Paddington to Plymouth in 2.5 hours?

[brad465]

Capacity for what though? If a new station requires it then it gets factored into its cost. You don't add blocks in just for the sake of it if another solution is available.

What other solutions are you implying?

Apparently an upgrade in signalling with more blocks is planned to occur in the next CP (presumably when existing signalling is due for renewal), although I don't know where things are with that.

 

[The Planner]

What other solutions are you implying?

Apparently an upgrade in signalling with more blocks is planned to occur in the next CP (presumably when existing signalling is due for renewal), although I don't know where things are with that.

Altering the timetable, its free.

 

[FGWHST43009]

From the 2022/23 stats based on journeys to/from London Paddington, the West Country stacks up as:
Exeter: 262k
Plymouth: 134k
Taunton: 130k
Tiverton: 84k
Totnes: 69k
Newton Abbot: 58k
Truro: 46k
Penzance: 46k
Bodmin: 32k
Barnstaple: 22k
St Austell: 21k
Torquay: 17k
St Ives: 15k
Paignton: 13k
Redruth: 13k
Newquay: 13k
Liskeard: 11k
Exmouth: 10k

So more passengers to/from Exeter than Taunton and Tiverton, and more than twice as many passengers continuing beyond Exeter as going to Exeter (albeit those making connections might not see a smooth increase in journey times depending on whether they get to jump to an earlier connecting service).
But proportionally 15 minutes on a journey to Taunton has a lot more impact than 15 minutes on a journey to Truro.

Where did you find the statistics? Is that on ORR? This sort of thing interests me.

 

[wilbers]

Some are on here

Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal

though that is for a journey in either direction - halve those numbers (to count a return journey as 1 instead of 2) and they are very similar to the numbers quoted.

 

[FGWHST43009]

Straying off topic a bit but maybe a skip-stop pattern would be better for London-South West England services so that they both have similar journey times or one slightly faster than the other like LNER's London-Leeds service? Also, maybe it could be half-hourly London-Newton Abbot with one train going to Plymouth and the other to Paignton? Also, I'd reintroduce the London-Bedwyn but extended to Westbury
Here are my thoughts:
1tph Reading, Newbury, Taunton, Tiverton Parkway, Exeter St Davids, Newton Abbot, Totnes, Plymouth and stations to Penzance
1tph Reading, Westbury, Castle Cary, Taunton, Exeter St Davids, Newton abbot, Torre, Torquay, Paignton
1tph Reading, Theale, Thatcham, Newbury, Kintbury, Hungerford, Bedwyn, Pewsey, Westbury

 

[cle]

Straying off topic a bit but maybe a skip-stop pattern would be better for London-South West England services so that they both have similar journey times or one slightly faster than the other like LNER's London-Leeds service? Also, maybe it could be half-hourly London-Newton Abbot with one train going to Plymouth and the other to Paignton? Also, I'd reintroduce the London-Bedwyn but extended to Westbury
Here are my thoughts:
1tph Reading, Newbury, Taunton, Tiverton Parkway, Exeter St Davids, Newton Abbot, Totnes, Plymouth and stations to Penzance
1tph Reading, Westbury, Castle Cary, Taunton, Exeter St Davids, Newton abbot, Torre, Torquay, Paignton
1tph Reading, Theale, Thatcham, Newbury, Kintbury, Hungerford, Bedwyn, Pewsey, Westbury

I broadly agree with this - although I would say the skip stopping is because of the London-Leeds flow. Manchester is the same.

Whereas there, there isn't a singular big end flow. Or a Leeds at the end. Taunton+Tiverton, Exeter, Plymouth, Cornwall - all comparable markets, broadly speaking.

So I think a faster pattern is important. Maybe that is 2-3 each way, each day. Maybe Westbury extends to Taunton/Exeter (slow) a few times a day and covers Castle Cary and others.

I'd rather another Reading fast, then stations to Newbury in peak. That should cover things. Newbury is tiny and doesn't need many long distance calls especially.

 

[HamworthyGoods]

Straying off topic a bit but maybe a skip-stop pattern would be better for London-South West England services so that they both have similar journey times or one slightly faster than the other like LNER's London-Leeds service? Also, maybe it could be half-hourly London-Newton Abbot with one train going to Plymouth and the other to Paignton? Also, I'd reintroduce the London-Bedwyn but extended to Westbury
Here are my thoughts:
1tph Reading, Newbury, Taunton, Tiverton Parkway, Exeter St Davids, Newton Abbot, Totnes, Plymouth and stations to Penzance
1tph Reading, Westbury, Castle Cary, Taunton, Exeter St Davids, Newton abbot, Torre, Torquay, Paignton
1tph Reading, Theale, Thatcham, Newbury, Kintbury, Hungerford, Bedwyn, Pewsey, Westbury

A couple of things here - you are missing the Torbay calls east of Newton Abbot - Dawlish and Teignmouth which generate sufficient London traffic.

The crowding on the 12.03 Pad / Penzance has shown that some journeys are quite time specific and calls in Somerset and Devon can overload the service to breaking point.

 

[Irascible]

A couple of things here - you are missing the Torbay calls east of Newton Abbot - Dawlish and Teignmouth which generate sufficient London traffic.

Do they generate enough traffic that wouldn't make it's own way to/from Exeter/Newton Abbot though? admittedly the line speed is slow enough on that section that the extra time needed is rather lower than elsewhere.

I wonder if routing the occasional service through Bristol might help de-stuff XC a little...