Cullompton Railway Station

[superalbs]

Just come across this article: http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co....lway-station/story-29524115-detail/story.html

Cullompton is one step closer to having a railway station as money has been pledged to develop early plans.

Mid Devon District Council and Taunton Deane have joined forces, investing £80,000 for a feasibility study.

Cullompton and Wellington Town Councils have also committed £10,000 each to bring the total up to £100,000.

Cullompton Town Councillor Chaim Ebanks who proposed the motion said it was vital for the town to have a railway station.

"It's not something that would just be preferable, it's essential," he said.

With 10,000 homes planned to be built in Cullompton in the future, the town council has expressed concerns that traffic problems could worsen.

Currently Cllr Ebanks said the town suffers with traffic congestion at peak periods.

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"It is absolute gridlock in the evenings and it doesn't matter which direction you are coming from, be it Bristol or Exeter or leaving the town or coming into the town," he said, "Traffic often queues up back to the motorway."

And with the enormous plans to virtually double the town's size, Cllr Ebanks said solutions were needed.

"I am in favour of the developments but only in favour if we, as a town, get the infrastructure we are promised," he said.

"A train station would really help alleviate some of these problems."

"At the moment it can take around 45 minutes to travel to Exeter at a peak time. The train journey would be around 15 minutes," he added.

The Devon & Somerset Metro project group, who is behind plans to see railway developments in Cullompton and Wellington will now invest the £100,000 to commission early studies.

The funding will help engineering design work to be carried out so the group can take plans to central Government to lobby for support.

The group already has the support of Tiverton and Honiton MP Neil Parish.

Cllr Richard Chesterton, deputy leader of Mid Devon District Council, said: "Through this funding we will move another step closer to securing a new station serving the people of Cullompton and providing a step-change in connectivity for the growing community in the area.

On what it would mean for Cullompton to see a new station developed, Cllr Chesterton said: "It would open up so many more possibilities from a work and leisure point of view for residents and would be an excellent opportunity not to have to use a car."

He said the railway station was a part of a wider plan to improve Cullompton's transport infrastructure.

Yet another station in-progress for Devon, following approval of Edginswell. There also appear to be proposals for Cranbrook East, Monkerton, Exminster, and Marsh Barton.

 

[Busaholic]

What level of service could realistically be provided?

 

[MarlowDonkey]

What level of service could realistically be provided?

It's on the main line, so potentially as many trains as head north from Exeter St Davids or south from Taunton.

Presumably most of the potential demand is to and from Exeter.

 

[TheEdge]

What level of service could realistically be provided?

Potentially it could have the same level of service as Tiverton Parkway. Cullompton really was one of those stations closed under BR that today would be worth its weight in gold. Cullompton has (sadly) become not much more than a satellite town for Exeter and Taunton so improved public transport is needed.

And it would make visiting my relatives slightly easier!

 

[Cowley]

Cullompton has substantially gained in size over the last thirty years as has Exeter. The M5 just gets busier and busier too. It's good to see all these proposals starting to happen, we certainly seem to be getting quite a large share of the country's new stations at the moment.

 

[yorksrob]

Collumpton and Wellington really are two of the most sensible and achievable reopening's available on the current network. I'm guessing whatever serves all of the little stations between Bristol and Taunton would serve them.

 

[Western Lord]

You do realise that these new stations (or rather the trains that serve them) would get in the way of the super-duper high speed non stop trains to the far west that some others want.

 

[Ash Bridge]

You do realise that these new stations (or rather the trains that serve them) would get in the way of the super-duper high speed non stop trains to the far west that some others want.

Were not the original Cullompton Station platforms actually situated on the loop lines which were taken out of use at the end of the 1960's some years after the station closed, also could these be reinstated (obviously at at fair cost) to avoid stopping services getting in the way of high speed services?

 

[JohnR]

Were not the original Cullompton Station platforms actually situated on the loop lines which were taken out of use at the end of the 1960's some years after the station closed, also could these be reinstated (obviously at at fair cost) to avoid stopping services getting in the way of high speed services?

That would be an excellent idea, but I think theres been some (legal) encrochment onto the site of the former platforms. The loops at Tiverton Junction are still in place (and there might be a case for reopening to serve Willand), leaving Tiverton Parkway for the long distance services.

 

[Cowley]

Yes Cullompton did have loops, I think the new station may be on the other side of the road bridge towards Exeter though, can anyone confirm this? Also there is a service station built on the downside where the loop previously was, it's built right up against the down main from what I remember.

 

[MarkyT]

I like the Willand idea. That could be a very affordable reopening as the platforms are still there I think. Plenty of room there for parking too.

An hourly or half hourly Bristol - Exeter (and beyond) stopping service could also be overtaken by expresses at Taunton where all four through platforms are available.

