Yeovil Stations.

[Mugby]

Has anyone ever done the walk between the two stations?

Apart from the excessive distance, looking at Streetview it appears to be quite a precarious walk with no pavements or verges on either side of the road.

I take it there's no public transport link, does anyone know what the walking time would be?

 

[DDB]

This timetable suggests there is a public transport link.

http://www.southwestcoaches.co.uk/images/timetables/68%20service%20-%20feb%2013.pdf

DDB

 

[Polarbear]

Yes, I've done the walk - albeit quite a few years back. From Junction station, it's quite a way along what is essentially a fairly busy country lane. Once you get to the edge of town, things do get a bit easier, though when I did it, I ended up walking to the town centre & back out again.

Google Maps reckons it's 2 miles & around 40 minutes to walk it.

 

[Parallel]

I take it there's no public transport link, does anyone know what the walking time would be?

There is a transport link with buses shuttling between Yeovil Junction, Yeovil town centre and Yeovil Pen Mill though these are not included in the train ticket for anyone needing to travel between stations.

 

[Cherry_Picker]

Just going by Google Maps, but it's a 40 minute walk or you can catch the number 68 bus which as stated above, runs every 30 minutes from 7am to 7:30pm Mon - Sat.

 

[LateThanNever]

Has anyone ever done the walk between the two stations?

Apart from the excessive distance, looking at Streetview it appears to be quite a precarious walk with no pavements or verges on either side of the road.

I take it there's no public transport link, does anyone know what the walking time would be?

It would definitely be dangerous in the dark and not an easy experience in the light. There is mostly a bus that meets trains at the very rural Yeovil Juncn for Yeovil town itself. Yeovil Pen Mill from the town is less of a challenge..
But Yeovil really needs a scheduled rail connection between Juncn and Pen Mill - we live in hope...

 

[Mugby]

Many thanks for the information, it's something I'm considering.

 

[Western Lord]

But Yeovil really needs a scheduled rail connection between Juncn and Pen Mill - we live in hope...

Dream on! This would require, what, a five seat train? It would be cheaper to give a taxi to every passenger. A more useful development would be to reinstate the east to north curve and run all trains in and out of Pen Mill (or even a new terminus nearer the town centre), no great problem with MU stock.

 

[TheGrew]

Would it be sufficiently separated for a class 139 operation?

 

[backontrack]

Would it be sufficiently separated for a class 139 operation?

That's a seemingly good idea, but only three PPMs were built. Two are owned by London Midland for use on the Stourbridge branch line, while the third is owned by Lightweight Community Transport, and may be collared to someone else on the network.

However, Lightweight Community Transport are planning on building newer, larger vehicles (139/1s), which would be put to use on an extended Stourbridge service to Brierly Hill, as well as possibly between Helsby and Ellesmere Port, and between Saxmundham and Leiston. The possible future open-access TOC Go-Op has also displayed an interest.

With these newer builds in high demand, the 139/0s could well end up in Yeovil.

 

[trolleyman]

Who operates the bus between the 2 stations?

 

[Class172]

Would it be sufficiently separated for a class 139 operation?

That was exactly what I thought - it seems an ideal use for a PPM. Looking at Yeovil Jct., it could either use the island platform - there appears also to be an unused siding facing the car-park that could be used (map). Pen Mill also has platform space as well as an area that could perhaps be used as the depot.

Who operates the bus between the 2 stations?

Following a quick google, it seems the bus service (68) is operated by South West Coaches.

 

[HowardGWR]

Dream on! This would require, what, a five seat train? It would be cheaper to give a taxi to every passenger. A more useful development would be to reinstate the east to north curve and run all trains in and out of Pen Mill (or even a new terminus nearer the town centre), no great problem with MU stock.

Excellent point. The Yeovil situation is pathetic (always has been). Your suggestion could take trains very near a new town centre station, but Pen Mill is not bad. It would make an excellent interchange for pax from Bournemouth to Exeter, who should thus change at Weymouth. Better still would be a through train service from Plymouth to Southampton via Pen Mill and Weymouth. One can but dream.

 

[G0ORC]

Has anyone ever done the walk between the two stations?

Apart from the excessive distance, looking at Streetview it appears to be quite a precarious walk with no pavements or verges on either side of the road.

I take it there's no public transport link, does anyone know what the walking time would be?

Yes, I've walked it and it is as you say a dangerous walk without pavement for a lot of it which took me over a hour on one of the hottest days of last year.

I believe there is a transport link but when I asked locals where it went from no-one knew.

 

[fgwrich]

That's a seemingly good idea, but only three PPMs were built. Two are owned by London Midland for use on the Stourbridge branch line, while the third is owned by Lightweight Community Transport, and may be collared to someone else on the network.

However, Lightweight Community Transport are planning on building newer, larger vehicles (139/1s), which would be put to use on an extended Stourbridge service to Brierly Hill, as well as possibly between Helsby and Ellesmere Port, and between Saxmundham and Leiston. The possible future open-access TOC Go-Op has also displayed an interest.

