Parkway stations

[Cherry_Picker]

In my opinion, 'parkway' designations should be only be reserved to stations which are over 3 miles (5km) from the place they are serving, or where the town already has a central station on the same line but the parkway serves as a park and ride (ie Warwick Parkway - Warwick).

A lot of it depends on who uses the station though. Often stations will be used by people who dont live in the town from which the station takes its name and they will be using it to travel into a bigger town or city. Warwick Parkway isnt a bad example, as a lot of its season ticket holders are from Kenilworth or Coventry due to its proximity to these places and its location on a main road (the A46, which is practically a motorway these days given how much of it is three lanes wide) which is used extensively by people from Kenilworth and Coventry. A lot of people who live in the suburbs of Coventry will have an easier time getting to Warwick Parkway station than they will getting to Coventry station due to the nature of the road network.

A better example would be another station on the Chiltern mainline, Haddenham & Thame Parkway. It is in the large village of Haddenham (pop 8000) and a couple of miles from the small town of Thame (pop 11000) but I would be curious to see how many of its commuters live in Aylesbury (5 miles away) or Oxford (10-15 miles away depending on what part of Oxford you are measuring to) as it can be of use to people who live in those locations, especially people who live in the suburbs where the two mile drive to the central station can take longer than the five mile drive to a Parkway station because of congestion. If you live in the heavily populated parts of Oxford which are on the east side of the river then home > Haddenham > Marylebone > office might be a faster journey than home > Oxford > Paddington > office. That is the business Parkway stations are trying to catch as far as I can tell.

There are plenty of stations which get used as Parkways but dont have the suffix. I imagine most of the ones on the M25 are used as park and ride stations. Beaconsfield (another station on the Chiltern line) certainly is. Beaconsfield is a tiny place, yet its station is very heavily used and has a massive multi story car park. The reason is because it is very easy to get to, it is literally two miles off the M40, one junction before the M40 meets the M25. It collects a lot of people coming down that road who dont want to take their car into central London due to lack of affordable parking or the congestion charge or the traffic jams that exist pretty much everywhere in the capital. Beaconsfield also collects lots of people who are driving in from the M4, I am reliably informed there are significant numbers of season ticket holders from Beaconsfield who live in Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. It's all about integrated transport, and how the railways can serve the roads or more specifically the people who are happy to drive along the open road but might not want to take their vehicle into congested urban areas. Parkway is a very good suffix to a station name to sum up that concept in a nutshell and as far as I am concerned it is a much more suitable way to reflect how the railways are used in the 21st century than suggesting that stations are there specifically to serve the nearest small village or market town they are located to.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Luton Airport Parkway - Luton Airport

Given that it isn't at the airport, I think that would be misleading. It is no closer to the airport than it is to Luton Hoo Memorial Park and Luton town centre.

 

[317666]

Whittlesford Parkway used to just be called Whittlesford. It does have a large car park but that's about it - the ticket office is only open in the morning peak and its a fairly quiet station. I think that "Whittlesford (for Duxford War Museum)" would be a better name.

 

[anthony263]

Dont know why port talbot has parkway as part of its name the town centre is only across the road

 

[Mojo]

Didcot P/w is quite useful for people in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire going to the South West.

Bristol P/w is very useful for passengers in North Bristol plus the surrounding towns and villages in South Gloucestershire. Since the continued development and growth of both businesses and homes in the area it has become a destination in its own right. I would say its name is quite accurate still.

 

[Batman]

To me, the work Parkway is an indication that the station has a large car park, has mainline as well as local trains stopping there and is intended to be used as a park and ride.

 

[ChrisCooper]

How about East Midland's Parkway. It's pretty much in the middle of nowhere, the nearest settlement is Ratcliffe on Soar, which other than those familiar with the power station nobody outside the area will have heard of. East Midlands Airport would not be appropriate since it's not at all close to the airport and doesn't even have any transport link (it did have a bus service but it didn't last long as nobody used it). Thing is, East Midlands isn't a significant enough airport for people to travel from outside the area to use, and the surrounding towns and cities that have a rail link to the Parkway all also have a very bus links to the airport (Leicester, Derby, Nottingham, Loughborough, Long Eaton and Beeson all have buses running at least hourly, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week).

