SVR General Discussion

Yes. It's changed over time of course.

The (interrupted) Bridgnorth redevelopment programme aimed to improve facilities with a new car park and catering, expanded bar, shop and much needed waiting facilities. Part of the reason was to make it more of a departure station as well as a destination, and better develop traffic from the Shropshire, south Staffordshire and south Cheshire catchment areas.

Yes

SVR passenger numbers over time can be viewed on the SVR Wiki at https://www.svrwiki.com/SVR_Passenger_numbers

 

One thing that strikes me there is that, for someone visiting twice in the year, paying on the day is now vastly more expensive than booking in advance - £64 as opposed to £25 (for an adult) is above a 150% premium! The difference is *so* large that it's coming close to making booking de facto mandatory. Whether that's a deliberate thing or not I don't know, but it jumped out at me instantly. (It also makes the SVR deeply unappealing for me when I have an unexpected free day and can go there on a whim, but that's a side issue as I accept - again - that I am unlikely to be this railway's core customer.)

As for the timetable... well, it's a very far cry indeed from the days when people would write here about an ordinary weekend service and say "Many railways would see that as a gala!" Not anymore, and though we all know things have changed since 2019 it doesn't make the "fall from grace" any less unhappy. As you have already pointed out in another post, the timetable up to June is particularly unappealing for those starting from Bridgnorth. Making BH a really attractive place to start your day is at the very least on hold. I would unhesitatingly recommend anyone who asked me to start at Kidder instead.

Finally: put yourself in the place of a family planning a trip to the Kidderminster/Bewdley area and wanting a day out. The two big visitor attractions are the safari park and the SVR. Why should that family pick the railway?

 

Not quite sure what they are doing, there is a normal day timetable for April onwards but the calendar doesn't seem to show what days. 1/2 April seems to have a special timetable, you can see the event but not the timetable. Hope they sort it as we have a few days in the area around then.

 

You seem to be critical of the railway offering its online bookers something for free. Now I would usually be a walk up passenger but there are many industries that give you more if you book on line. The only thing that used to p**s me off with the SVR is a booking fee (not checked if still applies in 2023), just include it in the price.
The timetable looks to me very similar to what the WSR operated last year, I did not visit but from webcam viewing seemed to work for them and the line length and price points are similar. The SVR timings look fine for those on holiday or travelling to visit and have a ride. Cannot believe too many start from the north end so the later start may not matter. How many other than the likes of us on here just want to do more than out and back with maybe a break somewhere for lunch. If the two train service is one steam one diesel, not so sure that will work for Joe Public, although maybe this year has shown the SVR it does.
We can all mourn timetables of old, but like BR steam they have now gone. I was captioning some Bluebell images from 2012 the other and the number of locos in use and the number of trains (aided by the line only going as far as Kingscote) was something only to be dreamed of now.
To use that horrible phrase it is the new norm.

 

Timetable listed as 'coming soon'
https://svr.co.uk/event/timetable-c-themed-weekends/2023-04-01/

 

This crisis Sidmouth predicted and we all feared is upon us and it's good that we are thinking of ideas.
A few thoughts from a near local and frequent visitor:
1. The opportunities from the north end in this TT are poor, and this after the considerable investment in the car park, catering and toilets. This is the obvious joining place for car- borne visitors from Wolverhampton, Staffordshire and points north. Not an inconsiderable market I would think. An earlier start from this end?
2. At present, pre-booking seems only to be in mind for Freedom of the Line, full trip, tickets: short trips are pay on the day. If I've read the website correctly. The round trip is is too much for some people, especially with young children, so I would hope this option will become available and well promoted before the main season.
3. We enthusiasts will I think be even more concentrated in Galas and special events, so it still wise to run separate Steam & Diesel Galas? I no longer see such a big division between the two markets, so is it wise to segregate the events so rigidly? I'm not precluding a bias towards themes at individual events or on specific days within each event: this might be locals, expresses, goods, photographic line-ups, etc...