 

[chappers]

I like the Willand idea. That could be a very affordable reopening as the platforms are still there I think. Plenty of room there for parking too.

An hourly or half hourly Bristol - Exeter (and beyond) stopping service could also be overtaken by expresses at Taunton where all four through platforms are available.

Just because the platforms are still there wouldn't make it that much more of an affordable opening. When you look at the amount of work they had to do at Lea Bridge - where the platforms were also still in place - you aren't far off just being as well as starting the whole thing afresh

 

[Rapidash]

I'm more concerned with the idea of Marsh Barton, Exminster and Monkerton all having stations. You'd need stock with some pretty nippy acceleration to make that feasible. I don't personally relish the idea of waiting at Dawlish Warren/Newton Abbot longer than now.


When's that quadding of Exd - nta happening?


Cully definitely needs an upgrade on its links to Exeter though. The 1 isn't exactly known for its quickness!

 

[dgl]

Agreed, a station at least at Wellington given it's size would be great (and real close to my relatives that live there!).

Putting Wellington station on loops would probably need a fair bit of work and at the moment it is basically surrounded by an aerosol factory, although I have heard from a relative in the area that they are due to relocate so that would give more space available for the station.



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[Master29]

Who would want high speed services stopping at to more stations between Exeter and Taunton. Was bad enough with Tiverton Parkway. Unless an extra loop is provided it`ll just slow the high speed services down.

 

[yorksrob]

Who would want high speed services stopping at to more stations between Exeter and Taunton. Was bad enough with Tiverton Parkway. Unless an extra loop is provided it`ll just slow the high speed services down.

Are there that many fast services that are likely to be affected though ? Assuming you have a half hourly stopper for example.

As an example, they have a mixture of stopping and InterCity services between Chesterfield and Sheffield, and Reading and Westbury for example. Why should this not be possible between Taunton and Exeter ?

 

[JohnR]

At the moment, a fast is timetabled to take 23 minutes, start to stop between Taunton and EXD. A 75mph stopper is timed to take 31.5 minutes including a stop at TVP (29 minutes non-stop). Adding two additional stops should probably add 3 minutes to that, but lets say it then takes 36 minutes.

If your fast leaves TAU on the hour and half hour, and your stopper on the quarter hours, then it will arrive in EXD 2 minutes before the following fast. Probably tight, but you could move the stopper to 10 past, and the following fast would be at Cowley Bridge when the preceeding stopper arrives at EXD.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Prior to closure Wellington had platforms on loops much like Dawlish Warren. I think Cullompton may have had that setup too. Obviously building loops as well as platforms pushes the cost up, but how about having looped platforms at Wellington on the up side, and at Cullompton on the down? Lessens the land take at both locations (compared to the historical setup) but still adds some greater flexibility than the option of 4 extra active platform faces on a busy high-speed route.

 

[yorksrob]

At the moment, a fast is timetabled to take 23 minutes, start to stop between Taunton and EXD. A 75mph stopper is timed to take 31.5 minutes including a stop at TVP (29 minutes non-stop). Adding two additional stops should probably add 3 minutes to that, but lets say it then takes 36 minutes.

If your fast leaves TAU on the hour and half hour, and your stopper on the quarter hours, then it will arrive in EXD 2 minutes before the following fast. Probably tight, but you could move the stopper to 10 past, and the following fast would be at Cowley Bridge when the preceeding stopper arrives at EXD.

Thanks for the explanation. Sounds as though we could get away without loops then.

Out of interest, does Tiverton Jnc still have it's loops ? Perhaps these could be used (or relocated to one of the new stations).

 

[Cowley]

Yes Tiverton Junction still has loops. At least I think it does. Wellington had loops too. I think the platforms still exist in the undergrowth too.

 

[TheEdge]

Tiverton Junction most certainly does still have its loops in place (along with most of the station). Fairly regularly used to recess specials out of the way if needed.

For bonus points there is always the hidden platform at Tiverton Parkway. In the undergrowth behind the down platform is still the remains of the down platform of Sampford Peverell, the current platform being built on what was the loop.

 

[Cowley]

For bonus points there is always the hidden platform at Tiverton Parkway. In the undergrowth behind the down platform is still the remains of the down platform of Sampford Peverell, the current platform being built on what was the loop.

I didn't know that. I remember it being built, didn't realise it was actually on the same site.

 

[TheEdge]

With the closure of Tiverton and the relative inaccessibility of Tiverton Junction the site of Sampford Peverell right next to the M5 junction was perfect!

 

[JohnR]

With the closure of Tiverton and the relative inaccessibility of Tiverton Junction the site of Sampford Peverell right next to the M5 junction was perfect!

But Willand has now grown considerably since then. Reopening it to serve Willand (and allow a stopper to be overtaken) might make sense as part of an overall strategy.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Thanks for the explanation. Sounds as though we could get away without loops then.

