• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

So is Ashchurch being renamed or what?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Eagle

Established Member
Joined
20 Feb 2011
Messages
7,106
Location
Leamingrad / Blanfrancisco
About six months ago it was reported in a number of places that Ashchurch for Tewkesbury would become Tewkesbury Parkway at or around the May 2012 timetable change. And yet that seems not to have happened. National Rail and all three of the TOCs that serve it are still calling it Ashchurch.

Has this been quietly dropped?
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

MidnightFlyer

Veteran Member
Joined
16 May 2010
Messages
12,857
I think Glos CC withdrew financial support a couple of months ago, so it's in question now.
 

sonic2009

Established Member
Joined
19 Jan 2010
Messages
4,915
Location
Crewe
Yeah, lets just say don't expect a name change anytime soon.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk
 

Batman

Member
Joined
27 Jun 2011
Messages
497
Location
North Birmingham
I'm pretty sure London Midland don't serve Ashchurch?

A once a week parliamentary train from Birmingham to Gloucester via Worcester SH.

There was talk not too long ago about making it a regular service but it never happened.

It runs once a week late on a Friday evening, with no return working.
 

TEW

Established Member
Joined
16 May 2008
Messages
5,841
London Midland did for a period run a two hourly Worcester Shrub Hill to Gloucester service using a 170, think it ran for one timetable period, but due to low demand it stopped. It was of limited use because although in one direction it synced well with the FGW service, giving roughly hourly Worcester-Gloucester services in the other direction it ran right behind the FGW service so there were still nearly two hour gaps in the Gloucester-Worcester direction.
 

Eagle

Established Member
Joined
20 Feb 2011
Messages
7,106
Location
Leamingrad / Blanfrancisco
London Midland did for a period run a two hourly Worcester Shrub Hill to Gloucester service using a 170, think it ran for one timetable period, but due to low demand it stopped.

The LM service was actually a replacement for an earlier XC service, diverting every other Cardiff service via Worcester. Slowed the service no end. Didn't catch on. LM stepped in so that Worcester to Cheltenham could remain hourly overall, but it was unworkable.
 

sonic2009

Established Member
Joined
19 Jan 2010
Messages
4,915
Location
Crewe
Also an Orcats raid on Birmingham - Cheltenham.

I've heard not many drivers sign Worcester - Cheltenham/Gloucester.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk
 

MidnightFlyer

Veteran Member
Joined
16 May 2010
Messages
12,857
When did the XC diversions via Worcester end? I can't recall there being many via Worcester even in the days up until the December 2008 timetable, just something like the first and last trains and some on Sundays.
 

Eagle

Established Member
Joined
20 Feb 2011
Messages
7,106
Location
Leamingrad / Blanfrancisco
When did the XC diversions via Worcester end? I can't recall there being many via Worcester even in the days up until the December 2008 timetable, just something like the first and last trains and some on Sundays.

They were gone by December 2008. I think they were introduced in December 2007 as part of the Central reshuffle. (Actually in the original version of the reshuffle XC would have got all services to Hereford, presumably run through from Nottingham or Leicester.)
 

Xenophon PCDGS

Veteran Member
Joined
17 Apr 2011
Messages
32,266
Location
A semi-rural part of north-west England
The existing name is right as it is, with a correct geographical statement being made.....The Ronseal TV advertisment can be used as a comparison here.

Sankey for Penketh (near to the Warrington area) is another example that springs to mind.
 

RPM

Established Member
Joined
24 Sep 2009
Messages
1,466
Location
Buckinghamshire
The existing name is right as it is, with a correct geographical statement being made.....The Ronseal TV advertisment can be used as a comparison here.

Sankey for Penketh (near to the Warrington area) is another example that springs to mind.

Should we really go in that direction though? It sort of negates the whole parkway ethos. Do we really need "Stoke Gifford for Bristol", "Fleet Marston for Aylesbury", "Budbrook for Warwick", "Dreasonmoor Wood for Bodmin", etc. etc? Parkway is a pretty sound concept that probably deserves further applications.
 

Batman

Member
Joined
27 Jun 2011
Messages
497
Location
North Birmingham
Should we really go in that direction though? It sort of negates the whole parkway ethos. Do we really need "Stoke Gifford for Bristol", "Fleet Marston for Aylesbury", "Budbrook for Warwick", "Dreasonmoor Wood for Bodmin", etc. etc? Parkway is a pretty sound concept that probably deserves further applications.

Staffordshire CC suggested renaming Lichfield City as 'Lichfield City and Burntwood Parkway' a few years back. To me, that takes things to extreams. So would Blake Street for Aldridge. An accurate description of the stations catchment area, but an unnecessary addition to the station naem.
 

