Centro: "New services between Solihull and Stratford commence in May this year."

[TSR :D]

http://www.centro.org.uk/newsroom/PressReleases/PressRelease55824.aspx

More rail investment needed fifty years on

The boss of the region’s transport authority says more investment in rail is needed as demand continues to grow, fifty years to the day since the Beeching cuts (Mar 27).

Centro chief executive Geoff Inskip said there were plans to open new rail and Metro lines to passengers in Birmingham and the Black Country due to continuing demand in the region, but more investment was needed.

“It is fifty years to the day since Beeching delivered his report and we’re seeing demand for rail continuing to rise,” Mr Inskip said.

“We have seen a doubling in commuter journeys in and out of Birmingham in the last five years and right across the West Midlands rail is growing.”

The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) revealed that rail journeys had increased by 30 per cent in Coventry and 22 per cent in Birmingham since 2008.

British railways are at their busiest since the 1920s, despite the network being half the size it was back then.

Dozens of stations were closed in the West Midlands following the Beeching report, including stations on the Chase Line.

The Chase line has since reopened to passengers and is set to be electrified between Walsall and Rugeley, a scheme Centro has calculated is worth £113 million to the West Midlands economy and will generate 1,370 jobs.

In 1999 the Metro line opened on the former Wolverhampton to Birmingham railway line and services and stations have been added to the busy Cross City route in Birmingham.

Mr Inskip said Centro was working with authorities across the region to maximise the benefits and connections with the planned HS2 stations and to make use of capacity released on existing lines.

Centro also wants to reintroduce passenger services to stations in Moseley and Kings Heath on the Camp Hill line, which is currently used by freight.

New services between Solihull and Stratford commence in May this year.

The Beeching cuts refer to the reduction of route network and restructuring of the railways in Great Britain outlined in two reports written by Dr Richard Beeching.

The report led to closure of 2,128 stations (more than half of total at the time), with closure of 6,000 miles of railway line (a third of the total) and the loss of around 67,000 jobs across the UK.

What do they mean by this?

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Well, I believe Stratford-upon-Avon-Birmingham services are going half-hourly in May, but I thought they were extensions to Whitlocks End terminators. Perhaps they are running via Solihull instead as a result of extending a Dorridge terminator?

 

[dvboy]

They are supposed to be extensions of Whitlock's End services. Perhaps Centro are referring to Solihull as the area rather than specific station.

London Midland are proposing to provide an enhanced service from Birmingham to Stratford-upon-Avon by extending a number of services from Whitlocks End: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse... 10 april 2013/lm 42 sa - form p draft v2.pdf

 

[The Planner]

Extension of Dorridge terminators, been on the cards for a while, likely to coincide with Stratford Parkway opening.

 

[172212]

They must be extensions of Dorridge terminators, that would create n half hourly frequency, with trains turning at Lapworth. This is quite exciting, this gives direct access between Solihull and Stratford-Upon-Avon

 

[Cherry_Picker]

Trains turning at Lapworth? Do you mean calling at Lapworth? The junction for the Stratford branch is at Hatton, literally a few of hundred yards north of Hatton station which is getting on for five miles from Lapworth.

This is way overdue. Stratford's service has been poor for years, it's a globally famous town and it only has an hourly train service to a city it's barely 25 miles from. Going via Dorridge/Solihull won't add any time penalty at all as far as I can see, it's probably a mile or so further than going via Shirley but there are fewer stations and a stretch of 100mph track which the 172s might just be able to reach after Lapworth before they have to put the anchors on to turn onto the branch.

Does anybody know which trains LM will extend? Having a half hourly service to Stratford could see the commute significantly increase, though obviously it would be better at 30 minute intervals rather than having some kind of 20/40 minute gap (or worse, a 50/10) but I'm curious about paths.
Chiltern run out of Moor Street at xx:15 (semi fast to London) xx:33 (stopper to Leamington Spa) and xx:55 (express to London) with the XC service typically overtaking the xx:33 at Dorridge.
London Midland run to Dorridge at xx:00 xx:20 and xx:40
London Midland run to Stratford at xx:30

Extending the xx:00 local to Stratford makes quite a lot of sense I guess. It follows the Chiltern express out of Birmingham, which will be long gone by the the train leaves Dorridge. The xx:15 Chiltern has been known to catch it up by the time it reaches Dorridge, I guess it might catch it up at Hatton now, but the paths at that time of day seem pretty favourable for passenger trains at least. I'm not entirely sure what time freight movements go through Dorridge.

 

[Old Hill Bank]

The half hourly is only on Saturdays and all via Whitlocks End, there are also some improvements to the weekday evening service.

