East Midlands Parkway....A failed station?

[edwin_m]

EM Parkway was also proposed in connection with HS2:
http://www.rushcliffe.gov.uk/media/...mber/3deccabinet/Item 10 HS2 consultation.pdf

I don't know the current status, nor if the review of the HS2 stop in the area will look at EM Parkway.

Further into the future, the power station site is expected to become available for redevelopment.

So although patronage is on the low side now, potential changes in the vicinity are inline with the original expectations.

That is very interesting.

The 2012 HS2 Phase 2 Options Report states:

East Midlands Parkway also sits within the Green Belt. Rushcliffe Borough Council indicated that this designation was not likely to be reviewed. This would mean that development around East Midlands Parkway would not be supported. This restrictive planning framework was felt to be a significant differentiating factor compared to the potential for development around a station at Toton.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/options-for-phase-two-of-the-high-speed-rail-network

So it appears that one of the reasons a HS2 station at East Midlands Parkway was previously dropped was the attitude of Ruscliffe Council!

 

[Tomnick]

It certainly proved its worth as a temporary railhead during last summer's Nottingham blockade. If this was on the horizon, albeit a very distant prospect, when the plan for East Mids Parkway was being developed, then that alone would seem to provide a substantial part of the justification for the initial investment. As long as the station can justify its ongoing operating costs, then, it's doing ok as far as I can see.

 

[edwin_m]

It certainly proved its worth as a temporary railhead during last summer's Nottingham blockade. If this was on the horizon, albeit a very distant prospect, when the plan for East Mids Parkway was being developed, then that alone would seem to provide a substantial part of the justification for the initial investment. As long as the station can justify its ongoing operating costs, then, it's doing ok as far as I can see.

Up to a point. Many journeys were quicker by getting the bus to or from Beeston, Derby or Alfreton and I got the impression one reason to focus the most frequent bus service on Parkway was to raise its profile and encourage mroe use in the future.

 

[telstarbox]

Are there any prospects for housing or employment development on the land around the station?

 

[Cherry_Picker]

There is a massive power station literally next door to the railway station, I presume plenty of people work there but how many of them use the train is anybodies guess. You can't just walk from the platform into the power station.

I'm not sure what that means for further development though, I can't see there being a great desire to build houses in the immediate vicinity of the railway station on other side of the line from the power station, I mean who is going to buy them?

As others have already said, maybe the ongoing improvements to the A453 will attract passengers to East Midlands Parkway when they are completed.

 

[edwin_m]

There is a massive power station literally next door to the railway station, I presume plenty of people work there but how many of them use the train is anybodies guess. You can't just walk from the platform into the power station.

I'm not sure what that means for further development though, I can't see there being a great desire to build houses in the immediate vicinity of the railway station on other side of the line from the power station, I mean who is going to buy them?

As others have already said, maybe the ongoing improvements to the A453 will attract passengers to East Midlands Parkway when they are completed.

The rest of the land is greenbelt I believe, but "under review". Much of that to the west is a flood plain.

The power station runs coaches to bring employees from built up areas, as only a handful of houses are within walking distance. I think there is now a Council-funded bus service in the area but there has been none for several years. The potential is more about what happens when the power station closes, which isn't imminent but will probably have happened before HS2 opens.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

I've only used East Midlands Parkway a couple of times because it's easier and cheaper for me to get the bus or tram into Nottingham than drive there to pay the parking charge. Another reason I don't use it is the high fares, in comparison to Nottingham, to anywhere other than destinations towards London.
I wonder if more people would use EMP for leisure journeys if cheaper Day Returns were available as they are from Nottingham. Fares to destinations such as Sheffield, Manchester, Leeds, York, Chester are substantially higher than from Nottingham. Some of these fares are almost double the price from Nottingham because Day Returns are not availab. If I remember correctly I think it even costs more to Birmingham than it does from Nottingham.

Likewise for those coming from the North.

Sheffield to Long Eaton CDR is £11.10.
Sheffield to East Mids Parkway is £19.80, despite it being just 3 miles further.

 

[gordonthemoron]

perhaps they should rename it Kegworth or Ratcliffe on Soar?

 

[NottsPhil]

For the service pattern, northbound there's not much you can do to spread them out:
xx.00 Corby (not much help!)
xx.15 Fast Nottingham
xx.26 Semi-Fast Sheffield
xx.29 Slow Nottingham
xx.58 Fast Sheffield

So the only way to spread the service out would be to get the fast Sheffield to stop, which won't happen as it will ruin the headline journey time, unless you could swap the fast Sheffield to xx.26 - but for the sake of one station (changing the TT won't boost the service that much, will it?).

Southbound isn't much better, although the below would help a bit...

Personally (and I may be biased here) I would swap the call on the fast Nottingham to Beeston and the slow Nottingham to EMP. That gives EMP a direct service to everywhere south of Leicester including Luton Airport (the semi-fast Sheffield is non-stop south of Leicester anyway). Beeston gains a quicker journey to London and loses the dubious privilege of being the only stop north of Leicester where the only direct option to London is the stopper. I know the HSTs would have to use SDO, which is a pain, but some do call there so it can definitely be done.

 

[Starmill]

But it wasn't ever built as an airport station - this was always clear from the original planning application. This point crops up early in every discussion about EMP.

That's probably because that's what it says on the station nameboards!

