New station at devizes

[TheWalrus]

http://petition.co.uk/we_want_devizes_on_the_railway_map

Here is the petition for a new station to be built at Devizes. Please click the link for more details. All signatures much appreciated!

Thanks

Ryan

 

[4SRKT]

Devizes isn't on a railway line.

 

[TheWalrus]

Devizes isn't on a railway line.

That's why you need to read the link!

 

[4SRKT]

Oh. OK, fair enough. Wouldn't an upgrade of services to Pewsey, with a quality bus link and enormous car park so the trick?

 

[devon_metro]

What services are actually going to stop there though?

Passengers from Devon & Cornwall certainly don't want to be slowed down stopping at a rural outpost.

 

[mrcheek]

There was a young girl from Devizes,
Whose boobs were both different sizes,
One was small,
Almost nothing at all,
But the other was huge, and won prizes!

 

[SWT Driver]

who drank all the vodka?? mrcheek did.

 

[ukrob]

Good luck with that.

God knows you will need it!

 

[DaveNewcastle]

Seems that this petition summarises the results of 2 very thorough works of reasearch and analysis which make compelling reasons for providing regular rail services to Devizes. But judging from your comments, you haven't fully evaluated them :-

1. "Other smaller communities on the Berks & Hants railway, such as Bedwyn, Pewsey and Kintbury already have stations to serve their communities."

2. "We feel this is wrong."

How could anyone not now be persuaded that this development must be an urgent priority?

And in a mere three weeks the petition has, incredibly, attracted a massive 4 signatures!

Seriously, there are much better argued claims for rail links or stations than this - and even they are unlikely to happen. A few statistics about Devizes travel patterns, vehicle numbers, demographics, economic dependancies, costs and benefits might help - not just a list of OTHER places which HAVE rail links and how slight the impact would be on other people's journey times!
[PS. Bankers award themselves with bonuses and I don't. I feel this is wrong. Therefore I should have a bonus]

 

[moonrakerz]

Having lived in that area for many years - a few (hopefully !) sensible comments:-

1. The places mentioned as having stations are ON the railway line already.
2. Urchfont is almost as far from the line as Devizes is.
3. Lydeway on the A342 is the closest and most accessible point to the line - but line is in a cutting here.
4. Cutting is in a quite heavily wooded area.
5. Moving out of the area of the cutting would require new access roads.
6. Pewsey isn't a million miles away.

Sorry Walrus - I really don't think this has been thought out very well.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

and to continue moonrakerz' wish to be constructive . . . .
please speak with your MPs, Council transport officers and vitally, the transport officer of SWRDA the Regional Development Agency for your region. They are crucial in influencing how DfT investment is allocated over the regions.
(I have invested in working with SWRDA in recent years, and have been very succesful in getting them to invest in a specific market sector. You might too!).
But the facts are that they are currently implementing a development plan for 2006-2015 in which a station for Devizes was not mentioned. See Regional Economic Strategy For South West England 2006-2015
Start speaking with them now - and aim for getting Devizes into their 2016-2015 plan, at the very least.

 

[asylumxl]

What services are actually going to stop there though?

Passengers from Devon & Cornwall certainly don't want to be slowed down stopping at a rural outpost.

Hardly any less annoying than being stopped at Pewsey or Ivybridge.

 

[Dennis]

The idea of a station somewhere around Lydeway is hardly new, I remember it being discussed and dismissed about 30 years ago!

From the petition,

3) A shuttle bus service could connect the station with the town and vice versa, therefore allowing access for commuters to London and helping the environment by reducing car dependence.

Providing a Parkway station hardly seems like a means of reducing car dependence.

Why not run the shuttle bus to Chippenham; a bit further away but it does have a half hourly service and could also serve the population centres of Rowde and Bromham.

Or people in Devizes who wish to use the railway could always move to somewhere with a station, exactly what I did many years ago!

BTW, how many London commuters live in Devizes?

 

[royaloak]

BTW, how many London commuters live in Devizes?

Looking at the petition- 4.

 

[devon_metro]

Hardly any less annoying than being stopped at Pewsey or Ivybridge.

Time penalty for stopping at Ivybridge is 2 minutes.

Pewsey & Devizes would be 5 minutes due to the higher line speed.

 

[4SRKT]

Also, Ivybridge has non-Inter City trains that can stop there. There's no such workings that could serve Devizes, so you'd have to stop HSTs.

 

[Stuart Galbraith]

Id love to see a new station there, but you would have a heck of a job relaying the track as a loop, because much of it has been built on by a housing estate. Then there is the no small expense of rebuilding the bridge across the road and the canal. Are the gun club still located in the tunnel?

Missed the boat by about 20 years I reckon. Kind of ironic though they still have a canal operate through the place, and bin the railway. Perhaps they can bring back 'fly' boats?

Ok, I actually the petition which I clearly should have done before I posted. Cant help but think if you want a station, it would be better to try and get at least some of the old line run back in and try subsidize it by using it for freight. (judging by the amount of tankers Whitbreads have parked there). If a parkway, wouldnt Market Lavington be a better option?

I wish you luck all the same. It is pretty bad a town the size of Devizes has poor rail access.

 

[Matt Taylor]

1. "Other smaller communities on the Berks & Hants railway, such as Bedwyn, Pewsey and Kintbury already have stations to serve their communities."

2. "We feel this is wrong."

It may not be fair, but the laws of supply demand are more important-unless this is intended to be another drain on the taxpayer. If the railways were being built this century rather than in the industrial revolution I think you'll find that stations would only serve towns with populations greater than 50,000, everything else would be parkways.

 

[moonrakerz]

Id love to see a new station there, but you would have a heck of a job relaying the track as a loop, because much of it has been built on by a housing estate. Then there is the no small expense of rebuilding the bridge across the road and the canal. Are the gun club still located in the tunnel?

The plan isn't to re-open Devizes station, it's to build a new station on the existing main line - somewhere !

 

[Stuart Galbraith]

The plan isn't to re-open Devizes station, it's to build a new station on the existing main line - somewhere !

Yes I see that now. (slaps forehead)

As I say, I wish them luck. Im not convinced Urchfont is the right place, but good luck all the same.

 

[TheWalrus]

I would just like to say THIS IS NOT MY PETITION! Someone sent me the link for it so I'm just giving it the best chance I can. OK?

 

[Drsatan]

It may not be fair, but the laws of supply demand are more important-unless this is intended to be another drain on the taxpayer. If the railways were being built this century rather than in the industrial revolution I think you'll find that stations would only serve towns with populations greater than 50,000, everything else would be parkways.

But remember, in the 19th century cars didn't exist so the only way to travel long distances would be by train, unless you wanted to go on horseback. Therefore the railways had a monopoly on long-distance passenger and freight transport.