Fare Dealer
fares expert Barry Doe says the SWR timetable proves that consultations can work.
FIRSTLY, apologies. In my comment on page 25 of RAIL 853, regarding the Rail Delivery Group’s fares consultation, I said that I had written about the South Western Railway timetable consultation in The Fare Dealer for that issue.
I have been writing for several issues at the same time (about the RDG for RAIL 853 and the National Rail Timetable for RAIL 855), and had always intended dealing with the SWR consultation in this issue, so sorry for any confusion.
I said that I am always suspicious of consultations, as most set out to make it look as if someone’s listening when a decision has already been made. Well, that most certainly did not apply to the SWR consultation, as the changes announced as a result have been very wide-ranging.
In some cases, they affect a few stations which are of local interest. One such example would have entailed the peak frequency of Waterloo trains at Farnborough and Fleet increasing to six per hour, but those at Hook and Winchfield lowered to accommodate that. After protests, the increase has been retained at Farnborough, but Fleet has no change to enable the original frequency at Hook and Winchfield to be retained.
Of wider importance, Windsor & Eton Riverside was to have had four ten-car trains an hour off-peak - two via Richmond and two via Hounslow. When I lived in Barnes in the late 1960s, it had two four-car trains, so the proposal would have meant a five-fold increase over that era!
However, the Virginia Water-Weybridge branch would have been a shuttle as a result, whereas currently it runs half-hourly from Waterloo via Hounslow.
Of course, Windsor folk were delighted, but users of Datchet level crossing weren’t. Neither were those who want access to the main line at Weybridge without having to change at Virginia Water, so the current arrangement is being retained.
The changes on the main line itself were always going to be the most significant, and these produced huge protest - particularly from users west of Bournemouth.
The original proposal was to speed up the hourly fast train to Weymouth, so that west of Bournemouth it would only have called at
“We have been rewarded with proposals that meet and go beyond our suggestions.”
Poole, Wareham, Wool and Dorchester South. A new Portsmouth-Weymouth all-stations service was to have replaced the second London train (which latter would have terminated at Poole).
Not only was the London frequency beyond Poole being cut to hourly, those from Hamworthy, Holton Heath, Moreton and Upwey would have no through trains at all offpeak, and passengers would have to change from the Portsmouth train, adding ten minutes.
As I have known every timetable iteration since the original electrification version of July 1967, I submitted a paper to SWR with proposals to mitigate the effects of the change. And I know others did the same.
We have been rewarded with proposals that meet and go beyond our suggestions, producing (if accepted in full by Network Rail) the finest timetable the line has ever seen.
Broadly, the fast train to Weymouth continues (adding Wool but removing Hamworthy), but the semi-fast train on the opposite half-hour will divide at Southampton Central, with the rear five-car unit continuing semi-fast to Poole as it does today (but with Totton added).
The clever bit is that the front five-car unit will run non-stop to Bournemouth, then Poole and all stations to Weymouth. This should give an evenly balanced half-hourly service from London to Weymouth, rather than the current 20/40 spread.
The proposed through service from Portsmouth (itself doubling the frequency at smaller stations between Portsmouth and Southampton to half-hourly) will serve all stations to Bournemouth, but terminate there.
The timetable requires all the Desiro Class 444 fleet to be on the main line, and hence the refurbishment of the Class 442 fleet must be completed for the Portsmouth main line. It also needs to be validated by Network Rail, so there could be delays or modifications, but sadly that’s the norm with an overstretched NR today.
However, SWR is to be congratulated on being bold enough to listen, change its mind, and make such dramatic improvements. Consultations can work!
About the author Barry Doe, Contributor, RAIL
Barry Doe has a bus & rail timetable web site at www.barrydoe.co.uk which also contains his rail franchise map for downloading. Contact him at faredealer@barrydoe.co.uk