 

[Class172]

The proposed Worcester (Norton) Parkway in theory perfectly fits the criteria for a 'parkway' designation. It will have a large car park and bus interchange which will then serve as a Park & Ride to Worcester City Centre. The proposed site is 3 miles from the city centre and it should (this isn't built remember) be able to have both local and regional/intercity services. It may even become the terminus for the Worcester tram-trains in an even more distant future.

 

[IanXC]

How about this one? Given the size of Alnmouth why do we not have Alnwick Parkway as per Bodmin Parkway? I've always had the impression it forms a similar 'railhead' for the area.

 

[jopsuk]

Whittlesford Parkway used to just be called Whittlesford. It does have a large car park but that's about it - the ticket office is only open in the morning peak and its a fairly quiet station. I think that "Whittlesford (for Duxford War Museum)" would be a better name.

Perhaps- but to get to the Museum involves over a mile's walk crossing slipways to/from a motorway at a high speed roundabout.

 

[Howardh]

Lost count how many times people ask for a ticket or the next train to Middlebrook!!!

Blackrod's closer to Horwich than Horwich Parkway! It really SHOULD be called Middlebrook, Middlebrook Parkway or even This Is Where You Get Off For Tesco's.

 

[Philip Elliott]

Coleshill Parkway
- Coleshill
- Hams Hall

Although I think the latter would not be suitable since I can't imagine hams hall is that well known outside Brum

Or even Forge Mills...as that was it's original name (Coleshill station was on the Whitacre - Hampton-in-Arden line)

 

[Zoe]

Worle could be Weston Parkway. If XC could stop there I expect it would get a fair bit of use also like Tiverton Parkway does now.

 

[Greenback]

I don;t see much point in adding more PArkway stations where the town already has a station. It may just be confusing for infrequent travellers and tourists.

Bristol was the first city to have a Parkway, how many Parkway stations since then have been opened where there is already a station in existence? My feeling is that there has been a decision somewhere along the line that it would not be advisable!

However, changing the name of somewhere like Alnmouth to Alnwick Parkway might be a good idea!

 

[Zoe]

I don;t see much point in adding more PArkway stations where the town already has a station. It may just be confusing for infrequent travellers and tourists.

Weston-super-Mare station is on a loop though and there's more of a time penalty for stopping there than there would be at a Weston Parkway at Worle. Not many XC services stop at Weston-super-Mare at this time even though it's larger than Taunton. As I say, if Worle was Weston Parkway then it would give the town more of a service.

 

[Greenback]

XC could choose to stop at Worle now couldn't they?

 

[Schnellzug]

Perhaps- but to get to the Museum involves over a mile's walk crossing slipways to/from a motorway at a high speed roundabout.

Would it, i wonder, be beyond the capabality of the IWM to sponsor a connecting Bus service? I'm always surprised how many of these museums - even directly transport related ones - are so difficult to get to by public transport. The irony is compounded by the fact that, for instance, bus running days are nearly always on a Sunday, when, thanks to the prevailing influence of Puritanism, and the belief that no one should go anywhere on a Sunday but should go to church, there are often no, or at best infrequent, buses to allow one to get there. But this may be getting slightly off Topic.

 

[Welshman]

How about East Midland's Parkway. It's pretty much in the middle of nowhere, the nearest settlement is Ratcliffe on Soar, which other than those familiar with the power station nobody outside the area will have heard of. East Midlands Airport would not be appropriate since it's not at all close to the airport and doesn't even have any transport link (it did have a bus service but it didn't last long as nobody used it). Thing is, East Midlands isn't a significant enough airport for people to travel from outside the area to use, and the surrounding towns and cities that have a rail link to the Parkway all also have a very bus links to the airport (Leicester, Derby, Nottingham, Loughborough, Long Eaton and Beeson all have buses running at least hourly, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week).

