Passenger power is cue for extra trains

[Mojo]

From the Evening Post

A new improved rail service on Bristol's Severn Beach line will be launched next week.

Up to 3,000 people a day use the line, which links Temple Meads to 10 suburban stations, and campaigners have been pressing for train services which run every 30 minutes, all day.

They have yet to achieve that goal but the new timetable features more frequent weekday trains and a Sunday service to Avonmouth.

Government funding and a deal struck between Bristol City Council, South Gloucestershire Council and First Great Western will see £900,000 spent on a three-year contract for the line.

It will pay for an extra train unit and crew and will establish a roughly 40-minute train frequency.

This will mean three trains every two hours in both directions between Bristol Temple Meads and Avonmouth from Monday to Saturday with one train an hour continuing to Severn Beach throughout the day, replacing the peak-hour-only trains to Severn Beach at present.

For the first time, there will be an hourly service between Bristol Temple Meads and Avonmouth on Sundays.

In all, Bristol City Council will fund 54 round trips a week for the Severn Beach line including eight on a Sunday.

The improvements to the line, which serves Lawrence Hill, Stapleton Road, Montpelier, Redland, Clifton Down, Sea Mills, Shirehampton, Avonmouth, St Andrews Road and Severn Beach from Temple Meads, are the result of the 2007 Half Hour Train Campaign.

When Bristol City Council asked the public about its budget, more than 3,000 people made the line their biggest issue and the councillors of all political parties unanimously agreed to invest in better services for three years.

Joe Patrick, vice chairman of Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways, said: "While the new service is not comparable with the services provided in many other cities, it is a welcome improvement and we hope it will prove the importance of local rail services and their ability to reduce traffic congestion."

A celebration of the launch of the new services will take place on Monday morning. Cat Hobbs of the Campaign for Better Transport is due at Clifton Down station at 7.19am to distribute new time- tables and will make a speech along with Bristol West Lib Dem MP Stephen Williams. Councillor Barbara Lewis will represent Bristol City Council.

Meanwhile, stations in Greater Bristol including all those on the Severn Beach line could benefit from £400,000 of new investment.

Rail Minister Tom Harris announced money will be made available for local lines through the new Designated Community Rail Development Fund.

The Severn Beach line can apply to the Association of Community Rail Partnerships for up to £5,000 to be spent on more seats on platforms, cycle racks and signs.

Neil Buxton, general manager at ACoRP, said: "Community Rail Partnerships can deliver a lot from very little and I am pleased that we are working with the Department and Network Rail to get this project off the ground."

The actual cost of the service is closer to £1.2 Million, and the £400,000 for stations is guaranteed not a "could." Anyway, the main event takes place at 10am on Monday 19th and we will be gathered by the Whiteladies Road entrance to Clifton Down station, if anyone is passing by, feel free to come down!

In attendance should be:
- Stephen Williams MP (Lib Dem, Bristol West)
- Cllr Barbara Lewis (Conservative, Brislington & Chair of Transport Select Committee on West of England parntership)
- Charlotte Leslie (Conservative Parliamentary Candidate, Bristol North West
- Cat Hobbs (Architect of Half Hour Train Campaign, now works for Campaign for Better Transport)
- Bernard Lane (FOSBR Chairman) and myself as Vice Chair

We also expect representatives from the Green and Labour Parties (Cllr Mark Bradshaw is on holiday!)

Right to reply

I welcome the coverage of the improved service on the Severn Beach Line in the Post ("Passenger power is cue for extra trains," Post, Fri 16) but feel I have to reply to some of the comments made response to this article.

Rail is the best way of moving mass numbers of people and encouraging people to reduce their car usage. This improved service not only benefits rail users but also is attractive to car users by offering a real alternative to the congested streets and otherwise mostly inadequate public transport network in our area which helps to create social inclusion and boost our local economy.

Some have rightly raised concerns about the change in services to Severn Beach. The lack of a single authority co-ordinating transport in the area is the main reason for this as multiple local authorities have to get together and agree on a business case. This is difficult under the current structure.

This more frequent service is only a first step to developing acceptable local rail services. The current service is not ideal, but within the limits of local funding. It would not be reasonable to expect local authorities to fund an even more intensive service over long periods, putting it up against other public services such as education & culture. It is up to our elected officials to show political will for better services. This is only the beginning.

Joe Patrick
Vice Chairman
Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways

 

[Z12XE]

and the £400,000 for stations is guaranteed not a "could."

They've obiously mixed the stories, as they seem to refer to this (which is the money which Tom Harris has annouced, and will probably re-annouce every week to make it look more)

From NDS

Extra funding for rural stations

Passengers on rural and regional rail services across the country are set to benefit from a £60,000 fund for Community Rail Partnerships, Rail Minister Tom Harris announced today.

