"Mini Switzerland" - Peak District transport integration

[edwin_m]

Plans published for ‘Mini Switzerland’ – a national demonstrator to transform rural public transport - Hope Valley Climate Action

Detailed plans have been published for ‘Mini Switzerland’, a national transport demonstrator for the Hope Valley at the heart of the Peak District National Park. The new report sets out a fully worked-up blueprint for creating a Swiss-style integrated public transport network in the Peak...

hopevalleyclimateaction.org.uk

The new report sets out a fully worked-up blueprint for creating a Swiss-style integrated public transport network in the Peak District, where hourly buses and trains are carefully timed to connect, tickets work across all modes, and the whole system operates as one joined-up network.

...

The proposals for the Hope Valley set out by the report include:

• Regular, easy-to-remember hourly bus services
• Guaranteed connections between buses and trains
• Simpler tickets that work across operators
• Better access to jobs, education and healthcare
• A realistic alternative to driving for visitors to the Peak District

Anyone think this could work?

 

[nwales58]

As that work points out, *if* EMCA take it up and find the funding, maybe. Otherwise no hope.

 

[Farigiraf]

Plans published for ‘Mini Switzerland’ – a national demonstrator to transform rural public transport - Hope Valley Climate Action

Detailed plans have been published for ‘Mini Switzerland’, a national transport demonstrator for the Hope Valley at the heart of the Peak District National Park. The new report sets out a fully worked-up blueprint for creating a Swiss-style integrated public transport network in the Peak...

hopevalleyclimateaction.org.uk

...


Anyone think this could work?

Provided it gets funded (which is the key enabler), it would be great if it functioned as a sort of PTE - potentially combined with bus franchising. But the 'tickets work across all modes' part makes me think they're planning to introduce another localised form of ticketing, which isn't great as it complicates the fares system more. I'd support that part if it was across the whole North of England, not just Cumbria. Otherwise, while bus+rail integration is really needed, I don't see how it'll make journeys out of Cumbria easier as you'd likely have to buy a regular ticket to Newcastle, Lancaster or Leeds anyway. If these cases are accounted for then it should be successful.

 

[Vectors]

Provided it gets funded (which is the key enabler), it would be great if it functioned as a sort of PTE - potentially combined with bus franchising. But the 'tickets work across all modes' part makes me think they're planning to introduce another localised form of ticketing, which isn't great as it complicates the fares system more. I'd support that part if it was across the whole North of England, not just Cumbria. Otherwise, while bus+rail integration is really needed, I don't see how it'll make journeys out of Cumbria easier as you'd likely have to buy a regular ticket to Newcastle, Lancaster or Leeds anyway. If these cases are accounted for then it should be successful.

What has this proposal got to do with Cumbria ?
Are you mixing up the Lake District and the Peak District?

 

[Farigiraf]

What has this proposal got to do with Cumbria ?
Are you mixing up the Lake District and the Peak District?

Yeah. My mistake - however my points still apply to rail services in Derbyshire - and actually moreso, as there are few (if any) rail services in the county that don't cross into another county. Wonder how this ticketing system would work while Bee Network's integrated ticketing is also being rolled out - e.g. to Glossop.
Buxton station could definitely do with having bus times integrated to rail. E.g. it should be possible to get off a train at Matlock, take a transpeak to Buxton, then get on a train to Manchester without having to wait 20+ minutes at either connection point.

 

[lyndhurst25]

From the report - “Our proposal includes a new PlusBus ticket covering the whole of the Hope Valley network, making it possible for rail travellers to get a great value combined train and bus ticket .”


The Peak District PlusBus already exists (£6) with interchange stations at Buxton and Matlock. Previously it also allowed interchange at Hathersage and Glossop, but these were withdrawn for some reason. I wonder I’d these proposals are just a reversal of that change, or something different?

 

[endecotp]

I'd love to see their proposal extend over to Hayfield, Glossop and the Snake Pass. Imagine being able to get the train to Glossop and connect with a bus that would drop you off at the top of the Snake, then hike over to Edale, and return home by train from there.

I lived in Glossop for a short time decades ago. At one time there was some sort of Summer hikers's bus - but it ran only on Sundays, when there were no trains...

 

[Llandudno]

Looks fantastic - will never come to fruition sadly….!

 

[CaptainHaddock]

From the report - “Our proposal includes a new PlusBus ticket covering the whole of the Hope Valley network, making it possible for rail travellers to get a great value combined train and bus ticket .”


The Peak District PlusBus already exists (£6) with interchange stations at Buxton and Matlock. Previously it also allowed interchange at Hathersage and Glossop, but these were withdrawn for some reason. I wonder I’d these proposals are just a reversal of that change, or something different?

And of course there's also the Derbyshire Wayfarer ticket, which comes in both bus and train or bus only options at a very reasonable price.

As a regular traveller on Peak District public transport it always surprises me how train and bus times rarely connect. For example if you wish to travel from the Hope Valley stations to Glossop via New Mills Central the train gets in at xx:01 and the 61 bus (from the bus station five minutes walk away) leaves at xx:03! Why don't the TOCs and the bus companies talk to each other? Rejigging the times so they connect wouldn't need an elaborate and expensive masterplan, just a bit of common sense.