I thought one of the intentions for EM Parkway [in addition to airport traffic], was to provide a railhead for South Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire and NW Leicestershire, thus avoiding the need to drive into Leicester, Derby or Nottingham.

Apart from the short drive on the A453, it is ideally placed for the large M1/A6/A50/A42 interchange at Kegworth.

 

[ACE1888]

Bodmin Parkway is another example of replacing "Road" with "Parkway". I'm not convinced Bodmin really qualifies given the lack of facilities available...

Well said ! Bodmin Road just meant, as with most GWR stations it was several miles from the town it was named after! Still call it 'Road' myself, stuck in my ways, traditionalist type

 

[swt_passenger]

I thought one of the intentions for EM Parkway [in addition to airport traffic], was to provide a railhead for South Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire and NW Leicestershire, thus avoiding the need to drive into Leicester, Derby or Nottingham.

Apart from the short drive on the A453, it is ideally placed for the large M1/A6/A50/A42 interchange at Kegworth.

The planning applications submitted before it was built did not really see it it as an airport station at all. Your second role is the main reason it was built.

 

[northwichcat]

Well said ! Bodmin Road just meant, as with most GWR stations it was several miles from the town it was named after! Still call it 'Road' myself, stuck in my ways, traditionalist type

There are inconsistencies in station naming. For instance there is Runcorn station and Runcorn East station but instead of having Altrincham station and Altrincham North station we have Altrincham station and Navigation Road station. There is another road called Navigation Road in the town of Northwich right by the Leftwich viaduct on the same line but there isn't another town called Altrincham.

 

[notoemt]

East Midlands Parkway should be renamed Ratcliffe Power Station. I do wonder who uses the station other than the £1 megabus folk. My friends in Donnington say it's too far and go to Long Eaton or Nottingham if they want the train. I think it has something to do with there being buses from those places. The airport bus has stopped and you have to pre-book taxis. Every time I've passed through the station nobody has ever got on the train.

 

[Cherry_Picker]

I don;t see much point in adding more PArkway stations where the town already has a station. It may just be confusing for infrequent travellers and tourists.

Bristol was the first city to have a Parkway, how many Parkway stations since then have been opened where there is already a station in existence? My feeling is that there has been a decision somewhere along the line that it would not be advisable!

However, changing the name of somewhere like Alnmouth to Alnwick Parkway might be a good idea!

Warwick Parkway has opened since, and it has been a roaring success. Warwick is a touristy kind of place, it is ye olde England, it has a castle and a race course and yes, there is some confusion with tourists coming into the area as to which station to alight. I dont think that alone is a valid reason not to build a Parkway though. Personally I would try to rename the original station too to avoid confusion. Still using Warwick as an example, renaming the original station Warwick Town or Warwick Central would have been beneficial for tourists/occasional travellers.

 

[Greenback]

Warwick Parkway has opened since, and it has been a roaring success. Warwick is a touristy kind of place, it is ye olde England, it has a castle and a race course and yes, there is some confusion with tourists coming into the area as to which station to alight. I dont think that alone is a valid reason not to build a Parkway though. Personally I would try to rename the original station too to avoid confusion. Still using Warwick as an example, renaming the original station Warwick Town or Warwick Central would have been beneficial for tourists/occasional travellers.

Yes, that would have been a good move. I think the Bristol situation is helped by the fact that the city station has a suffix too.

There have been various calls for services around the Swansea District Line, with a new station called Swansea Parkway built at Ynysforgan near the M4.

I am all for new services and a new station, but that name might elad people to think that the station would be fairly convenient for the city, rather than being on a completely seperate line with no connecting trains and a half hour bus journey to get to Swansea itself!

It was that sort of situation I had in mind really, I suppose.