A Station For Morriston Hospital
Morriston Hospital is in Swansea or to be more precise it appears to be up the hill and a fair way from Swansea station. I could probably just walk it.
It would appear that there are plans to reopen Cockett station, which would only be ten minutes by train from the main station and close enough to Morriston Hospital for a shuttle bus.
It would also mean that to get between the Hospital and East Wales, you wouldn’t have to go into Swansea and change trains.
It looks like the Welsh are finally getting access to the hospital acceptable, but so many hospitals don’t have a decent transport connection.
At too many places in the UK, the only reliable way to get from the main station to the local hospital is by hiring a taxi.
Is that acceptable?
Derby To Manchester The Midland Way
I was trying to find out about two stations; Miler’s Dale and Monsal Dale, which are both on the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway.
I found this article in the Derby Telegraph, which is entitled 50 years on, as passengers return to railways, in a few quiet corners, Beeching’s cuts are being reversed.
It says a lot about the Midland’s spectacular route from Derby to Manchester.
As a result, some of the lines and stations axed in the Beeching Report are being brought back to life. One of these is the Midland Railway, a route which once linked Derby and Manchester.
It is regarded as one of the most spectacular lines ever built. Cutting through the Peak District, numerous tunnels and other impressive civil engineering features, including magnificent viaducts at Millers Dale and Monsal Dale, had to be constructed because of the terrain.
In 1967, the Beeching Report brought about the end of passenger services on the line with the closure of stations at Millers Dale, Bakewell, Rowsley, Darley Dale and Matlock Bath. Now a three-and-a-half-mile section of the line has since been reopened and brought back into use by Peak Rail.
Today, the company operates both a steam and heritage diesel service for tourists and visitors to both the Peak District and the Derbyshire Dales. The preserved railway line operates trains from Matlock station via Matlock Riverside and Darley Dale to Rowsley South.
Peak Rail has ambitions to reopen more of the line in the future. The first stage would be to relay track to the site of Rowsley station, extending to a total of 4.25 miles. There are also plans to extend the line all the way to Bakewell, which would involve the restoration of both the Haddon tunnel and Coombs Road viaduct as well as the reinstatement of numerous bridges along the way.
It certainly seems to be worth a visit.
It sounds to me though to get trains running all the way will need a friendly billionaire.
Two Stations For Guildford
Guildford station is one of those stations that is very crowded.
So the Borough of Guildford is promoting two stations, one in the East and one in the West.
Merrow Station
A station at Merrow is proposed in the East on the New Guildford Line between London Road and Clandon stations.
This Google Map shows the location.
The station is proposed to be on the site of Merrow Depot, which is in the South-East corner of the map, with the railway line conveniently across the North of the site.
Guildford West Station
A station in the West of Guildford is proposed on the Ascot-Guildford Line between Guildford and Wanbotough stations, close to the Royal Surrey Coumty Hospital.
This Google Map shows the location.
It is certainly a very convenient station for the hospital and the technology park.
There must be scope given that the railway is in a wide cutting, to do some development over the station and the railway.
A Plea For A Shropshire Metro
Shrewsbury station is not one of the best stations, as I remarked in Passing Through Shrewsbury Station.
Clean toilets and a Starbucks doth not a station make!
I was drawn to this letter in the Shropshire Star, which was entitled Better rail investment would reduce problems on the roads.
The writer details some of the problems on the five rail lines that meet at Shrewsbury, which they start with this paragraph about the lack of parkway stations.
Shropshire, in particular, could benefit enormously from reopening old stations in the form of parkways or even parkways near to where stations used to be. Thus the five lines running into Shrewsbury are badly serving the public except the one from Crewe which does still have small stations, utilised occasionally but could be improved by upgrading to parkways and additions.
The writer also says that Hereford is just as bad.
This map shows the lines meeting at Shresbury.
The lines meeting at Shrewsbury station are as follows.
- Shrewsbury to Chester Line with 4 open and 14 closed stations before Chester.
- Welsh Marches Line to Crewe, with 6 open and 4 closed stations before Crewe.
- Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line, with 8 open and 5 closed stations before Wolverhampton
- Cambrian Line, with no open and 6 closed stations before Welshpool.
- Welsh Marches Line to Hereford, with 4 open and 15 closed stations before Hereford.
There certainly were a lot more stations in the past.
But it does appear that some new stations are in the pipeline.
Adnaston
Admaston is a possible reopened station on the Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton Line.
Baschurch
Baschurch is a possible reopened station on the Chester to Shrewsbury Line.
Cefn
Cefn is a possible reopened station on the Shrewsbury to Chester Line.
Hadnall is a possible reopened station on the Welsh Marches Line.
Johnstown
Johnstown is a possible reopened station on the Shrewsbury to Chester Line.
Meole Brace
Meole Brace is a possible new station in Shrewsbury.
Conclusion
It looks like the letter writer’s plea has been answered.
Putting four trains per hour on all of the routes from the centre at Shrewsbury would probably create a more than acceptable system.
It looks like the trains would have to be diesels, as I can’t see much electrification in this area.
