On Fri, 3 Mar 2006, Paul Terry wrote:

In message 70, Adrian
writes

Look at the popularity of the Oxford Tube coaches - no WAY are they
getting to central london in 50 mins at rush hour...

"Approx travel time 100mins, longer in rush hour". But - they're cheap.
£11/£13 return.

Also, look at the frequency - every 12-15 minutes, and services right
through the night, so there is no worry about the last train home.

That's the kicker. The last fast train leaves Paddington at something like
2330, i think, and the slows not that much later, so if you actually want
a night out in London, the coach is the only option.

Also, the return tickets on the coach (on the Tube, at least - i think
it's the same on the X90 or whatever it's called now) are valid for 24
hours, which means you can go up, stay over (or out), and come down the
next day, all on a normal return. If you want to do that on a train, you
need an awaybreak or whatever, which costs even more.

Oh, and the stops at the Oxford end are a lot better; the train station is
really out of the way for most students, whereas the coach can be caught
from Gloucester Green, the High Street or St Clements, all of which are
close to large build-ups of students.

Turning back to the choo-choos, where would this hypothetical North Oxford
Parkway, or other Oxford Chiltern stations, be? At the Pear Tree or Water
Eaton park and ride? That's a pain in the arse to get to from inside
Oxford, so there's no chance of it abstracting any student traffic from
the coaches or existing railway. Would you be able to get trains from the
existing station to London on the Chiltern line? If so, that might well be
competition to the GW services, if the price was right - you'd be cheaper
than the GW, if more expensive than the coach, and faster than the coach,
although slower than the GW.

However, a station at a P&R with decent services into town could make the
R part of P&R a far more attractive prospect, and so could boost car to PT
conversion.

tom

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