General Discussion
They should reopen Okehampton - Bere Regis.
Next time you spend just £2.80 return to Exeter on your Devon card think how lucky you are to have a train! ..cheaper than a car to me!
Yes, I know. The rail fares using a Devon and Cornwall railcard are amazingly good value and one of the reasons we moved to Dawlish was precisely because of the...........yep! you guessed it!
Don't know if your posting was aimed at me or Wondering or both of us but I for one do read the Dawlish Gazette (and other papers for that matter).
In fact, it was because we have had news recently that 'our' line is apparently safe as far as this government is concerned (info courtesy of the Dawlish Gazette amongst other papers) but that on the other hand it may not be as far as Devon County Council is concerned (info courtesy of another paper) that I wrote my original posting.
However, avid newspaper reader that I maybe I also know not to believe everything I read in them. Thus, whilst I am also extremely cynical of politicians I shall nontheless be contacting both Devon County Councillor John Clatworthy and our MP Anne-Marie Morris to see what their 'take' is on the reported Devon County Council stance.
The train is cheaper than a car as long as you travel off peak or book in advance. Train travel in the UK is not profitable and requries government support. If govenment support was lifted and prices went up to cover the true cost, I think most people would opt for a bus or coach.
The erosion of the coast is not going to stop and would have taken place even if sea levels remained static. At some point it will become prohibitively expensive to protect this railway line and we should be planning an alternative line.
My error, the return train fare from Dawlish - Exeter Central is £2.45 with a Devon card, I paid that today!
Allthough at present I would view this topic with an open mind I think that to be realistic we must ready our selves for the day when the line closure is announced. This could provide many new oppertunities for investment along the coast, but on the other hand will cause caos amongst the preservation societies and rail enthusiasts. I would assume the real cost of demolition, removal of equipment and the general clean up and de-contamination of land is one of the main factors at the moment.
As for an alternative transport system I have no idea, perhaps the new supermarket giants who will soon be the main feature of Dawlish will come up with a solution.
In my heart of hearts I must say that I agree with what you say Fronteraman. However, if the Dawlish line were to close before an alternative line was in place then there would be no rail connection any further southwest than Exeter. I don't think that couldn't be allowed to happen.
Hence I am always alert for what is being said/proposed about alternative lines.
But with regard to the Dawlish section - time and tide and all that.
Went on 1059 Dawlish - Exeter yesterday, 2 carriages and around 140 standing maybe more. When it got to Exeter, Exmouth could not get on though just did as everyone wanted to go to Central. The driver could not get to his cab to reverse the train to Exmouth .had to be an amazing big squeeze up the train.
Paignton-Exeter needs to be every 30 minutes not hourly, better still give the line to South West Trains, First Great Western have had every chance to get their operations organised.
So if the line closed, just that journey of 500 odd people I assume would be on the road. It seems though from the other post re Signal Box there is no real concern if the line exists or not.
@wondering - yep you are not the only one to have experienced this gross overcrowding. there was a letter in the gazette this week complaining about the very same thing. this link should get you it
http://www.dawlishnewspapers.co.uk/Letters.cfm?id=4734&headline=Not a first class train
I usually plan my travelling times to avoid Saturdays but for some reason on a Saturday last summer I decided to take a shopping trip to Exeter. To add to my misery I then compounded that 'error' by choosing to catch the train back to Dawlish from St. Thomas rather than Central.
OMG! when that train turned up (all two carriages of it) I thought no way in wotsit would I and the others waiting to catch it be able to do so. Reminded me of the London underground at the peak of the rush hour.
However, get on we did - just. Chaos. People spilling out at Starcross just to allow others who had been sat and standing further into the carriages to get out. No tickets were checked by the guard as they couldn't be - no-one could move anywhere.
Totally agree that we need a more frequent train service especially if the Exmouth/Paignton train is restricted to two carriages. So..........as government and our MP are sooooooooo supportive of 'our' line continuing to exist now might be a time to lobby for some decent (and more frequent!) trains?
Here's our MP's email address - howzabout some lobbying? annemarie.morris.mp@parliament.uk
By the way, indifference to the fate of the old signal box is not the same as being indifferent to the future of the railway. They are two separate issues.
Thanks for that Lynne .. I will email MP.
Guard do not always check tickets when they can when just a handful on the train. So the line does not achieve all it should in cash returns. The other evening when they did check I heard the guard say to chap ...'that will be £... .' he said he had no money, so was removed him from the train at D and guard said next train is in an hour! ..guess he hoped for another free hop to Newton. I thought he would have been fined the penalty fare but guess you cant get blood out of a stone!
On the issue of the train service. Not only was there a letter in last week's Gazette complaining about this service but I see that this appears to be an issue that has been around for some time. Did anyone else see the bit in this week's Gazette on page 9 in the Memory Lane column for 10 years ago where it is reported that on February 15th 2001
"Teignbridge MP Patrick Nicholls has called for Railtrack to give a presentation to the town council on its present local plans following criticism of the present level of railway service being offered to Dawlish".
Does anything ever change? Sometimes I feel as though I'm living in some bizarre Dawlish timewarp.
Lynne .. I did not get a reply from MP but I got this from FGW customer services ..its all pretty standard really .. I an still nagging! >>>>
We know these trains are not ideal and we would not have leased them at all. Regrettably we were refused permission to retain a number of trains we had on short lease until December 2007.
Rolling stock is a major challenge for most train operators as there is simply not enough stock available in the UK at the moment. We therefore leased a number of Rail Buses and are using them on this route. They are no older than our other stock, but are not of the type we prefer to use and we have been working hard to replace them.
Some positive news is that we have recently negotiated with the Department for Transport to secure replacement vehicles for use in Bristol and the South West. This will provide better capacity at peak times and therefore more comfortable journeys. The replacement trains will enter service later this year although we cannot provide definite timescales as yet.
Thank you again for your email and for the opportunity to assure you that we are replacing these units.
.
Wondering,
To be fair to MP it can be a couple of weeks or so before you get a response. If you still haven't heard from her after that time send a reminder!
Keep nagging!
Hopefully this issue will be discussed by the town council in the next few weeks.
I wonder if those replacement vehicles will be used to/from Dawlish?
Yes they will be on the Paignton - Dawlish - Exmouth local service, there was talk of making it half hourly, new timetable from May/June. Torbay Rail Users are aware of all this and representations have already been made, so there will be some changes!
If First Great Western cant do it.... South West Trains can!