Newquay Station – 9/10th February 2024
These pictures show Newquay station.
Note.
- It is a small one-platform station.
- It has a few facilities.
- It is located on the main street in the centre of the town.
This Google Map shows Newquay station.
Newquay station appears to have a very long platform.
- This page on Railway Data gives a length of 242 metres.
- It should accommodate a nine-car Class 802 train.
- The station is also close to the beach.
It looks to me that Newquay station is ready for a big surfing festival.
I have a few thoughts.
Adding A Second Platform
These pictures show the space alongside the current single track. At least for a five-car train.
Note.
- I would expect that adding a second platform could be easily done by a competent and experienced construction company.
- There would need to be new track and a set of points, so that a train could use either platform.
- Signalling would be added, so both platforms could be used, either separately or at the same time.
I also expect that the Tregoss Loop would need to be commissioned before the second platform.
Adding Charging For Battery-Electric Trains
Consider.
In GWR Trialling Transformative Ultra-Rapid Charging Train Battery, I talked about the installation of the Vivarail/GWR Fast Charge system at West Ealing station.
In Decarbonising The Mid-Cornwall Metro, I talked about using the Vivarail/GWR Fast Charge system or hydrogen to decarbonise the Mid-Cornwall Metro.
This picture shows the Vivarail/GWR Fast Charge system at West Ealing station.
I feel there would be no problem fitting one of these in one or both of the platforms at Newquay.
But I do feel that the best way to decarbonise services to Newquay, would be to fully-electrify Par station with 25 KVAC overhead wires.
- Mid-Cornwall Metro services would charge their batteries using a pantograph, every time that they reversed in the station.
- Long distance battery-electric services through the station would top up their batteries during a stop at the station.
- Locomotives with batteries will be increasingly used on freight services and charging may be needed for the locomotives used from china clay trains.
Note.
- Par and Falmouth Docks is 30.8 miles.
- Par and Newquay is 20.8 miles.
- Par and Penzance is 44.8 miles
- Par and Plymouth is 34.7 miles.
- Par and Truro is 19 miles.
Par would appear to be a station, that could be easy to electrify and is conveniently placed in the heart of services through Cornwall.
New GWR IETs Under Fire Over Lack Of Buffets
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail News.
This is the first paragraph.
The RMT has been holding demonstrations today at London, Swansea and Plymouth about the lack of buffets on GWR’s new Intercity Express Trains. Surfers have also been protesting about the simultaneous withdrawal of space to carry their boards.
As I don’t even swim, the latter doesn’t bother me and I can’t remember going to the buffet on a GWR train since, I regularly used to go to Reading to see Foster Wheeler in the 1980s. I must admit, that I’ve availed myself of the trolley service.
I have flagged up for some time, that the Class 800, 801 and 802 trains are a bit lacking in the bulky luggage department.
The picture shows an InterCity 125 about to make luggage disappear.
Also in Bicycles And Class 800 Trains, I said this.
I also noticed from the information displays, that all bicycles needed to be booked. That is a bit different from the days of the InterCity 125s, which had lots of space in the back of the locomotive.
On one trip to Plymouth, I saw several surfboards swallowed by the locomotive.
I got in a conversation with a station guy about bicycles and surfboards and from the knowing look on his face, I suspect it is a bit of a pain.
With the growing popularity of cycling, surely a turn up and go regime is needed.
Given that cyclists and surfers may look at the weather and decide, it’s a good time to go cycling or surfing, I suspect that GWR need to come up with a solution to this problem.
In the 1960s, I remember working with a manic surfer; John Baxendale, at ICI in Runcorn. Regularly, at the weekend in the winter, he’d strap his surfboard to the roof of his trusty Morris Minor and drive to the very North of Scotland to go surfing.
Rather him than me!
But if all surfers are like John in the 1960s, they are devoted to their sport and grab all opportunities.
The simplest solution is probably to provide a hire service in Cornwall for bicycles and surfboards.
But the design of the Class 800 trains allows up to twelve cars in a single train.
Could this lead to GWR and/or other operators, adding a tenth car to the trains to handle large luggage and perhaps bring specialist cargo like flowers and seafood up to London? GWR have done this in the past.
The Anonymous Widower 