This is from LMs Track Access Aplication:

London Midland proposed 42nd Supplemental Agreement – commentary
on Stratford-upon-Avon line changes to Schedule 5
In the Up (towards Birmingham) direction, it is proposed that (SO) services currently
starting at Whitlocks End will be extended back to start from Stratford-upon-Avon,
creating new services from Stratford-upon-Avon to Birmingham and beyond,
departing from Stratford at:
 09.19 W’locks End – Worcs SH 10.39 extended back to start from SOA at 08.56
 10.19 W’locks End – Worcs SH 11.39 extended back to start from SOA at 09.56
 11.19 W’locks End – Worcs FS 12.40 extended back to start from SOA 10.56
 12.19 W’locks End – Worcs SH 13.39 extended back to start from SOA 11.56
 13.19 W’locks End – Gt Malvern 15.00 extended back to start from SOA at 12.56
 14.19 W’locks End – Worcs SH 15.39 extended back to start from SOA 13.56
 15.19 W’locks End – Worcs FS 16.40 extended back to start from SOA at 14.56
 16.19 W’locks End – Worcs FS 17.42 extended back to start from SOA at 15.56
 17.19 W’locks End – Worcs FS 18.45 extended back to start from SOA at 16.56
 18.19 W’locks End – Bham SH 18.42 extended back to start from SOA at 17.56
 21.52 W’locks End – S’bridge Jn 22.50 extended back to start from SOA at 21.26
 22.57 W’locks End – S’bridge Jn 23.52 extended back to start from SOA at 22.32
(plus an additional 18.39 SOA – B’ham SH which will be a new service).
In the Down direction, the following (SO) services (currently terminating at Whitlocks
End) will be extended to Stratford-upon-Avon to form the following services:
 07.32 GMV – W’locks End 09.07 extended through to SOA to arrive 09.33
 09.47 B’ham SH – W’locks End 10.07 extended through to SOA to arrive 10.33
 09.48 Worcs SH – W’locks End 11.07 extended through to SOA to arrive at 11.33
 10.47 Worcs SH – W’locks End 12.07 extended through to SOA to arrive at 12.33
 11.35 GMV – W’locks End 13.07 extended through to SOA to arrive at 13.33
 12.46 Worcs FS – W’locks End 14.07 extended through to SOA to arrive at 14.33
 13.35 GMV – W’locks End 15.07 extended through to SOA to arrive at 15.33
 14.43 Worcs SH – W’locks End 16.07 extended through to SOA to arrive at 16.33
 15.30 GMV – W’locks End 17.07 extended through to SOA to arrive at 17.36
 16.55 SBJ – W’locks End 17.48 extended through to SOA to arrive 18.14
 20.55 SBJ – W’locks End 21.50 extended through to SOA to arrive at 22.24
 21.55 SBJ – W’locks End 22.50 extended through to SOA to arrive at 23.24
(plus an additional 07.47 B’ham SH - SOA 08.41, which is a new service)
Proposed (SX) amendments then include:
 22.55 W’locks End – B’ham SH 23.20 extended back to start from SOA at 22.33
 21.55 W’locks End – SBJ 22.50 extended back to start from SOA at 21.26
 20.55 SBJ – W’locks End 21.50 extended through to SOA to arrive at 22.28
 21.55 SBJ – W’locks End 22.50 extended through to SOA to arrive at 23.24

 

[Cherry_Picker]

The half hourly is only on Saturdays and all via Whitlocks End, there are also some improvements to the weekday evening service.

Oh. Well that's nowhere near as interesting.

 

[Old Hill Bank]

Sorry it seems Iv'e spoilt Centro spin and a good debate with the facts LOL.

 

[Cherry_Picker]

So it seems, although it is quite possible this is just the first phase in an improved service to Stratford. It still strikes me as odd that they would build a new station at Stratford Parkway just to accommodate a dozen or so extra trains a week.

 

[route:oxford]

Is there still an aspiration to re-open the route from Stratford through to Oxford?

 

[Old Hill Bank]

So it seems, although it is quite possible this is just the first phase in an improved service to Stratford. It still strikes me as odd that they would build a new station at Stratford Parkway just to accommodate a dozen or so extra trains a week.

What they are doing involves no additional leasing costs for extra rolling stock, any further enhancement is going to be costly.
I only hope that once the Chase line goes over to EMU operation LM are allowed to keep the displaced DMUs.

I think we will have to see what comes out of the DfT/LM contract extension negotiations!!!!!!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Is there still an aspiration to re-open the route from Stratford through to Oxford?