Out of interest, does Tiverton Jnc still have it's loops ? Perhaps these could be used (or relocated to one of the new stations).

I think it would still be tight - and of course, that doesnt allow for other traffic, eg XC or freight on the line. I think you will need some for of loop to allow fasts to over take.

 

[Rich McLean]

Bear in mind, for most of the day, all services between Exeter & Taunton are Intercity, so you would either have to stop some XC or HSS services at these station, or extend the Cardiff - Taunton stoppers to Exeter, but then you would need more stock to make this work

 

[Richard_B]

I used to live backing onto the line just north of St David's, and would see the occasional sprinter go past with Bristol or Cardiff on the front. I've just run through RTT for tomorrow and found 4 non IC services all day. #25 is very right though. I guess the solution medium term could be when the shortened HSTs turn up they either run as through diagrams from Bristol to Penzance, or only extend the Taunton stopper to Exeter. I think that might depend of platform space at Exeter. Given it will take a few (or many) years for the station to actually open it's quite possible the switch in stock has happened and then it shouldn't be too difficult to run a decent service to it. As an added bonus the services could allow XC to not stop at Tiverton Parkway either while not affecting its level of service

 

[yorksrob]

I used to live backing onto the line just north of St David's, and would see the occasional sprinter go past with Bristol or Cardiff on the front. I've just run through RTT for tomorrow and found 4 non IC services all day. #25 is very right though. I guess the solution medium term could be when the shortened HSTs turn up they either run as through diagrams from Bristol to Penzance, or only extend the Taunton stopper to Exeter. I think that might depend of platform space at Exeter. Given it will take a few (or many) years for the station to actually open it's quite possible the switch in stock has happened and then it shouldn't be too difficult to run a decent service to it. As an added bonus the services could allow XC to not stop at Tiverton Parkway either while not affecting its level of service

I fully agree with this post. As regards to platform space at Exeter St David's, aren't there the remains of a bay platform/loading dock on the outer side of platform one at the Taunton end that could be reconfigured (or am I mis-remembering ?).

 

[sciisfun]

looking at the letter, It talks of sections being doubled up, what is the feasibility of doubling the whole line, I know there is still the platform and stairs at polsloe bridge
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I fully agree with this post. As regards to platform space at Exeter St David's, aren't there the remains of a bay platform/loading dock on the outer side of platform one at the Taunton end that could be reconfigured (or am I mis-remembering ?).

yup, still there! https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Exeter+St+Davids/@50.7312545,-3.543353,3a,41.5y,189.41h,87.16t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sFOBlLtwhDvAkhARAcXshKQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DFOBlLtwhDvAkhARAcXshKQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D343.66284%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x486da435fe923245:0xb64b27a6be160a17!8m2!3d50.7293321!4d-3.5435894!6m1!1e1

 

[Richard_B]

I fully agree with this post. As regards to platform space at Exeter St David's, aren't there the remains of a bay platform/loading dock on the outer side of platform one at the Taunton end that could be reconfigured (or am I mis-remembering ?).

Edit- the Google link shows the bay but it is too short.
Only other options to use P6 but that may have other issues with services to Paignton or the occasional full hst that turns there from a semi-fast run from Paddington

 

[MarkyT]

At the moment, a fast is timetabled to take 23 minutes, start to stop between Taunton and EXD. A 75mph stopper is timed to take 31.5 minutes including a stop at TVP (29 minutes non-stop). Adding two additional stops should probably add 3 minutes to that, but lets say it then takes 36 minutes.

Put 90MPH capable 158s or 165/166s on the stoppers and a few more minutes might be saved. Mind you the new Hitachis will probably beat an HST on a non-stop but I'd have thought a voyager should already be faster, as they are on Exeter - Newton Abbot.

looking at the letter, It talks of sections being doubled up, what is the feasibility of doubling the whole line, I know there is still the platform and stairs at polsloe bridge

I think the Exmouth line was only ever double as far as Topsham, although it looks like a few structures beyond were planned with further doubling in mind. Today the new platform at Digby & Sowton and the foot/cycle path to the industrial estate are in the way of a second track. Double track could certainly get as far as that from Exmouth Junction though, so you could have an additional terminal platform serving the estate with double crossovers just Exeter side of that. If routed that way local trains from the Bristol/ Taunton direction could thus serve the city centre and one of the other major employment areas.

Edit- the Google link shows the bay but it is too short. Only other options to use P6 but that may have other issues with services to Paignton or the occasional full hst that turns there from a semi-fast run from Paddington

Bay platfrom 2 is under 100m according to Google Earth. You might be able to get an additional 30m or so if you removed the modern building just beyond the stops (a former post office or parcels facility I think judging by the loading dock roller shutter doors facing the road).