But who knows what will happen, if someone develops a fast charge system for a hybrid/battery train, that could be implemented at Chester, Hereford, Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton?
The No Frills Station
I’m always putting in the same picture of Zwickau Zentrum station on the Vogtlandbahn in Germany into posts, so I thought I should give the picture a post of its own.
The station is one of the simplest I’ve ever seen and it has been designed very much like a tram stop.
- There is no footbridge, as if travellers need to cross the line, they just walk round.
- The access is as step-free as it gets in Germany.
- The other side of the platform is a stop for Zwickau’s trams.
- There is no electrification, which must improve safety.
- The station could be made long enough for any train that might call.
- The station has been landscaped into the local environment.
But we’re starting to see simple stations like this in the UK.
These pictures show Galashiels station on the recently opening Borders Railway.
Galashiels is an interesting solution, as there is a single-platform step-free railway station on one side of the road and a comprehensive bus interchange on the other with seats, cafes, shops and warm shelter.
Both Zwickau Zentrum and Galashiels are served exclusively by diesel trains and as electrification can be a hazard to some passengers and is expensive, I would feel that most stations like this, would be better served by trains that are self-powered.
We shall be seeing more simple station designs like these, as architects and designers get very innovative.
A Station For Marlborough
Marlborough once had a pair of stations, as this map of the railways in the town shows.
Note the various stations in an area, where Marlborough the largest town has a population of 8,395.
This railway map shows the important Reading to Taunton Line that passes to the South of Marlborough. This Google Map shows that line as it crosses the A346 road.
The Reading to Raunton Line South Of Marlborough
Note.
- The Reading to Taunton Line crossing the map in an East-West direction, generally following the Kennett and Avon Canal.
- Marlborough is to the North
- Pewsey station is to the West.
- Bedwyn station is to the East.
- Savenake Low Level station used to be somewhere to the South of what look like yellow field of Rape.
- The small town of Biurbage is to the South.
There would also appear to be tracks of disused railways leading North-Westerly from Bedwyn towards Marlborough.
If Marlborough and the surrounding area were to be given a better rail connection, I would think that a possible solution would be a parkway station, perhaps where the A346 crosses the railway and the canal.
It should be born in mind, that modern trains are designed to perform fast stops at stations, so the extra station at Marlborough would not be the time penalty, it was a few years ago.
Transition Marlborough’s Proposal
But a local action group called Transition Marlborough have their own plans for a Marlborough Rail Link, which as this graphic shows are more ambitious.
Their plans would involve restoring and electrifying the line to Marlborough, where a well-positioned station will be built.
These are my initial thoughts.
- The route of the line appears feasible.
- Electrification may be a problem given Network Rail’s expertise in this area.
- Bedwyn would not appear to be the best terminus for a line to London.
- I’ve not been to Bedwyn station, but I suspect it could be a bleak place in some kinds of weather.
After I wrote this list, a kind soul in the area sent me this message.
You’ll find that Bedwyn station is a pretty bleak place, especially in Winter. To reach it by road from Marlborough involves a 7.5 mile road trip, at least 3 miles of which is on an unmarked road through a forest. Bedwyn station is almost inaccessible for people without cars, as the connecting bus service is poor and unreliable.
My Version Of The Proposal
I think the best solution could be to create a single-track railway without electrification to a simple station with adequate parking at the proposed Salisbury Road Business Park location.
I would put the station in the car park of the Tesco supermarket in this Business Park.
The distance between Reading and Marlborough by train would be about 37 miles. Network Rail’s plans to electrify the line between Reading and Bedwyn are probably best described as fluid, but I suspect that electrification to Newbury could be possible, which would mean that only twenty miles between Paddington and Marlborough would be unwired.
So this would mean that when inevitably an electric train with onboard energy storage has a range of forty miles, Marlborough could get a modern electric service to and from Paddington.
The advantages of this strategy are as follows.
- No ugly overhead catenary marching across the country.
- Work would only include restoring a single track railway and building a simple no-frills station at Marlborough.
- Marlborough station would not have any electrification and could be designed like a tram stop.
- Fast Environmentally-friendly electric trains to and from Reading and Paddington.
- The route would be designed for six-car trains in case Marlborough College put on a free concert featuring the Rolling Stones.
- The route could be designed to allow two trains per hour (tph), as opposed to the current one tph service to and from Bedwyn.
- Marlborough to Paddington would have a maximum time of around 80 minutes.
But the biggest advantage is that the scheme is that it could be affordable.
This article on the BBC is entitled Marlborough £30m railway line restoration plan.
If this branch line is developed as I believe Network Rail are now thinking, there could be money left over for a good launch party!
Conclusion
With the next generation of electric train with onboard energy storage or IPEMUs, a Marlborough station on a new Marlborough Branch Line can be used to create a two tph service to and from Paddington to replace the current one tph service from Bedwyn.
So a new Marlborough station would be a win for all those using stations on the Reading to Taunton Line to the East of Pewsey.
I also wonder how many other similar services can be developed by extending a service past a main line terminal to a new or reopened branch line, which is built without electrification and run using trains with onboard energy storage.
The Anonymous Widower 