I think so but aspirations so often do not turn into fully funded projects.

The last documentation I have seen suggested the Stratford- Oxfords and a Birmingham-Stratford-Worcester-Kidderminster-Birmingham circular route.

So as usual it's all down to money.

 

[Kingsbury Jn.]

Is there still an aspiration to re-open the route from Stratford through to Oxford?

Stratford on Avon District Council
Stratford to Honeybourne Railway Reinstatement - Business Case Study
Final Report

http://democracy.stratford.gov.uk/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=18911

 

[Old Hill Bank]

Stratford on Avon District Council
Stratford to Honeybourne Railway Reinstatement - Business Case Study
Final Report

http://democracy.stratford.gov.uk/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=18911

Thanks, thats' what I was looking for.

 

[Mojo]

I wasn't even aware they stopped the 2tph service on a Saturday, this was only started a few years ago!

South of Shirley, one train called all stations (some by request, as at present) and one was fast, calling at Wythall, Henley/Arden and Stratford-upon-Avon.

 

[Old Hill Bank]

I wasn't even aware they stopped the 2tph service on a Saturday, this was only started a few years ago!

South of Shirley, one train called all stations (some by request, as at present) and one was fast, calling at Wythall, Henley/Arden and Stratford-upon-Avon.

Yes I think there was some sort of short term "trial" a few years back but with no sustainable funding (when Centro were co-signatories to the franchise), sorry thats just from my memory.

Hopefully this time it sticks.

 

[stu]

They need to do something, IMO, as the train service in Stratford is awful. The Birmingham train takes far too long (although is now made alot more pleasurable by the 172s), finishes far too early in the evening (so you can't go to Brum or Strat for the evening) and the service to London via Chiltern is again too slow and too infrequent.

Anyone in their right mind going to London drives to Warwick Parkway (fortunately I live on the east of the town so it takes 10mins) and to be honest I'd do the same for Brum.

Stratford station is also visually not very appealing and not the best advert for the town when tourists arrive.

Hopefully the 2tph on a Saturday and the later train times (I think is happening all week) will promote and increase the use of the line.

 

[Old Hill Bank]

They need to do something, IMO, as the train service in Stratford is awful. The Birmingham train takes far too long (although is now made alot more pleasurable by the 172s), finishes far too early in the evening (so you can't go to Brum or Strat for the evening) and the service to London via Chiltern is again too slow and too infrequent.

Anyone in their right mind going to London drives to Warwick Parkway (fortunately I live on the east of the town so it takes 10mins) and to be honest I'd do the same for Brum.

Stratford station is also visually not very appealing and not the best advert for the town when tourists arrive.

Hopefully the 2tph on a Saturday and the later train times (I think is happening all week) will promote and increase the use of the line.

Having visited Stratford on a few times in recent years I must agree that you walk out of the station and there is nothing!
It's one of those rare towns that does not have a public house (good or bad) in close proximity, the nice touristy bits are a good walk or a taxi away. That is for you locals to berate your town and county officials about.

Yes the evening service is proposed Monday to Saturday and that is good news, see post 7 of this thread for the details.

 

[jimm]

This is way overdue. Stratford's service has been poor for years, it's a globally famous town and it only has an hourly train service to a city it's barely 25 miles from.

So it seems, although it is quite possible this is just the first phase in an improved service to Stratford. It still strikes me as odd that they would build a new station at Stratford Parkway just to accommodate a dozen or so extra trains a week.

Well the bus operators don't think much of the prospects for evening custom either. The X20 is roughly hourly and the last is at 18.40 from Birmingham, the 19.20 ends at Henley - and that's your lot. Last bus from Stratford to Brum is 18.05. Why? Because most tourists come from London and Oxford/Cotswolds. Birmingham area visitors tend to come for the day and are gone by early evening.

The extra evening trains will be welcome but they won't be thronged with passengers and 22.33 is too early for theatregoers - many RSC productions don't end until 10.30pm - which is why Chiltern's late train is 23.15.

Parkway is not being built because of the extra trains. The parking at the town station is pretty limited and the traffic around the station can be grim courtesy of the traffic lights just down from the station entrance and the schools nearby - and that's year round, not just in the tourist season, so trying to get there if you're commuting to Birmingham can be a fraught business - and it's best to allow lots of time later in the day as well, due to the traffic. The parkway station is also handily sited next to the main bus park-and-ride car park and the A46.

Is there still an aspiration to re-open the route from Stratford through to Oxford?

Depends what you mean by the route from Stratford to Oxford. FGW are on record as wanting to resume through running between the two via Banbury and the FGW invitation to tender last summer said the DfT would consider this idea. FGW also put money into the Grip 2 study of the Honeybourne route.