The new Designated Community Rail Development Fund will help deliver improvements to make a real difference at local stations, such as more seats at stations, cycle parking and better information for passengers. It can also help fund awareness campaigns to encourage more people to use these lines.

Rail Minister Tom Harris said:

"This extra funding will support the small projects that can make a big difference to passengers using rural routes and will help Community Rail Partnerships provide services that really benefit their local community."

Community Rail Partnerships promote and develop the railway services for local people and will apply to Association of Community Rail Partnerships for the funding. A full list of the Community Rail Partnerships eligible for funding can be found below. All partnerships working on these lines can apply to the fund for a grant of up to £5,000 per route.

Jerry Swift, Network Rail's Account Director for Community Rail, said:

"Network Rail has seen real improvements around the network as a result of the work of Community Rail Partnerships. We are delighted to be able to support this initiative and we are looking forward to seeing some innovative schemes that benefit rail users and local people. Delivering a railway that meets local needs is key to seeing the network develop."

Neil Buxton, General Manager at ACoRP said:

"Community Rail Partnerships can deliver a lot from very little and I am pleased that we are working with the Department and Network Rail to get this project off the ground. Local rail is thriving in many parts of the country and with continued work we expect it to grow further over the next few years."

The following Community Rail Partnerships are eligible to apply for funding:
Abbey Line: St Albans - Watford Junction, Hertfordshire
Atlantic Coast Line: Newquay - Par, Cornwall
Barton Line: Barton-on-Humber - Cleethorpes, North Lincolnshire
Bittern Line: Norwich to Sheringham, Norfolk
Clitheroe Line: Clitheroe - Manchester, Lancashire and Greater Manchester
Derwent Valley Line: Matlock - Derby, Derbyshire
Esk Valley Line: Whitby - Middlesbrough, Teesside and North Yorkshire
Gainsborough Line: Sudbury - Marks Tey, Suffolk and Essex
Island Line: Ryde - Shanklin, Isle of Wight
Lakes Line: Oxenholme - Windermere, Cumbria
East Lancashire Line: Preston - Colne, Lancashire
Looe Valley Line: Looe - Liskeard, Cornwall
Maritime Line: Falmouth - Truro, Cornwall
Marston Vale Line: Bedford - Bletchley East, Milton Keynes and Bedfordshire
Medway Valley Line: Paddock Wood to Strood, Kent
Penistone Line: Barnsley - Huddersfield, South and West Yorkshire
Poacher Line: Skegness - Grantham, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire
Severn Beach Line: Bristol - Avonmouth - Severn Beach
South Fylde Line: Preston - Blackpool South, Lancashire
St Ives Bay Line: St Ives - St Erth, Cornwall
Tamar Valley Line: Gunnislake - Plymouth, Devon and Cornwall
Tarka Line: Exeter - Barnstaple, Devon
Wherry Lines: Norwich - Great Yarmouth and Norwich - Lowestoft, Norfolk and Suffolk

 

[devon_metro]

Good news, Bristol is a nightmare to get into and out of due to the way that the streets are aligned.

 

[Mojo]

Was on the train with Andrew Griffiths this morning. Andrew handed a few timetables to the conductor, who replied "thanks, the bus driver at Avonmouth took mine."

We both looked oddly at each other and I joked "someone's probably forgot to cancel the contract." When the conductor came back round, Andrew said "the bus driver... was this on Saturday?" The conductor replied "no, this morning."

Oh dear... someone's cocked up!

 

[class 313]

Ah nice to see the Abbey Flyer can apply!

 

[Mojo]

£5,000 would get you about one and a half shelters on the platform.

 

[me123]

A shelter's still something; I'm sure some stations don't even have one ATM hock:

 

[Mojo]

I was actually wondering the other day... are there actually any stations without any form of shelter or under cover waiting area?

 

[me123]

I'm sure at least one of Denton and Reddish South doesn't. *

I don't really know, though. In the SPT area, we get a lot of funding for such...err...luxuries so I don't know about anywhere else (all other routes for me are pretty mainline). I'd imagine some request stops up North won't, though.

*EDIT:Neither has a shelter, but Denton has a bench. Based on photos from wikipedia.

 

[Pumbaa]

Yep there's a quite a few with no form of shelter or luxury of any description, particularly in Scotland. And now I need to think of them... I can't! Will edit it later when I've remembered... :roll:

 

[Techniquest]

Pilning is such a station that comes to mind. Nearest thing to a shelter would be the footbridge.

 

[Mojo]

Both platforms at Pilning have shelters which have recently been repainted!

http://www.cityladies.co.uk/spf/pilning_rescue.jpg (not my photo)

 

[class 313]

£5,000 would get you about one and a half shelters on the platform.