D1009

Established Member
Joined
22 Feb 2012
Messages
3,166
Location
Stoke Gifford
London Midland did for a period run a two hourly Worcester Shrub Hill to Gloucester service using a 170, think it ran for one timetable period, but due to low demand it stopped.

IIRC it was at the time they were trying to introduce the Parry People Mover on the Stourbridge Town branch, but because of the PPM's long periods of unavailability they had to pinch the 153 off the Gloucester shuttle hence the 170.
 

Gareth

Established Member
Joined
10 Mar 2011
Messages
1,449
Location
Liverpool
God, doesn't anyone else think this 'Parkway' tag obsession has rather run its course? I find it cheesy and already a bit 'early noughties'. Why not add '.com' at the end of the station name too, while you're at it.

Also, I may be mistaken, but I always thought a 'parkway' was a main road that went through a park or forrested area - though more commonly used in North America rather than Britain.
 

Rugd1022

Member
Joined
19 Feb 2010
Messages
565
Location
Rugby
God, doesn't anyone else think this 'Parkway' tag obsession has rather run its course? I find it cheesy and already a bit 'early noughties'. Why not add '.com' at the end of the station name too, while you're at it.

Also, I may be mistaken, but I always thought a 'parkway' was a main road that went through a park or forrested area - though more commonly used in North America rather than Britain.

I can see what you mean regarding the use of 'Parkway', but it's nothing new really.... after all Bristol P'Way was opened forty years ago. At least it was a new station though, as opposed to renaming an existing one.... to this day Bodmin Parkway to me will always remain Bodmin Road ;)
 

Temple Meads

Established Member
Joined
2 Sep 2010
Messages
2,230
Location
Devon
In a linked (albeit tenuously) idea, I was wondering the other day why Radley station has no mention of Abingdon (a much larger settlement) in it's name, Radley is much nearer to Abingdon than Tiverton Parkway is to Tiverton.

Strange eh?
 

Gareth

Established Member
Joined
10 Mar 2011
Messages
1,449
Location
Liverpool
I can see what you mean regarding the use of 'Parkway', but it's nothing new really.... after all Bristol P'Way was opened forty years ago. At least it was a new station though, as opposed to renaming an existing one.... to this day Bodmin Parkway to me will always remain Bodmin Road ;)

Yeah, hadn't considered that. That said, I think Stoke Girrod has a nice ring to it. ;)
 

GlosRail

Member
Joined
18 May 2012
Messages
156
Ashchurch is my local station, and I've used it today.

I don't think it should be renamed to Tewkesbury Parkway. Although it has a free car park it's only small, and was nearly full up today as it was. There was about 4 free spaces, so you don''t want too many extra cars there. I guess a few more could park in the road leading to the station as it only has yellow lines on one side.

What it really needs is more trains. If a few more XC trains going to Birmingham / Cardiff could stop there that would be great, and a few more road signs. The few there are have a P sign on them already but there isn't that many signs around.
 

GlosRail

Member
Joined
18 May 2012
Messages
156
I think so, not every train but maybe one every 2 or 3 hours. There were about 20 others who got off the train there this evening so with a 2 hour service the station is being used.

I think 3 XC trains an hour pass by in each direction, and only a handfull stop each day.

 

Ivo

Established Member
Joined
8 Jan 2010
Messages
7,307
Location
Bath (or Southend)
I think stopping alternate Cardiff XC services would help; similarly, they could call at Bromsgrove. Once BMV is electrified it would make journeys like Cheltenham to Redditch far easier should these services stop there, and it would also give Tewkesbury as a town a far better service (as opposed to the current 1tp2h).
 

heart-of-wessex

Established Member
Joined
11 Jun 2005
Messages
3,008
Location
Trowbridge
God, doesn't anyone else think this 'Parkway' tag obsession has rather run its course? I find it cheesy and already a bit 'early noughties'. Why not add '.com' at the end of the station name too, while you're at it.

Also, I may be mistaken, but I always thought a 'parkway' was a main road that went through a park or forrested area - though more commonly used in North America rather than Britain.

Parkway I believe is supposed to have a large car park, near a motorway and also have bus links to said place, excluding Port Talbot Parkway
 

The Planner

Veteran Member
Joined
15 Apr 2008
Messages
15,836
And Didcot Parkway, which is already in the middle of Didcot (which is nowhere near any major road).

Only about 4 miles from the A34, whilst not next door, quite possibly one of the most major A roads there is. Coleshill Parkway and Haddenham and Thame do seem to make a mockery of the title though.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top