growing the regional economy through better connectivity chris loder head of business projects
DESCRIPTION
Our network Inter-regional hourly service on West of England line 3 and 6 car class 159 operation (best performing diesel fleet in the UK) Heavily constrained by single line infrastructure 4 trains a day to Waterloo/Salisbury to Bristol Temple Meads West of England has 2 main purposes: –Inter-regional/local –Connecting East Devon, South Somerset, West/North Dorset and South Wiltshire with London Increasingly important - diversionary resilienceTRANSCRIPT
Growing the regional economy through better
connectivity
Chris LoderHead of Business Projects
Our Network in the Westcountry
Our network• Inter-regional hourly service on West of
England line• 3 and 6 car class 159 operation (best
performing diesel fleet in the UK)• Heavily constrained by single line
infrastructure• 4 trains a day to Waterloo/Salisbury to Bristol
Temple Meads• West of England has 2 main purposes:
– Inter-regional/local– Connecting East Devon, South Somerset,
West/North Dorset and South Wiltshire with London
• Increasingly important - diversionary resilience
Rail strategies fueling the economy• Where these are working best
– West of England Partnership (MetroWest)– Devon County Council (Devon Metro)
• Emerging– South West Peninsula Rail Task Force– Wiltshire
• Still to come– Somerset/Dorset– South Somerset/Devon– Dorset/Devon
Yeovil/South Somerset case study• Additional 7,400 dwellings and 50 hectares of
employment land in the next 12 years in Yeovil alone
• Additional 7,400 dwellings elsewhere in South Somerset with 100 hectares of employment land
• Main A roads - almost all will have significant upgrade work in the coming years
• A303 widening/tunnelling will be a major disruption but also a major opportunity for the railways
• No rail connection between the 2 lines despite infrastructure being available
• Local traffic congestion is considerable
Connections that should be easier• Yeovil to Taunton (A358)• Crewkerne to Yeovil Pen Mill (A30)• Crewkerne to Castle Cary (A303)• Weymouth/Dorchester to Axminster/Exeter
(A35)• Gillingham to Dorchester (A354)• Sherborne to Dorchester/Weymouth
(A37/A352)
Our December 2015 proposal
West of England Connectivity proposal for December 2015• Half-hourly service to Yeovil between 12:20 &
19:20 (except for 14:50)• 3 additional trains from Yeovil to London• Connecting Yeovil Junction and Yeovil Pen Mill
17 times a day• 2 direct trains per day in each direction Bruton
and Frome to London• Direct service from Yeovil Pen Mill to Exeter• 2 trains per hour to Cranbrook and Honiton in
the Exeter evening peak (16:00-18:00)• Offering a number of new journey
opportunities in the area
Questions