 

[Olaf]

There is a massive power station literally next door to the railway station, I presume plenty of people work there but how many of them use the train is anybodies guess. You can't just walk from the platform into the power station.

I'm not sure what that means for further development though, I can't see there being a great desire to build houses in the immediate vicinity of the railway station on other side of the line from the power station, I mean who is going to buy them?

As others have already said, maybe the ongoing improvements to the A453 will attract passengers to East Midlands Parkway when they are completed.

The power station is marked for commercial redevelopment - probably a business park or light industry/warehousing given the road connections.

 

[ivanhoe]

That's probably because that's what it says on the station nameboards!

It also use to have that at Loughborough Station! Parkway is the clue!

 

[ashworth]

Likewise for those coming from the North.

Sheffield to Long Eaton CDR is £11.10.
Sheffield to East Mids Parkway is £19.80, despite it being just 3 miles further.

There are far worse examples of unbelievably high pricing to East Midlands Parkway than to/from Sheffield.

Manchester to Nottingham CDR is £22.30
Manchester to East Mids Parkway is £40.20

Leeds to Nottingham CDR is £23.20
Leeds to East Mids Parkway is £40.50

Chester to Long Eaton CDR is £18.50
Chester to Nottingham CDR is £20.50
Chester to East Mids Parkway is £37.10

Birmingham to Nottingham CDR is £17.50
Birmingham to Long Eaton CDR is £16.00
Birmingham to East Mids Parkway is £19.60

Why are there no Cheap Day Returns to/from East Midlands Parkway to these destinations? None of the journeys are significant longer in mileage. Chester and Birmingham are both shorter in distance than from Nottingham.

This is the reason why I never use East Midlands Parkway. I just wonder how many occasional leisure travellers pay these prices without realising how much more they are paying than from Nottingham, Long Eaton or Derby.

I'm beginning to use Alfreton far more frequently for journeys to the north. The fares are cheaper than from Nottingham, parking is only £2.20 off peak and it has just as easy access from the M1 as is East Midlands Parkway.

 

[thenorthern]

Was the main purpose of East Midlands Parkway make it easier for people travelling into the East Midlands so they didn't need to park their car in the city centre or out of the East Midlands so that people could get the train easier without worrying about parking or both?

 

[ashworth]

Was the main purpose of East Midlands Parkway make it easier for people travelling into the East Midlands so they didn't need to park their car in the city centre or out of the East Midlands so that people could get the train easier without worrying about parking or both?

Certainly, as far as Nottingham is concerned. the improvements to the A453, which runs past East Midlands Parkway, ought to increase the numbers using it. Anyone with their own transport who lives towards the south and west of the city, especially areas like Clifton, West Bridgford, Wilford etc ought to be using it. However, with the considerably higher fares to anywhere other than to stations down the MML towards London, who would use it? Whilst the A453 ought to increase usuage, the new tram system especially from Clifton may do the opposite and encourage even more people to travel into Nottingham from areas that ought to be using East Midlands Parkway.

If I lived in Clifton and was going for a day out in Manchester, I would not pay fuel to drive to East Midlands Parkway, £5 parking charge and then £40.20 train fare when I will be able to pay £3.70 return for the tram and get a train ticket for £22.30. Double the cost by using what ought to be the easier alternative. The same could be said for people living to the North of Nottingham using the tram from Phoenix Park to Nottingham could work out far cheaper.

 

[edwin_m]

If I lived in Clifton and was going for a day out in Manchester, I would not pay fuel to drive to East Midlands Parkway, £5 parking charge and then £40.20 train fare when I will be able to pay £3.70 return for the tram and get a train ticket for £22.30. Double the cost by using what ought to be the easier alternative. The same could be said for people living to the North of Nottingham using the tram from Phoenix Park to Nottingham could work out far cheaper.

Plus Nottingham has a through service to Manchester and Parkway doesn't (other than a few odd workings).
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Certainly, as far as Nottingham is concerned. the improvements to the A453, which runs past East Midlands Parkway, ought to increase the numbers using it. Anyone with their own transport who lives towards the south and west of the city, especially areas like Clifton, West Bridgford, Wilford etc ought to be using it. However, with the considerably higher fares to anywhere other than to stations down the MML towards London, who would use it? Whilst the A453 ought to increase usuage, the new tram system especially from Clifton may do the opposite and encourage even more people to travel into Nottingham from areas that ought to be using East Midlands Parkway.

I don't think we should be encouraging people who have good public transport access to the rail network at Nottingham or elsewhere to access it by car at Parkway. While the higher fares and parking charges at Parkway may not be intended to do this, the end effect is probably that they do so. Which is all well and good as far as I'm concerned.

(resident of West Bridgford, never used the Parkway except once during the Nottingham blockade).

 

[thenorthern]

Ideally East Midlands Parkway should have free parking.

Whenever I go into Birmingham I normally park at Four Oaks or Rugeley Trent Valley as its free and I then get the train into Birmingham and East Midlands Parkway should have been like that. Also compared to other cities driving into Nottingham, Leicester and Derby isn't too bad compared to driving into Birmingham, London, Manchester or Leeds so the park and ride part was a bit of a lost cause from the start.

I wouldn't describe it as failed though, Teeside Airport, Redcar British Steel and Sinfin North and Sinfin Central are what you call failed stations.