With these newer builds in high demand, the 139/0s could well end up in Yeovil.

I'm not sure how either of those are currently going sadly though, as the last use of the prototype PPM was on the Go-Op open access service on the Mid Hants railway between Medstead and Four Marks and Alton, where upon it failed with mechanical issues (the railcar suffered damage to its electrical system and just before the PPM entered service, a hydrostatic pump suffered a catastrophic failure which could not be repaired within an acceptable timeframe) and hasn't been seen since it returned back to PPM in the west midlands. I'm not sure if PPM are still going, the last heard of them was that they went into receivership last summer. And as for Go-Op, will they make a return seeing the Co-operatives present issues?

 

[backontrack]

I'm not sure how either of those are currently going sadly though, as the last use of the prototype PPM was on the Go-Op open access service on the Mid Hants railway between Medstead and Four Marks and Alton, where upon it failed with mechanical issues (the railcar suffered damage to its electrical system and just before the PPM entered service, a hydrostatic pump suffered a catastrophic failure which could not be repaired within an acceptable timeframe) and hasn't been seen since it returned back to PPM in the west midlands. I'm not sure if PPM are still going, the last heard of them was that they went into receivership last summer. And as for Go-Op, will they make a return seeing the Co-operatives present issues?

Go-Op's most likely dead* as they wanted to start running services in spring of this year. They were going to offer a link between the Yeovil stations (according to their Wikipedia route diagram) as well as between Andover and Ludgershall. If Go-Op is reincarnated, then the PPMs may well end up on either of these routes.

You can interpret from the aforementioned route diagram that services could have started in Birmingham (Moor Street) and terminated at Yeovil Junction, via Yeovil Pen Mill.

*In fact, all the 'future prospective TOCs mentioned on Wikipedia seem to be dead. Glasgow Trains certainly looks like it is. Alliance Rail Holdings looks a lot more promising, but its application was supposed to be reviewed in late 2013 by the Office of Rail Regulation and it still hasn't been done.

 

[adamcoppard]

There is a bus as others have said running between the two, which in my experience is timed to coincide with arrivals at Junction, and in my experiences, is sometimes held for late arrivals at Junction. It picks up just after the footbridge getting off the platform. It goes via the Town Centre before heading to Pen Mill - where it again stops outside the front of the station. As others have said the walk is without pavements until you get to the leisure park from the country lane. Definitely not something to try with poor visibility.

 

[HowardGWR]

There is a bus as others have said running between the two, which in my experience is timed to coincide with arrivals at Junction, and in my experiences, is sometimes held for late arrivals at Junction. It picks up just after the footbridge getting off the platform. It goes via the Town Centre before heading to Pen Mill - where it again stops outside the front of the station. As others have said the walk is without pavements until you get to the leisure park from the country lane. Definitely not something to try with poor visibility.

Yes, that is in its favour (via centre) as presumably it is useful also to Pen Mill pax, as much as Junction ones, who can then get other buses from the centre, or shop / do business there.

 

[Parallel]

I read somewhere that FGW are looking at increasing the services two and from Weymouth so, I think footfall should be monitored and then if it's doing well, perhaps a new service can run between Exeter St. David's and either Westbury or Swindon/Oxford via. Melksham and call at both Yeovil Pen Mill and Yeovil Junction en route. It would be quite difficult timing it with connections at both Yeovil stations however, but the single track line between Chippenham and Trowbridge isn't that long which should allow at least some degree of flexibility.

 

[HowardGWR]

I read somewhere that FGW are looking at increasing the services two and from Weymouth so, I think footfall should be monitored and then if it's doing well, perhaps a new service can run between Exeter St. David's and either Westbury or Swindon/Oxford via. Melksham and call at both Yeovil Pen Mill and Yeovil Junction en route. It would be quite difficult timing it with connections at both Yeovil stations however, but the single track line between Chippenham and Trowbridge isn't that long which should allow at least some degree of flexibility.

Yes that's a very good suggestion, I plead for west to south coastal connections, but those to the north east also fill a gap. I see the problem not as one so much of infrastructure (bearing in mind this thread title), but of the split between the GW and SW franchises, which thus perpetuate the old rivalries, simply by negligence, in the seventh decade after nationalisation!

 

[Western Lord]

I read somewhere that FGW are looking at increasing the services two and from Weymouth so, I think footfall should be monitored and then if it's doing well, perhaps a new service can run between Exeter St. David's and either Westbury or Swindon/Oxford via. Melksham and call at both Yeovil Pen Mill and Yeovil Junction en route. It would be quite difficult timing it with connections at both Yeovil stations however, but the single track line between Chippenham and Trowbridge isn't that long which should allow at least some degree of flexibility.

Never mind the single line between Chippenham and Trowbridge, how would you fit such a service onto the single line between Yeovil Junction and Exeter?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Never mind the single line between Chippenham and Trowbridge, how would you fit such a service onto the single line between Yeovil Junction and Exeter?

It could attach (and therefore share a path) with an existing Waterloo service?

Easier said than done, of course...

