Midnight Sun
Member
- Joined
- 16 Sep 2018
- Messages
- 310
Why do you think that many railway stations have such large carparks?
People are clearly not seeing the main reason for the reopening of lines which is to reduce the number of cars on the roads. While your average car owning commuter will drive to the nearest railway station, You will not get them to use a bus to get to the station how ever posh it is, more so in a rural area. Why do you think that many railway stations have such large carparks?
The small town of Downham Market has a population of just under 10000, Yet the station had 550,000 passenger usage for the year 2018/2019. Many of the passengers come from outside the town including Wisbech. This the preferred station for Cambridge for car owners from Wisbich (population 31,573) as trains are longer, start early and finsh later. The car park is full and cannot be expanded, so you have people leaving their cars on the local streets.
For Wisbech commuters to London tend to drive to Peterborough station for the same reason, These commuters will not use the bus. The main problem with using March station (Town population 22000, 407,194 passenger usage for the year 2018/2019) is the short trains which are overcrowded and if heading to Cambridge the first through train does not reach Cambridge until after 8am, and the last train back leaves at 8pm (Last train to Downham Market from Cambridge is after midnight). Even the early Norwich train is packed until Ely where most people change onto the London train. Again March station has the same problem as Downham Market in that the car park is full and cannot be expanded, so again you have people parking on the local streets.
These car owning commuters are happy to use the train as they know that they will be able to get home at no extal cost to themselves if the train is late or does not run, and you miss the last connecting train. For example: If train is late arriving at Peterborough from London, which means that the last bus to Wisbech has gone, The commuter who used the bus to get to Peterborough station from Wisbech has two options, either pay £60-£70 for a cab to Wisbech or stay in a hotel. If was a case of have missed the last train to March due to delay train from London. Transport will be provide to March at no charge to the rail passenger. Which is why the car owner drives to the station rather then use a bus.
If we look at other reopenings
Stirling and Alloa line
The town of Alloa has a population of 20,730 and is seven miles from Stirling. The rail passenger usage for for the year 2018/2019 was 370,000. The forecasted usage was for 155,000 per year. The main part of the success of the line is down to instead of just a shuttle train just running between Stirling and Alloa. The hourly service instead runs through to Glasgow (55min) with peak hour services to and from Edinburgh (80mins). The journey time from Alloa to Stirling is timetabled to take 9–10 minutes. The bus services between Alloa to Stirling take an average of 32 minuites depending on traffic. The usage spit between rail and bus is 70%-30% with half the bus users using free passes.
Last use of the line between Strling and Alloa before reopening was the Alloa marshalling yard to the west of Alloa remained open until 1988.After which for the next 17 years was left derelict and disused Much of the remaining track was still in place, but in very poor condition, and some sections had been removed, particularly at Kilbagie and near Blackgrange. The bridge over the A907 at Helensfield had to be replaced. In other words in much the same state the Wisbech line is in. Rails have only been removed at three road crossings.
Either of the two railway were listed in the Beeching report for closure.
Levenmouth rail link
This five mile line would link the town of Leven with the Fife Circle line at Thornton North Junction. The line would serve stations at Cameron Bridge and Leven. Levenmouth conurbation has a population of 37,000 (The Town of Leven has a population of 8,850). Like Wisbech (population of 31,573) the STAG3 report looked at a number of options for new links. including upgrading bus services between Levenmouth and existing stations on the Fife Circle rail line, new rapid bus services between Levenmouth and Edinburgh, Even a hovercraft service between Levenmouth, Kirkcaldy and Edinburgh, In the end the report concluded that reopening the line was the best Option to encourage people to use public transport as was the case with the Wisbech-March STAG3 report.
Bus usage
Your average bus user in rural areas is either under 18, Does not own or have access to a car, Has a free bus pass. Car owners only use the bus if the car is not available or they are not able to drive for some reason.
Bus travel in the UK has been in general decline for many years. Whilst this has been masked in recent years by significant increases in London, most urban (with some notable exceptions) and rural areas have seen falling patronage.
The number of local bus passenger journeys in England fell by 85 million or 1.9% to 4.36 billion in the year ending March 2018
Passenger journeys in England outside London declined by 3.2% over the same period, continuing the decline since 2008/09 and are now 4.2% lower than in the year ending March 2006. More than half the bus (2.23 billion) journeys were in London In metropolitan areas, there were 0.91 billion passenger journeys, a decrease of 3.3% compared with 2016/17. In non-metropolitan areas, there were 1.22 billion passenger journeys, a decrease of 3.1%.
Local bus fares in England increased by 71% between March 2005 and March 2018. Bus fares have risen at a faster rate in metropolitan areas (86%) than in non-metropolitan areas (61%). The all items Consumer Prices Index has risen by 35% over the same period, which means that bus fares have risen in real terms.
Total concessionary journeys (elderly or disabled, and youth concessions) made up 34% (1.51 billion passenger journeys) of all local bus passenger journeys in England. In England outside London, 30% of journeys were elderly or disabled concessionary journeys, twice the share as in London.
Between 2011/12 and 2016/17, rural bus mileage fell by over six per cent. During this period, patronage on supported bus services in non-metropolitan areas of England fell by more than 30 per cent and in Wales by 44 per cent.
These figuires come from the DfT Annual bus statistics: England 2017/18
The bus services in Wisbech are a mess with five companies providing services for example: March to Upwell return (Five miles as the crow flys) Two bus journeys via Wisbech, cost not much change out of £15.
