Paddington motorail
Hi,
I recently discovered that First Great Western operates a motorail service to Penzance. Came as a bit of a surprise - i thought motorail had gone out with BR! Now, this service starts from Paddington, which means the cars are loaded there. However, i can't imagine quite how this is done - i've been to Paddington many times, and never seen a car queueing at the gateline. The motorail website says "cars need to be loaded well in advance of the advertised departure time to allow the Motorail section to be attached to the main train", which indicates that there's a separate loading area for cars, following which the car cars (as it were) are coupled to the passenger cars between loading and departure. Is that the case? Where do the cars board? Where is the coupling done? How, generally, does this all work? The prices are actually pretty reasonable - a car plus a driver, who spends the night in a seat in standard class, costs 103 UKP for a return; it's 137 UKP if the driver wants a bunk. Given that a super advance return just for a foot passenger is 54.00, that's really fairly cheap. I'm thinking my next holiday might be down in Cornwall; now all i need is a car ... Thanks, tom -- Everybody with a heart votes love |
Paddington motorail
Tom Anderson wrote:
Hi, I recently discovered that First Great Western operates a motorail service to Penzance. Came as a bit of a surprise - i thought motorail had gone out with BR! Now, this service starts from Paddington, which means the cars are loaded there. However, i can't imagine quite how this is done - i've been to Paddington many times, and never seen a car queueing at the gateline. The motorail website says "cars need to be loaded well in advance of the advertised departure time to allow the Motorail section to be attached to the main train", which indicates that there's a separate loading area for cars, following which the car cars (as it were) are coupled to the passenger cars between loading and departure. Is that the case? Where do the cars board? Where is the coupling done? How, generally, does this all work? I used the 'Night Riveria' service a couple of weeks ago: was pleasant enough (and better than the return leg which I did in First Class on a day train.) I definitely appreciated a bunk rather than a seat on the overnight leg. We didn't take a car (hired one at Penzance) but I have seen the Motorail entrance clearly signed as you drive into Paddington. You should also note the days on which the Motorail runs, and the appropriate directions. No doubt someone with direct experience will be able to tell you more on the Motorail side of things, but you should certainly be aware of the threat to the wider service and sign http://www.petitiononline.com/sleeper/petition.html for what good it will do :( |
Paddington motorail
"Tom Anderson" wrote in message
h.li... However, i can't imagine quite how this is done - i've been to Paddington many times, and never seen a car queueing at the gateline. As you leave Paddington by train, the motorail facility is on the left. -- John Rowland - Spamtrapped Transport Plans for the London Area, updated 2001 http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acro...69/tpftla.html A man's vehicle is a symbol of his manhood. That's why my vehicle's the Piccadilly Line - It's the size of a county and it comes every two and a half minutes |
Paddington motorail
Tom Anderson wrote: The prices are actually pretty reasonable - a car plus a driver, who spends the night in a seat in standard class, costs 103 UKP for a return; it's 137 UKP if the driver wants a bunk. Given that a super advance return just for a foot passenger is 54.00, that's really fairly cheap. I'm thinking my next holiday might be down in Cornwall; now all i need is a car ... autoroute gives 612 miles return Paddington to Penzance. Total cost by car at 40p per mile would be £245. Fuel cost by car, at 12p per mile, would be £74. And you'd have to spend 12 hours driving, and accept the associated dangers of driving. So £103 seems a bargain, if you live in London. This service would need a stop on the M25 to be really useful. Another case for Iver Parkway. |
Paddington motorail
John Rowland wrote:
"Tom Anderson" wrote in message h.li... However, i can't imagine quite how this is done - i've been to Paddington many times, and never seen a car queueing at the gateline. As you leave Paddington by train, the motorail facility is on the left. Indeed... you can see it clearly from a Hammersmith & City train, or you can see the entrance for cars as you travel between Bishops Bridge Rd and Eastbourne Terrace, e.g. on bus routes 7, 23, 27 or 36. -- Dave Arquati Imperial College, SW7 www.alwaystouchout.com - Transport projects in London |
Paddington motorail
In article ,
Tom Anderson wrote: Hi, I recently discovered that First Great Western operates a motorail service to Penzance. Came as a bit of a surprise - i thought motorail had gone out with BR! Cars are loaded from the remnants of the former excursion platform 1a, which can be reached on foot by walking right to the country end of platform 1 and just keep on going. Most of this area is now a covered car park, and is served by a separate road access (off Bishops Bridge Road ?) which also leads to another car park on the site of the former Ranelagh Bridge loco servicing depot. At one time there was a parcels depot here with two platforms. I have twice caught passenger trains from here in the dim and distant past. It was a long long way from the main concourse ! After cars are loaded, the Motorail vehicles are shunted by the train engine onto the front of the sleeper train in platform 1. The reverse operation takes place on arriving services using the ecs loco from Old Oak. David |