I wasn't even aware they stopped the 2tph service on a Saturday, this was only started a few years ago!

South of Shirley, one train called all stations (some by request, as at present) and one was fast, calling at Wythall, Henley/Arden and Stratford-upon-Avon.

The key problem was the intervals were irregular, due to being run on the back of the 20-minute frequency, so not very passenger-friendly.

Anyone in their right mind going to London drives to Warwick Parkway (fortunately I live on the east of the town so it takes 10mins) and to be honest I'd do the same for Brum.

Stratford station is also visually not very appealing and not the best advert for the town when tourists arrive.

The London trains are mainly run for tourists, not the locals - and Chiltern have never really been that interested in them anyway, long before Mainline, since they were taken off the Oxford route as a bit of tidying-up of the map - which completely ignored the original logic of the original NSE service, to link up the three key tourist centres of London, Oxford and Stratford.

Nothing wrong with the station - it's well looked after, plenty of places would be glad to have it - and most passengers are just passing through quickly when arriving or departing from Stratford. The derelict land outside isn't the fault of the railway, is it?

 

[anthony263]

Hopefully the Stratford on Avon- London services will in the future return to the GW franchise and run to Paddington rather than Marylebone.

Paddington in my opinion is more easily lined to Heathrow than Marylebone by means of the Heathrow express so could get more tourists especially since services would run via Oxford another place which is attractive to tourists.

 

[Mojo]

The key problem was the intervals were irregular, due to being run on the back of the 20-minute frequency, so not very passenger-friendly.

Typically, from Moor St the xx30 was the fast train and the xx50 the stopper, and from Stratford-upon-Avon the stopper departed at xx27 and the fast at xx59. It wasn't perfect, but I can think of a couple of other places where services are bunched together far worse than 20/40 Min and 28/32 Min gaps between trains.

Besides Old Hill Bank has posted the proposed changes, and whilst it will lead to an exact balance in the Northbound direction, the Southbound service will still be imbalanced with Moor St departures at xx30 and xx50.

 

[jimm]

Typically, from Moor St the xx30 was the fast train and the xx50 the stopper, and from Stratford-upon-Avon the stopper departed at xx27 and the fast at xx59. It wasn't perfect, but I can think of a couple of other places where services are bunched together far worse than 20/40 Min and 28/32 Min gaps between trains.

Besides Old Hill Bank has posted the proposed changes, and whilst it will lead to an exact balance in the Northbound direction, the Southbound service will still be imbalanced with Moor St departures at xx30 and xx50.

Don't dispute the intervals weren't bad set against some other places but in the context of the West Midlands, with regular interval operations near-universal, it stuck out like a sore thumb - and still will. Some proper promotion wouldn't come amiss either - hopefully the opening of Parkway will lead to this happening. Now scheduled for Sunday, May 19

There is information on the progress of the station here http://stratfordparkway.wordpress.com

The post from March 1 says that the extra weekday trains via Dorridge are expected to start in December.

 

[MK Tom]

Hopefully the Stratford on Avon- London services will in the future return to the GW franchise and run to Paddington rather than Marylebone.

Paddington in my opinion is more easily lined to Heathrow than Marylebone by means of the Heathrow express so could get more tourists especially since services would run via Oxford another place which is attractive to tourists.

The Cherwell Valley is a slower route though. The GWR called the Chiltern line the 'Oxford Cut-off' for a reason. Either operator's service frequency would be constrained by the single line through Claverdon. That's what you need to target, having that redoubled.

Before Chiltern didn't FGW run to Oxford and not through to London?

Agree with all on Stratford's appalling services. Seeing as it's one of those towns that American tourists flock to on tours they mistakenly believe embody Britishness, you'd think it'd be treated as a major centre. My one visit there was pleasurable enough but it was a sod to get to.

 

[jimm]

The Cherwell Valley is a slower route though. The GWR called the Chiltern line the 'Oxford Cut-off' for a reason. Either operator's service frequency would be constrained by the single line through Claverdon. That's what you need to target, having that redoubled.

Before Chiltern didn't FGW run to Oxford and not through to London?

Agree with all on Stratford's appalling services. Seeing as it's one of those towns that American tourists flock to on tours they mistakenly believe embody Britishness, you'd think it'd be treated as a major centre. My one visit there was pleasurable enough but it was a sod to get to.

a. It's not about being slower, it's because lots of tourists visit both Oxford and Stratford.

b. The single line is a constraint but it's not exactly thronged with trains, is it? There are enormous gaps in the Chiltern service.

c The Paddington services ran through, often combined between London and Oxford with a Cotswold Line train (when both were Class 166 operated).