People are clearly not seeing the main reason for the reopening of lines which is to reduce the number of cars on the roads. While your average car owning commuter will drive to the nearest railway station, You will not get them to use a bus to get to the station how ever posh it is, more so in a rural area. Why do you think that many railway stations have such large carparks?
The small town of Downham Market has a population of just under 10000, Yet the station had 550,000 passenger usage for the year 2018/2019. Many of the passengers come from outside the town including Wisbech. This the preferred station for Cambridge for car owners from Wisbich (population 31,573) as trains are longer, start early and finsh later. The car park is full and cannot be expanded, so you have people leaving their cars on the local streets.
For Wisbech commuters to London tend to drive to Peterborough station for the same reason, These commuters will not use the bus. The main problem with using March station (Town population 22000, 407,194 passenger usage for the year 2018/2019) is the short trains which are overcrowded and if heading to Cambridge the first through train does not reach Cambridge until after 8am, and the last train back leaves at 8pm (Last train to Downham Market from Cambridge is after midnight). Even the early Norwich train is packed until Ely where most people change onto the London train. Again March station has the same problem as Downham Market in that the car park is full and cannot be expanded, so again you have people parking on the local streets.
These car owning commuters are happy to use the train as they know that they will be able to get home at no extal cost to themselves if the train is late or does not run, and you miss the last connecting train. For example: If train is late arriving at Peterborough from London, which means that the last bus to Wisbech has gone, The commuter who used the bus to get to Peterborough station from Wisbech has two options, either pay £60-£70 for a cab to Wisbech or stay in a hotel. If was a case of have missed the last train to March due to delay train from London. Transport will be provide to March at no charge to the rail passenger. Which is why the car owner drives to the station rather then use a bus.
If we look at other reopenings
Stirling and Alloa line
The town of Alloa has a population of 20,730 and is seven miles from Stirling. The rail passenger usage for for the year 2018/2019 was 370,000. The forecasted usage was for 155,000 per year. The main part of the success of the line is down to instead of just a shuttle train just running between Stirling and Alloa. The hourly service instead runs through to Glasgow (55min) with peak hour services to and from Edinburgh (80mins). The journey time from Alloa to Stirling is timetabled to take 9–10 minutes. The bus services between Alloa to Stirling take an average of 32 minuites depending on traffic. The usage spit between rail and bus is 70%-30% with half the bus users using free passes.
Last use of the line between Strling and Alloa before reopening was the Alloa marshalling yard to the west of Alloa remained open until 1988.After which for the next 17 years was left derelict and disused Much of the remaining track was still in place, but in very poor condition, and some sections had been removed, particularly at Kilbagie and near Blackgrange. The bridge over the A907 at Helensfield had to be replaced. In other words in much the same state the Wisbech line is in. Rails have only been removed at three road crossings.
Either of the two railway were listed in the Beeching report for closure.
Levenmouth rail link
This five mile line would link the town of Leven with the Fife Circle line at Thornton North Junction. The line would serve stations at Cameron Bridge and Leven. Levenmouth conurbation has a population of 37,000 (The Town of Leven has a population of 8,850). Like Wisbech (population of 31,573) the STAG3 report looked at a number of options for new links. including upgrading bus services between Levenmouth and existing stations on the Fife Circle rail line, new rapid bus services between Levenmouth and Edinburgh, Even a hovercraft service between Levenmouth, Kirkcaldy and Edinburgh, In the end the report concluded that reopening the line was the best Option to encourage people to use public transport as was the case with the Wisbech-March STAG3 report.
Bus usage
Your average bus user in rural areas is either under 18, Does not own or have access to a car, Has a free bus pass. Car owners only use the bus if the car is not available or they are not able to drive for some reason.
Bus travel in the UK has been in general decline for many years. Whilst this has been masked in recent years by significant increases in London, most urban (with some notable exceptions) and rural areas have seen falling patronage.
The number of local bus passenger journeys in England fell by 85 million or 1.9% to 4.36 billion in the year ending March 2018
Passenger journeys in England outside London declined by 3.2% over the same period, continuing the decline since 2008/09 and are now 4.2% lower than in the year ending March 2006. More than half the bus (2.23 billion) journeys were in London In metropolitan areas, there were 0.91 billion passenger journeys, a decrease of 3.3% compared with 2016/17. In non-metropolitan areas, there were 1.22 billion passenger journeys, a decrease of 3.1%.
Local bus fares in England increased by 71% between March 2005 and March 2018. Bus fares have risen at a faster rate in metropolitan areas (86%) than in non-metropolitan areas (61%). The all items Consumer Prices Index has risen by 35% over the same period, which means that bus fares have risen in real terms.
Total concessionary journeys (elderly or disabled, and youth concessions) made up 34% (1.51 billion passenger journeys) of all local bus passenger journeys in England. In England outside London, 30% of journeys were elderly or disabled concessionary journeys, twice the share as in London.
Between 2011/12 and 2016/17, rural bus mileage fell by over six per cent. During this period, patronage on supported bus services in non-metropolitan areas of England fell by more than 30 per cent and in Wales by 44 per cent.
These figuires come from the DfT Annual bus statistics: England 2017/18
The bus services in Wisbech are a mess with five companies providing services for example: March to Upwell return (Five miles as the crow flys) Two bus journeys via Wisbech, cost not much change out of £15.
