Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2011-05-02 06:36:48 - Graham Ellis
I saw an advert yesterday (http://www.publictenders.net/tender/100424) in which First Great Western are looking for companies interested in "the refresh and/or conversion of high speed rolling stock. This shall include some or all of the following:
a. class 180 high speed rolling stock refresh and exterior paint - up to 6 units (30 vehicles),
b. HST Mk3 TRFB conversion to HST TSHD vehicle refresh - up to 17 vehicles,
c. TSO loco hauled Mk3 Conversion to HST TSHD vehicle refresh,
d. HST TGS Mk3 conversion to HST TSHD vehicle refresh - up to 3 vehicles."
Translating that from railway terms, that's asking for people to smarten up six five car trains that will shortly be available for hire for them, and to convert various stored vehicles such as restaurant cars into standard coaches - a total of some 50 vehicles, to (it seems) add around 6% to the passenger carrying vehicles that they run. And there's an implcation there that First are looking somewwhat further ahead than March, 2013 which is the break point at which they can (if they wish) return the keys and stop running the Greater Western Franchise.
It's good - indeed it's heartening - to see a further sign of the railway and pubic transport industry in general looking ahead in this way. The vehicles are all high speed ones, and formed into longer trains - so it would scarcely be logical for them to provide TransWilts service. However, they could well be used on certain notorious 'diagrams' which suffer severe overcrowing on high speed lines, and are currently operated by trains with a top speed of 90 m.p.h (classes 165/1 and 166), allowing the use of those to spread to other lines such as Bristol to Worcester / Great Malvern, and Swindon to Chelteham / Worcester / Great Malvern ... in turn releasing units currently on those lines to strengthen First's other lines operated out of the depots at Bristol and Exeter. In other words, this "shuffle up" could provide extra carriages / trains of the right type and loading guage to eliminate the gross overcrowding (to the extent that customer are turned away) on journeys such as Gloucester and Weston-super-Mare to Bristol, and West Wiltshire to Bath. And at the same time to provide a more appropriate TransWilts service. That West Wilts to Bath overcrowding is to some extent being caused by 50,000 journeys a year from Warminster / Westbury / Trowbridge to Chippenham / Swindon with passengers doubling back through Bradford-on-Avon via Bath, after all - don't simply strengthen the train from B-o-A to Bath - run the extra carriages you have direct from Westbury to Swindon so that people who really don't want or need to go to Bath in the first place don't have to, and can leave the trains clearer for peoplw who really do want to make that journey!.
Can you be heartened by an empty, abandoned-looking building?
How about an unused area of Comcrete standing?
Looking forward, and planning ahead, I can. These are pictures that I took a few hours ago in Melksham - just across from the gate into the station, of an area that was - many years ago - part of the railway.
The Wessex Association of Chambers of Commerce public survey in Febuary was answered by 1600 people ... 664 of who said that with an more appropriate TransWilts service, the line would provide them with a viable alternative to commuting along the A350 by car. Putting on a train, then seems like an obvious step - but again we have to look for ripples / side effects such as the ones I've described with positive effect in the paragraphs above.
What are the side effects this time of getting (even) 300 extra commuter round trips on the TransWilts every day? For one, we need to look at how people will get to the stations, and if they come with their own transport where thaey can leave it. The issues at Warminster, Westbury and Trowbridge are not proportionally major ones - with strong commuter flows already to other destinations, the extras needed as a percentage of what's there is quite small. Salisbury and Swindon are more destinations than origins, and are far larger connurbations that are not so car-centric, so the parking of own transport is less of an issue. Chippenham has a foot a bit in both camps, but it's also a major railhead at present and some of the commuters who make the truely awful drive through the town centre to get to the station would transfer to Melksham where many of them have started from anyway! ... which gives us a side effect of a car park wth 10 space at Melksham, and a station with a few dozen passenger journeys a day, suddenly having to cope with a passenger number more commensurate with the size of the town, which at a conservaitve estimate would be a thirty-fold increase, and potentially a major parking destination as this station - unlike those in Chippenham, Trowbridge, Westbury or Bradford-on-Avon is just a few yards off a major trunk feeder road with no congested town to negotiate.
Look at that unused area of concrete. And you see a car park. Look at that building and with a lick of paint it could - as it used to be - become an office and a customer reception. It's actually all in the right hands - for public transport and pubic transport connection use. And it's truely heartening too to see that there are steps quietly taken to ensure that the land remains avaiable for this transport use - to help make a complete picture for the best good of people who want and need to get around the area in the future.
Can you be heartened by an empty, abandoned-looking building?
How about an unused area of Comcrete standing?