 

[The Planner]

Either operator's service frequency would be constrained by the single line through Claverdon. That's what you need to target, having that redoubled.

Never in a million years will that happen. Again, people assume the "we must re-double all of it", no you don't need to do that. You either timetable it accordingly to make use of what is there or you put a small passing loop somewhere along it to allow trains to pass each other if the usage suddenly shot up.

 

[Andrewlong]

Services from London to Stratford are infrequent and if you decide to catch a train from Oxford or Reading (on its frequent XC service) you might have to wait 90 minutes at Leamington Spa for a connection to Stratford. This happened to me last May and Leamington is another awful station. At wrong end of town for a wander and no apparent bus service to Stratford.

Because I was in a rush, I spent 20 quid on a taxi from Leamington to Stratford. Given poor service between reading and Stratford I tend to drive !
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

a. It's not about being slower, it's because lots of tourists visit both Oxford and Stratford.

b. The single line is a constraint but it's not exactly thronged with trains, is it? There are enormous gaps in the Chiltern service.

c The Paddington services ran through, often combined between London and Oxford with a Cotswold Line train (when both were Class 166 operated).

I used to catch the through train from Reading to Stratford which originated at Paddington. There was even a HST service at one time which seems like a waste of resources. As others have said here, I would drive to Warwick Parkway to get a train to either Birmingham or London.

 

[jimm]

Services from London to Stratford are infrequent and if you decide to catch a train from Oxford or Reading (on its frequent XC service) you might have to wait 90 minutes at Leamington Spa for a connection to Stratford. This happened to me last May and Leamington is another awful station. At wrong end of town for a wander and no apparent bus service to Stratford.

Because I was in a rush, I spent 20 quid on a taxi from Leamington to Stratford. Given poor service between reading and Stratford I tend to drive !
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


I used to catch the through train from Reading to Stratford which originated at Paddington. There was even a HST service at one time which seems like a waste of resources. As others have said here, I would drive to Warwick Parkway to get a train to either Birmingham or London.

Bit harsh on the bus services from Leamington, with a half-hourly service provided by a combination of two routes. The X15 between Coventry and Stratford stops right outside the station in Old Warwick Road and the X18 goes up Tachbrook Road at the traffic lights just outside the station. Both routes take about 45 minutes to Stratford. Best rail time is just over 30 minutes but typical times are nearer 40, so not much in it most of the time.

I can't imagine why you think driving to Warwick is a good way to go to Birmingham. Yes, the fastest trains take 20 minutes, but allow 10 minutes for parking and buying a ticket and 10 minutes minimum to drive there and any time gain is pretty minor - and then there's the petrol and the £6.50 parking fee... almost as much on its own as an off-peak day return all the way from Stratford to Moor Street (and an anytime return is only £8.70). I don't know if there are any plans to charge for parking at Stratford Parkway, but the bus park-and-ride car park spaces are free currently, so can't imagine they will charge rail users.

 

[Old Hill Bank]

Evening and Saturday enhancements from this month Mon-Fri daytime via Dorridge from December according to a Centro document I've just seen.

I would link it but it's not playing the game for me!

 

[Andrewlong]

Bit harsh on the bus services from Leamington, with a half-hourly service provided by a combination of two routes. The X15 between Coventry and Stratford stops right outside the station in Old Warwick Road and the X18 goes up Tachbrook Road at the traffic lights just outside the station. Both routes take about 45 minutes to Stratford. Best rail time is just over 30 minutes but typical times are nearer 40, so not much in it most of the time.

I can't imagine why you think driving to Warwick is a good way to go to Birmingham. Yes, the fastest trains take 20 minutes, but allow 10 minutes for parking and buying a ticket and 10 minutes minimum to drive there and any time gain is pretty minor - and then there's the petrol and the £6.50 parking fee... almost as much on its own as an off-peak day return all the way from Stratford to Moor Street (and an anytime return is only £8.70). I don't know if there are any plans to charge for parking at Stratford Parkway, but the bus park-and-ride car park spaces are free currently, so can't imagine they will charge rail users.

I did say 'apparent' bus services. I actually wandered down to main road and looked at the bus timetables at the bus stops. Couldn't work out what went where and I didn't know whether buses gave change so got a taxi. If bus companies want to advertise their services at the railway station there need to be obvious information for the passing traveller. I couldn't find this and so caught a taxi. Many station have a bus interchange with full information - Reading being a good example.

As to using Warwick Parkway, some travellers will pay for the convenience of a good service especially if on expenses!