Paddington motorail
Would it be a better, more popular idea to run a motorail service from
Slough, or as near to the M25 as possible. Lets say a couple of car carriying cariages, and a passenger carriage, join 8 carriages that have left Paddington. |
Paddington motorail
|
Paddington motorail
On Sat, 13 Aug 2005, Dave Arquati wrote:
John Rowland wrote: "Tom Anderson" wrote in message h.li... However, i can't imagine quite how this is done - i've been to Paddington many times, and never seen a car queueing at the gateline. As you leave Paddington by train, the motorail facility is on the left. Indeed... you can see it clearly from a Hammersmith & City train, or you can see the entrance for cars as you travel between Bishops Bridge Rd and Eastbourne Terrace, e.g. on bus routes 7, 23, 27 or 36. Funnily enough, i saw it yesterday - i was cycling to Paddington to catch a train, and got slightly lost, so i ended up coming in along that very road! Thanks to everyone who replied. In a way, it's good news that the service gets booked out - that means there's demand to sustain it; it might even be profitable for FGW to expand it. I have to agree with the point about having a pick-up point outside London, though - it's crazy to make people drive into central London to catch a train! This Iver Parkway idea is all very well, but i'd have thought that Slough was 80% as good for, er 0% of the cost, since it's there already. Alternatively, if the Heathrow Intercity (or whatever it's called) station gets built, that could be a suitable terminus. tom -- Force the weird stuff down! |
Paddington motorail
Tom Anderson wrote: I have to agree with the point about having a pick-up point outside London, though - it's crazy to make people drive into central London to catch a train! This Iver Parkway idea is all very well, but i'd have thought that Slough was 80% as good for, er 0% of the cost, since it's there already. For interest's sake: In an emergency (if Paddington is shut), Motorail trains may be unloaded on the up relief platform at Slough. At Paddington, only authorised staff may load/unload cars, passengers being deemed incapable of driving thier own vehicles. At Slough, they are suddenly capable, and only need to be supervised by the senior conductor. PhilD -- |
Paddington motorail
"Tom Anderson" wrote in message
.li... if the Heathrow Intercity (or whatever it's called) station gets built What's that then? -- John Rowland - Spamtrapped Transport Plans for the London Area, updated 2001 http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acro...69/tpftla.html A man's vehicle is a symbol of his manhood. That's why my vehicle's the Piccadilly Line - It's the size of a county and it comes every two and a half minutes |
Paddington motorail
On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 14:16:57 +0100, "John Rowland"
wrote: if the Heathrow Intercity (or whatever it's called) station gets built What's that then? A terminus in the T5 area for HSTs, with a west-facing connection to the GWML, so that eastbound trains can terminate at Heathrow instead of Paddington. |
Paddington motorail
In article ,
John Rowland wrote: "Tom Anderson" wrote in message .li... if the Heathrow Intercity (or whatever it's called) station gets built What's that then? Hayes Gateway ? David |
Paddington motorail
On Mon, 15 Aug 2005, gwr4090 wrote:
In article , John Rowland wrote: "Tom Anderson" wrote in message .li... if the Heathrow Intercity (or whatever it's called) station gets built What's that then? Hayes Gateway ? Ah - now that's a new one on me! That seems to be a separate idea - here's what the DfT's "The future development of air transport in the UK: South East" has to say about stations: "7.10 The planning permission for Terminal 5 requires extension of the Heathrow Express and Piccadilly Line to serve Terminal 5 before the terminal opens. BAA were also expected to consider securing a service to St Pancras and the opening of a Northern Gateway Station at Hayes and Harlington." "7.15 With a new runway the following services have been assumed: Guildford, Reading via Bracknell and Waterloo via Richmond (requiring the "Airtrack" link between Terminal 5 and Staines); St Albans and Watford (requiring additional tracks between Hayes and Acton); East London via Crossrail; Reading via Slough (requiring the "Western connection" link between Terminal 5 and Iver); and a range of InterCity services to the Regions (requiring an open-air station - for diesel services - to the west of Terminal 5)." That last "open-air station" bit is what i was calling 'Heathrow Intercity'; i assume Hayes Gateway is this "Northern Gateway Station at Hayes and Harlington". I have no idea what this "Western connection" thing is. The DfT are certainly full of ideas about things to build at Heathrow - i'd be surprised if there was any room left for aeroplanes! tom -- It sounds very much like a rock group consisting of a drum machine and a few 56k modems. -- Jon |
Paddington motorail
On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 15:28:06 +0100, asdf
wrote: A terminus in the T5 area for HSTs, with a west-facing connection to the GWML, so that eastbound trains can terminate at Heathrow instead of Paddington. Strikes me as a silly idea. You'd be better off running a more frequent Hayes - Heathrow service (e.g. by stopping some of the HExes as well as as the Connect) and stopping the HSTs there. Neil -- Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK When replying please use neil at the above domain 'wensleydale' is a spam trap and is not read. |
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