 

[LateThanNever]

Dream on! This would require, what, a five seat train? It would be cheaper to give a taxi to every passenger. A more useful development would be to reinstate the east to north curve and run all trains in and out of Pen Mill (or even a new terminus nearer the town centre), no great problem with MU stock.

Or, with current infrastructure give an additional stop at junction to trains to and from Weymouth..

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Or, with current infrastructure give an additional stop at junction to trains to and from Weymouth..

Though wouldn't that mean each service would serve Pen Mill twice?

 

[HowardGWR]

Though wouldn't that mean each service would serve Pen Mill twice?

I think a perusal of the 1940s infrastructure and its redundant formations, available at Yeovil will demonstrate that one can run a service in any direction of the globe!!

There is the north to east formation, already mentioned, there is the south to west formation, and of course there was the eastern junctions through the central area and on towards Taunton, now partly the A3088.

One of the earlier posters suggested running Waterloo to Exeter trains into Pen Mill via the east to north formation and then reversing to go on to Exeter via the extant north to west connection. It would add a good ten minutes to the through time, so I don't see that happening. The 'cross country' services suggested could make good connections at the junction and perhaps attachment could be considered. This is because some of the 159s are only three coaches west of Salisbury. Many would end up being 9 cars though.

If great minds put themselves to the problem, I could see some very useful services resulting. Weymouth to Taunton and on to Minehead via Castle Cary anyone?

 

[Western Lord]

One of the earlier posters suggested running Waterloo to Exeter trains into Pen Mill via the east to north formation and then reversing to go on to Exeter via the extant north to west connection. It would add a good ten minutes to the through time, so I don't see that happening.

Waterloo to Exeter is hardly time sensitive. The current service is slower than it used to be due to all the extra stops most trains now make. Ten minutes in order to serve the main station in Yeovil is no great problem. On another tack, I am amazed that Yeovil Junction has not become Yeovil Parkway!

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Once we're not so short of DMUs it'd be nice to see lines like the Heart of Wessex see a boost in frequency... I'd often wondered whether there were a few possibilities with the lines in the area that weren't being explored.

For example, a 'Wessex Circular' (and yes, I know circular services are fraught with problems!) service departing simultaneously from Taunton's East and West bays could serve (re-opened/new stations in italic) clockwise: Taunton; Langport; Somerton; Castle Cary (reverse); Sparkford/A303 Yeovil Parkway; Yeovil Pen Mill; Yeovil Junction; Crewkerne; Chard Junction; Axminster; Honiton; Feniton; Whimple; Pinhoe (serving these smaller stations might even allow the Waterloo services to miss them entirely); St James' Park; Exeter Central; Exeter St. Davids; Cullompton; Tiverton Parkway; Wellington (Somerset); and Taunton.

 

[swt_passenger]

...And as for Go-Op, will they make a return seeing the Co-operatives present issues?

Just saw this point.

Go-Op is led by one man attempting to create something based on a 'cooperative' financial model, but his operation has absolutely nothing to do with the national organisation normally known as 'the Co-op', in fact when they started out they referred to themselves as Go Co-op but the real Co-op objected to the implied connection, hence they name was changed.

 

[Muzer]

I thought they were named the Go Cooperative, which was then shortened to GoCo, which then got them into legal problems with Go Compare?

They still seem to be producing newsletters from time to time to prove they're not dead (I think there's another one due in about a month...) and they still seem to be trying, but I'm not convinced they'll get anywhere. The seem to be concentrating on their "mainline" service (Westbury to Birmingham Moor Street via Oxford IIRC?) now which I'm not convinced is the best way to go (IMHO attempting to run their shuttle services would demonstrate more cheaply/easily that they are competent, but they don't seem to see it that way) - especially now that the TransWilts service has started.

 

[MarkyT]

Waterloo to Exeter is hardly time sensitive. The current service is slower than it used to be due to all the extra stops most trains now make. Ten minutes in order to serve the main station in Yeovil is no great problem. On another tack, I am amazed that Yeovil Junction has not become Yeovil Parkway!

Alternatively services on both the main line and the Weymouth line could be diverted via a triangle of abandoned, but so far unobstructed old alignments into a new four platform terminal station near the original town station in the vicinity of Newton Road. The site would be very close walking distance to both the commercial centre of town and the main bus station for onward local connections, and the rail routes would also connect with each other although clearly trains on both lines would have to reverse at the new station. The reversal could also allow London - Exeter trains to split and join easily at Yeovil allowing say the rear three of a six car set to continue on to Exeter leaving the other 3 car to perhaps return as an extra service tier towards Salisbury and London, given sufficient track capacity of course. In turn that pattern could allow some of the intermediate stops to be removed from the Exeter service east of Yeovil, clawing back some of the extra time lost on the through journey by venturing into central Yeovil. Both the existing Yeovil stations would close under this proposal. In addition to its convenience for the centre of the largest intermediate town on the LSWR route west of Salisbury, there are fields around the station site that could be developed for car parking to allow it to assume a parkway function.