 

[The Pelican]

The Hope Valley line is a mini switzerland because it was a suprisingly late railway and so misses lots of the most attractivr scenery in a tunnel, like some of the modern Swiss railways (e.g. the Veriana tunnel)!

 

[Llandudno]

And of course there's also the Derbyshire Wayfarer ticket, which comes in both bus and train or bus only options at a very reasonable price.

As a regular traveller on Peak District public transport it always surprises me how train and bus times rarely connect. For example if you wish to travel from the Hope Valley stations to Glossop via New Mills the train gets in at xx:01 and the 61 bus (from the bus station five minutes walk away) leaves at 00:03! Why don't the TOCs and the bus companies talk to each other? Rejigging the times so they connect wouldn't need an elaborate and expensive masterplan, just a bit of common sense.

Similar at Buxton most hourly TransPeak buses are scheduled to arrive outside Buxton station entrance at exactly the same time as the hourly train service to Manchester departs - you really couldn’t make this stuff up!

At least there is a brand spanking new McDonlds next to the station these days abd a rather grand Wetherspoons 7/8 minutes walk away!

 

[aron2smith]

As part of the Integrated Transport Strategy released on Thursday, amazingly the government announced £6 million in funding for this proposal. With the East Midlands Mayor helping bring this about. It should be in place by next Summer. Amazing news.

And I attached the map from the report because if even half of the proposed service changes happen, it would be an enormous improvement on what exists, especially at early and late times of day as well as Sundays. I'm rooting for its success, as it could work in any county area in my view if it works well in the Peak District. To me linking bus routes with each other in this way and with rail stations is a no brainer. Any complaint I've ever made about my own area's buses is easily and quickly fixed by this idea. Even used the HL1 bus now and impressed by how seamless the connection from the train at Broxbourne was. More of this joined up thinking is essential. Across a whole network and it would be truly gamechanging.

'Mini Switzerland' Peak District transport plan gets green light

Campaigners say it could be the "UK's first real‑world demonstrator" of an integrated rural transport system.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[yorksrob]

The Hope Valley line is a mini switzerland because it was a suprisingly late railway and so misses lots of the most attractivr scenery in a tunnel, like some of the modern Swiss railways (e.g. the Veriana tunnel)!

It still does alright for scenery though !

 

[The Pelican]

It still does alright for scenery though !

Yes, the bit where it's above ground has some of the best views from a train in the UK! Very Swiss in that both are mostly sheep farming. I went to the Graübunden alps for hiking one autumn, and in that season, between the sunny summer and the extreamely snowy winter, the mountains look a lot like British mountains- huge, dark green and yellow autumn grass, rainy, sheep being rounded up by quadbike etc.

It's always interesting to think about the natural and man made contributors to mountains- certainly both the Alps and Pennines gain a lot from farming activity, and the same mountains in a sparsely populated part of the US or Russia wouldn't look as nice!

(I wonder if the Mini Switzerland idea might include reinstating the Cromford and High Peak railway?)

 

[yorksrob]

Yes, the bit where it's above ground has some of the best views from a train in the UK! Very Swiss in that both are mostly sheep farming. I went to the Graübunden alps for hiking one autumn, and in that season, between the sunny summer and the extreamely snowy winter, the mountains look a lot like British mountains- huge, dark green and yellow autumn grass, rainy, sheep being rounded up by quadbike etc.

It's always interesting to think about the natural and man made contributors to mountains- certainly both the Alps and Pennines gain a lot from farming activity, and the same mountains in a sparsely populated part of the US or Russia wouldn't look as nice!

(I wonder if the Mini Switzerland idea might include reinstating the Cromford and High Peak railway?)

It should definitely include re-instating the main line through Bakewell to Matlock.

I agree with your point regarding the farming contribution to the landscape - I wouldn't want to see the Hope valley re-wilded !

Standing on Edale station surrounded by mountains is quite impressive.

 

[NorthernSpirit]

I'd love to see their proposal extend over to Hayfield, Glossop and the Snake Pass. Imagine being able to get the train to Glossop and connect with a bus that would drop you off at the top of the Snake, then hike over to Edale, and return home by train from there.

I lived in Glossop for a short time decades ago. At one time there was some sort of Summer hikers's bus - but it ran only on Sundays, when there were no trains...

Are you thinking of the long withdrawn 61A that was ran by Yorkshire Traction and Stagecoach East Midlands until around 2007 when Stagecoach Yorkshire and Speedwell Travel took over the route until March 2008? It ran from Huddersfield to Holmfirth as a 310 before changing number to 61A between Holmfirth and Buxton. In August / Sepember 2009 part of the route Huddersfield to Glossop returned under the new number as 951 which lasted until Summer 2016, after being operated by Huddersfield Bus Company until 2013, Tates Travel for 2014/2015 and LOT for 2016. It connected with the 61 at Glossop for onward connection to Buxton. Since 2016 there hasn't been any bus link between West Yorkshire and Derbyshire on a Sunday.