 

One thing that hadn't really occurred to me until I looked through the inevitable avalanche of Facebook comments was how challenging it might be to keep everyone's competency up with such a stripped-back service. Not just footplate crews not getting enough turns in, but if signalboxes are being switched out or just not passing trains there, it could cause a decline in the SVR's ability to do anything more complicated even for a few days a year for galas and the like, and a general decline in the number of volunteers it can call on, even leaving aside any potential ill will and disenchantment that surely will cause some to leave.

It makes me very sad to see the SVR like this; although if you cut me in half it'd say GWSR down the middle, I very much see the SVR as the place that sparked my interest with early visits with grandparents etc. I do hope that it is learnt quickly that this is not the way forward and another approach is taken.

 

Thank-you for drawing attention to this timetable news from the SVR.

Given the difficult current situation, I am sure that SVR managers will have been thinking carefully about how they can best achieve a balance between cutting costs as far as possible while also retaining as many customers as they can. The cost cutting is likely to include a reduction in numbers of staff - both paid and volunteer - required to operate services.

We had certainly been warned to expect substantial retrenchment. Nevertheless, it is still a shock to see what that means, firstly with reports that operations will be limited to 4 days a week, and secondly with the horrid low-season timetable proposed for April to June. If memory is correct, I think the 1990s-era low-season SVR timetable also only had two train-sets running each day. But I'm sure that it did not have 3-hour gaps in the service.

In pre-pandemic times, I would typically pay a few non-gala visits each year to the SVR, usually getting a train around 12.30 from Kidderminster and breaking my journey somewhere, normally Arley or Highley. This year, passengers will need to be very careful about breaking their journey, lest they face a 3-hour wait for another train. If I choose to visit the SVR on a non-gala day this year, I suspect it will have to be straight to Bridgnorth and straight back. The Highley Engine House may well lose visitors.

Oh well. Let's just hope that the SVR feels able to restore a more balanced timetable, either later in the year or in 2024.

 

There are once again some very negative comments on here. There is no doubt a dip in fortune across the industry (& wider economy) and railways (not just the SVR) are having to adjust and quite honestly protect themselves. The reality is everyone knew 2023 was going to be difficult - cost of living, inflation and the fall out from Covid is biting hard.
However, the truth is no one knows how bad this year is going to be. People will still want a good day out & to enjoy themselves. Folk may decide foreign holidays are a step too far which will benefit local attractions.
2024 will be around the corner before we know it and the situation will be a lot clearer. We have recovered from recessions before!

 

I thought it was now illegal to apply a credit card charge.

 

Don't get the SVR started on anything photographic, somebody may fall and die!

 

Has been illegal since 2018. Rhetoric spouted by those who think credit cards are bad.

 

It is. Booking fees are not.

 

They are, but you can still charge a booking fee to cover other costs.

 

As of June last year, even if you book in advance, you still had to go to the ticket office to collect your ticket. On my visit, as it was a special event, wrist bands were given out but previously, in December 2021, Edmunsens tickets were handed out. They've not gone fully Llangollen/WSR receipt yet!

Tickets can be bought until I think 36 hours before the day? So not like you need to book way in advance.

 

I'd rather pay £25 + £2 = £27 than £32.

 

Whilst I agree that using a booking hall is a pleasant experience, incl and Edmonson ticket it may be a hard sell to get volunteers who are prepared to sit there all day doing little (other than perhaps saying the next train is some many minutes off).
The unknown to me, being a smart phone refuser is how many actually want to book online or via their phone even on the day. In the debate about the national network's booking offices I read that only 18% of tickets are now purchased at a booking office. Is it realistic to expect most to expect to do anything different for a trip on an HR these days?
My local line went to system produced computer generated tickets and even as RTT displays in the booking areas, but cannot say I have ever heard any negative complaints about it.

 

Unless things have changed, last year you still had to go to the ticket office to collect pre-booked tickets.