More and faster trains to London promised
A PROMISED 15-minute cut in journey times between South Wales and London could be implemented next winter, the managing director of Great Western Railway has revealed.
In a wide-ranging interview with the Western Mail, Mark Hopwood also said GWR aimed to run more trains on the London line at the busiest times of the day – with three trains and hour.
With the final electrification works between Bristol Parkway and Cardiff Central now deferred to November, it appeared unlikely that GWR could introduce its new timetables at the December timetable change date. The next opportunity would be May 2020.
After the late completion of electrification works in Lancashire caused widespread problems for passengers last May, a new policy was introduced of allowing a generous buffer period after the scheduled completion of major enhancements before new timetables which depend on the enhancements can be implemented.
However, Mr Hopwood revealed that GWR’s proposed new timetables could be operated reliably even if Network Rail is unable to finish the Cardiff electrification in November.
The superior acceleration of the new InterCity Express Trains (IETs) when drawing electricity between Bristol Parkway and London Paddington was already enabling late-running trains to make up time, he said.
While the planning for December’s timetables continues, GWR is proposing to increase the Cardiff to London halfhourly service to three trains an hour at peak times, one of which would omit some intermediate stations, cutting around 15 minutes from current times.
Mr Hopwood also said the IETs were already providing more seats, since they have more seats per nine-coach or 10-coach train than the old High Speed Trains (HSTs). He also spoke on other issues of concern to passengers and businesses, including...
■ Disruption
Passengers face more disruption this year as the electrification project is completed, but Mr Hopwood said the travel experience had already improved since the low point of last summer. Delays to electrification had delayed GWR’s introduction of new electric trains, causing knock-on effects for the older trains. Training staff on the new rolling stock had to be compressed into a shorter time than expected.
He also said that the frequent closures of tracks occasionally prevented trains reaching their home depots, disrupting maintenance cycles.
In one four-week period last summer, 5% of GWR trains between South Wales and London were cancelled and only 69% reached their final destinations on time, as defined by the rail industry’s Public Performance Measure (no more than 10 minutes late). In the most recent fourweek period, 1.1% were cancelled and 89% were on time.
■ Hard seats
There has been much comment about the hardness of seats in the IETs, but Mr Hopwood said passenger surveys had revealed a 6% increase in satisfaction on the IETs, compared with the old HSTs. “I travel on those trains myself, pretty much every day. I find them very comfortable, and many people have said that,” he said.
■ Infrastructure investment
The Welsh Government argues that Wales gets less than its fair share of funding for renewing and enhancing rail infrastructure.
Mr Hopwood commented: “If you look at the part of the network in Wales that we run over, we’re seeing electrification from the Severn Tunnel to Newport and Cardiff. We’ve seen resignalling of the entire South Wales main line to Cardiff and we’ve got further resignalling of the railway taking place in the next few months. We’ve seen a new depot going in at Swansea. There is investment going in in Wales.”
He added Cardiff to Swansea was not the only line where electrification schemes had been abandoned in response to cost increases.
“The same had happened on the Henley-on-Thames line and some routes in the north of England.
“I don’t think there’s a particular effort to target Wales. It’s a feature the whole country has had to deal with,” said Mr Hopwood.
■ Cardiff to Bristol
GWR’s service from Cardiff to Bristol Temple Meads, and onwards to Ports- mouth or Taunton, has been criticised for overcrowding and slowness.
Some passengers are not enamoured with the Turbo trains transferred from London commuter lines, arguing that the seating is unsuited for long journeys – with three seats alongside each other on one side of the aisle.
Delays to electrification delayed the transfer of Turbo trains, but as the situation eases the regional services through the Severn Tunnel should more consistently have four or five coaches.
The Portsmouth line would be operated by a mixture of the established Class 158 units and Turbo trains, while the Taunton line would receive refurbished High Speed Trains, shortened to four coaches, Mr Hopwood explained.
More generous seating space – two seats each side of the aisle – were available in Turbo trains, with first-class areas being reclassified as standard.
■ Additional stations
The Welsh Government proposes to make train journeys east of Cardiff slower, with a Cardiff Parkway station as an extra stop for services to London, Bristol and other places.
“We need to have a careful look at these, not just individually but in totality,” commented Mr Hopwood.
“If you put additional stops in, that would extend journey times again.
“We do need to work quite carefully.
“Maybe some of the stations that have been proposed would be better served by local services.”
“There are a lot of proposals around the Great Western network for new stations and new services.
“We work with people like local authorities to understand them, but we have to be careful because we don’t want to propose things that involve a reduction in service for people.”
■ Special events
By the next Six Nations championship, electrification should be complete between London and Cardiff.
Mr Hopwood confirmed GWR’s intention to deploy 12-coach electric commuter trains from London for 151 Crwys Road, Cardiff CF24 4NH 029 2034 3705 special events in Cardiff which do not clash with the peak commuter travel times.
“Some of the events are particularly focused on Wales, some bring large numbers of people from London,” he observed.
For the former, GWR’s expectation was that Transport for Wales would provide most of the train capacity.
For weekend events which draw crowds from England, electric commuter trains could operate special services from London to Cardiff, returning after the event.
This would not be possible for evening events on weekdays, but Mr Hopwood said: “What we generally see with special events in Cardiff is that people arrive in a way that’s more spread-out.
“It’s the pressure on us after the event which is normally the most difficult for us to manage.”
GWR would be able to transfer electric commuter trains to Cardiff from their overnight depot at Swindon – only an hour away – after about 7.30pm, in readiness for the surge of people leaving the event. 13 Penlline Rd Whitchurch, Cardiff CF14 2AA 02920 628479