St Albans Abbey, Park Street and How Wood have had new shelters. The others don't need ones yet.

 

[Mojo]

I was just saying how surprisingly little that gets you in today's overinflated priced railway. It's not just the farepayers that can get ripped off!

 

[Techniquest]

Both platforms at Pilning have shelters which have recently been repainted!

http://www.cityladies.co.uk/spf/pilning_rescue.jpg (not my photo)

Fair enough! Don't recall them there, but I didn't pay much attention when I went there last year.

 

[class 313]

Both platforms at Pilning have shelters which have recently been repainted!

http://www.cityladies.co.uk/spf/pilning_rescue.jpg (not my photo)

Its surprising how dire that station is! Considering the amount of people that use. (You only need to look at that photo! Or is a station that's served once a week or something?) And how HSTs serve it

 

[furryfeet]

berney arms

not been there, but i am sure that the location is so peaceful one would not mind being out in the open !

does summerseat have a shelter now ?

 

[Techniquest]

Its surprising how dire that station is! Considering the amount of people that use. (You only need to look at that photo! Or is a station that's served once a week or something?) And how HSTs serve it

HSTs do not normally serve the station, and when trains are booked to call it's usually empty anyway!

Don't know why it's so busy there.

 

[me123]

Syas "rescue" in the image title: perhaps an HST broke down and they dumped the passengers there 'till they got a replacement?

 

[Mojo]

Yes, that's exactly what happenned, me123.

http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/disp...tentPK=20665076&folderPk=83726&pNodeId=241966

An improved rail service has been launched on the Severn Beach line.

Up to 3,000 people a day use the line, which links Temple Meads to 10 suburban stations, and campaigners have been pressing for train services to run every 30 minutes.

They have yet to achieve that goal but the new timetable, which came into force yesterday, features more frequent weekday trains and a Sunday service to Avonmouth.



Government funding and a deal struck between Bristol City Council, South Gloucestershire Council and First Great Western will see £900,000 spent on a three-year contract.

It will result in improved frequency of three trains every two hours in both directions between Bristol Temple Meads and Avonmouth from Monday to Saturday, with one train an hour continuing to Severn Beach throughout the day.

For the first time, there is now an hourly service between Bristol Temple Meads and Avonmouth on Sundays.

In all, Bristol City Council will fund 54 round trips a week for the Severn Beach line, including eight on a Sunday.

The improvements to the line, which serves Lawrence Hill, Stapleton Road, Montpelier, Redland, Clifton Down, Sea Mills, Shirehampton, Avonmouth, St Andrews Road and Severn Beach from Temple Meads, are the result of the 2007 Half Hour Train Campaign.

Campaigners from the Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways (FOSBR) were at Clifton Down Station yesterday morning.

Joe Patrick, vice-president of FOSBR, said: "While the new service is not comparable with the services provided in many other cities, it is a welcome improvement and we hope it will prove the importance of local rail services and their ability to reduce traffic congestion."

Mark Bradshaw, transport boss on the city council, said: "No one should doubt our commitment to local rail, both within Bristol and with our partners in the sub-region.

"The service and station improvements will make a huge difference to passengers and forms part of our commitment to provide attractive travel alternatives in our city.

"We now intend to look at additional measures such as joint-funding, and a turn-back arrangement at Clifton to improve reliability.

"And we will want to see how, working with partners, we can better promote the services and encourage more people to make use of them."

Andrew Griffiths, regional manager for rail operator First Great Western, said: "The extra trains and improved stations, together with the excellent value-for-money fares, means that there is great potential for tempting many more people out of their cars - to everyone's benefit."

 

[devon_metro]

A new bus shelter in my area cost around £3000 to install!

 

[thefab444]

What makes me laugh is Beaulieu Road (operated by SWT) - one of the least served stations on the South Coast has a full announcement system, help point, a pair of PIS screens (proper ones that you can read) and two shelters - yet big FGW stations like Romsey have two dodgy TV screens, no clock and a small waiting room that is usually locked. Even Didcot and Oxford don't have proper scrolling PIS screens!

Did SWT get a grant for PIS systems or is it just that FGW/Wessex couldn't be bothered to spend the money? I also notice that the signs are just NSE with a small swirly sticker on the bottom, whereas SWT revinyl them quite a bit.

 

[Mojo]

If anyone has the pocket timetable E6 (both ones uploaded to the FGW site or a printed copy), note there are two trains; 1219 Temple Meads - Stapleton Rd and 1620 Temple Meads - Stapleton Rd; that do not exist. FGW are aware.

 

[Z12XE]

berney arms

not been there, but i am sure that the location is so peaceful one would not mind being out in the open !

It has a shelter, and given what the weather gets like in that area if its cold/windy/rainy then it is needed