpath alongside the east - west line. I bet The Victorians had an interchange at this junction!

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

www.google.co.uk

 

[zwk500]

I bet The Victorians had an interchange at this junction!

They didn't.

The LSWR had it's own route to Weymouth (via Southampton) and the GWR had it's own route to Exeter (via Taunton), so traffic from beyond the line was only ever light, as trains would be routed on a company's own lines when coming from/going to anywhere beyond Exeter/Basingstoke/Westbury. The LSWR also had its own Yeovil Town station, so both company's trains were quite separate up until 1943. Also the LSWR vs GWR rivalry was quite possibly the most fierce in the Victorian railway scene, so they were unlikely to co-operate very much.
for an excellent history of Yeovil Junction, check out: https://www.kentrail.org.uk/yeovil_junction 4.htm, EDIT - image from Yeovil Junction wikipedia page

This is off-topic though, so to drag it back I'll point out that the Heart of Wessex line Community Partnership has stated it's desire for all-day 1tph regular service, and Dorset council are supporting that position. There's also plenty of services that operate a Reversal en-route without issue (Castleford, Camarthen, Eastbourne, Battersby), and a separate platform some 0.5km away would not be a welcome sight to less mobile passengers, perhaps with a heavy bag or two for a week away in Dorset. There's also the strategic argument that a south chord would allow SWR to continue running to Weymouth if the line via Bournemouth were to be blocked. The issues with a south chord are that the Heritage centre is currently occupying the formation, so you either get rid of/relocate a valuable tourist asset or build the chord on a new alignment, both of which are going to drive the cost up.

 

[BrianW]

Has that South to West chord ever been made operational? There are no online OS maps that show track in position, it’s always just the earthworks.

I am reminded of the words of Gerard Fiennes in his 1967 confessional book 'I tried to run a railway': In the long run, unless Dorset firstly develops and secondly co-operates to let the railway use its advantage in speed, it will lose its railway. And serve it right. (p147 in my copy).

 

[30907]

....the Heart of Wessex line Community Partnership has stated it's desire for all-day 1tph regular service, and Dorset council are supporting that position. There's also plenty of services that operate a Reversal en-route without issue (Castleford, Camarthen, Eastbourne, Battersby), and a separate platform some 0.5km away would not be a welcome sight to less mobile passengers, perhaps with a heavy bag or two for a week away in Dorset. There's also the strategic argument that a south chord would allow SWR to continue running to Weymouth if the line via Bournemouth were to be blocked. The issues with a south chord are that the Heritage centre is currently occupying the formation, so you either get rid of/relocate a valuable tourist asset or build the chord on a new alignment, both of which are going to drive the cost up.

I agree the curve is desirable (and have thought so since it was first suggested seemingly 50 years ago).
Reversals en-route: true, but Yeovil Jn isn't a destination in itself, though it is more significant than Battersby
Low level platform - not ideal but economical.
Strategic value - low, and I think SWR could live with the double reversal.
Alternative south chord alignment - impracticable (you could build the steam centre some new sidings, though).

The cheapest solution is in fact the double reversal, which costs 15-16 minutes as opposed to using a new chord costing 6-7. IF the Weymouth line went hourly, alternate trains could do this, so giving the best of both worlds (it even works with trains crossing at Maiden Newton and Pen Mill!). And if you timetabled it right you could use the existing Up platform at Junction - or build a new bay next to it which would have level access.

 

[BrianW]

I see it is proposed to investigate Yeovil connections (p74)-

There may be opportunities to connect directly to the West of England Line via a southern chord linking the Heart of Wessex Line to Platform 3 at Yeovil Junction. Improvements to this line will be addressed through the Dorset Connectivity CMSP module in 2020/21

 

[zwk500]

Reversals en-route: true, but Yeovil Jn isn't a destination in itself, though it is more significant than Battersby
Low level platform - not ideal but economical.
Strategic value - low, and I think SWR could live with the double reversal.
Alternative south chord alignment - impracticable (you could build the steam centre some new sidings, though).

Yeovil jn isn't a destination in itself, but adds considerably to the maximum possible journeys you can make from the HoW by creating a simple interchange
Low level - TbH given the distances involved, you may as well just build a dedicated footpath from Pen Mill to Jn.
Agree Strategic value is low, although if SWR could live with the double reversal why don't they do so at the moment?
Alternative alignment - actually it's quite feasible from an engineering point of view (no more than 1 new bridge and some earthworks, no demolition and depending on track work 1 or 3 sets of points). It is, of course, very expensive to do the planning & design. Likely to not be too many services/utilities to move, although a couple of rights of way may well need to be accomodated.
Heritage Centre - it's vital to note that the existing alignment does not permit a new south chord to join the line east of the existing platforms. It's not just a case of slewing the heritage centre off to the side, you'd have to completely rip it up and rebuild it.

 

[MarkyT]

It might be more sensible to construct new mainline platforms closer to the intersection bridge. As Yeovil Junction is in the middle of nowhere anyway relative to the town it could be cheaper to move the station and construct new access road connections than to add new track connections, and that would result in a higher quality solution for interchange with the Weymouth line than a suboptimal long connecting walkway. A secondary benefit would be that diverted GWR trains would avoid the SWR platforms altogether and could slip out just in front of a stopped SWR service in the down direction for example. My preference by far would be to divert both lines to a new Yeovil Town terminal station tucked in near the town centre but that is drifting resolutely towards the speculative so probably really shouldn't be discussed further here, but it is disappointing that despite serving the largest town en-route by far west of Salisbury, the station is in the second tier of usage at around 2m pa, with no more passengers than Sherborne or Crewkerne. A better-located station, walking distance from at least parts of the shopping centre, many workplaces and residences, and five minutes from the bus station for wider general connectivity, could potentially change the fortunes of both routes dramatically. I will probably start a speculative thread on this shortly as I have been crayoning around furiously with some track layouts...

 

[fgwrich]

I see it is proposed to investigate Yeovil connections (p74)-

There may be opportunities to connect directly to the West of England Line via a southern chord linking the Heart of Wessex Line to Platform 3 at Yeovil Junction. Improvements to this line will be addressed through the Dorset Connectivity CMSP module in 2020/21

Thanks - I thought I had read that in there, remembered reading the comment that it will be addressed in the Dorset Connectivity CMSP module. I think, certainly for now, that this would be the best option. Though it would require some negotiation with the Heritage Centre as they currently use the trackbed for their short running line (now that the DCR / BARS Mk2s have been cleared from the site!).