Campaign for Portishead and Henbury rail links
Rail campaigners have called for more spending on local trains in greater Bristol, including Portishead and Henbury.
The Friends Of Suburban Bristol Railways (FOSBR), which successfully pushed for improvements to the Severn Beach line in 2006, is due to launch a campaign on Thursday.
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It wants to see Government investment in other railway lines around the city, including the reopening of the Portishead line to Bristol and the 'Henbury Loop'.
North Somerset Council has already announced plans to buy three miles of track into the middle of Portishead for £75,000, with a view to running trains to the city centre by 2014.
It would cost £15 million for new stations on the line – at Portishead, Ashton Gate and Pill – and operating costs could hit £2.4m per year, of which up to £900,000 could come from the council.
The 'Henbury Loop' is a freight line which runs between Avonmouth and Bristol Parkway but campaigners want to see it opening to passenger trains too.
Conversion of this stretch of the line would require a new station at Henbury and widening of the track to allow passenger trains to run alongside freight trains operated by Bristol Port Company.
Again, millions of pounds would be needed from the Government, First Great Western and Network Rail to get such a link up and running.
It would also need subsidies from local authorities – Bristol City Council spends £400,000 a year to let frequent, regular trains run from Severn Beach to the city centre.
The money would have to be bid for by the South West Regional Assembly (SWRA), after recommendations from the West of England Partnership (WEP) of all four councils in the greater Bristol area.
WEP is backing the Portishead to Bristol scheme but believes the Henbury Loop proposal is not feasible yet.
Instead it is suggesting an improved, regular cross-Bristol service from Yate to Weston-super-Mare would be more realistic and better used.
This could act as the first step towards a 'Metro' system of cross city services.
These two schemes will be proposed when SWRA bids for money under the regional funding allocation to the Government later this year.
FOSBR will launch the Portishead and Northern Bristol Rail Campaign on Platform 1 of Temple Meads Station tomorrow.
Supporters will be holding maps of the rail network and a large postcard addressed to West of England Partnership.
Rob Dixon, a Bristol transport campaigner, said: "We want our councillors to show they really want to do something about congestion and pollution and they understand buses aren't the only method of public transport.
"In other areas of the country, councils have successfully invested in railways to the benefit of local people who use them in great and increasing numbers.
"We would like our councils to show the same support for rail that they have in Leeds or Birmingham, rather than just think about cars and buses."
Nigel Bray of the Railfuture Severnside group said: "The regional funding allocation could transform the rail system in the Bristol area, raising it to the standard of those in other major cities in the UK.
"Portishead has grown massively since its station closed in 1964, when the roads were less congested and there was little concern about the effects of traffic growth on the environment.
"There is every reason to believe the Portishead and Henbury lines would be well supported.
"We would welcome any improvements to local rail services because they are very badly needed."
Julia Dean, spokeswoman for the WEP, said: "In the medium term, the Portishead line and the improved Yate to Weston-super-Mare services are our priority because we believe passenger numbers are likely to be greater.
"Running passenger trains from Avonmouth to Bristol Parkway is part of our long-term plan but it will need substantial investment from the other interested parties – not only to set it up but also to keep it running."
6 Comments
by Mark, Parkway
Wednesday, October 29 2008, 1:22PM
“Every time a report like this comes out about rail options, it's all about difficulties and costs, with only a brief mention of the benefits.
Yet propose to clog the roads up further with buses and its a fantastic investment to take the city into the future!!??
This city seems to be unable to see past buses being the only solution to our problem (which their not), despite the fact that we are in such a fortunate position as to find ourselves with a large percentage of the railway infrastructure we'd need, already being in place.
We are all rightly encouraged to leave the car at home but then presented with the alternative of sitting in the same traffic jams in a bus instead (and paying a hardly encouraging fare in the process).
We build a park and ride at Shirehampton, right next to the railway line, and then put the users back onto the road in a bus to complete their journey.
We hold international cricket matches at the county ground, set up a park and ride system at Parkway station and then BUS people through the already congested roads of Filton and Horfield to reach their destination which is just a couple of hundred yards from the same railway line (as Parkway) at the old Ashley Down station.
Same applies to the Memorial Stadium. A little further up Muller Road from the Ashley Down Station, but still easily walkable.
And Ashton Gate the same, right next to an operational railway.
We have the potential for anyone visiting these stadiums to arrive by rail from anywhere in the country via Parkway or Temple Meads, benefiting not only them but the other local residents who are affected by traffic and parking problems, yet we don't even seem to have noticed the opportunity exists.
How many people shopping on Gloucester Road realise there is a station yards away at Montpelier and where it could potentially take them to?
How many people sat in traffic trying to get to the Mall at Cribbs anytime between now and Christmas realise there is an operational railway only a short distance away that could potentially connect with Filton, Stoke Gifford, Horfield, central Bristol, Clifton, Shirehampton, Avonmouth and, via Parkway and Temple Meads, many places beyond.
Yet I know of many people in Bristol who take the train to Newport, Cardiff, Bath, London to Christmas shop rather than sit in traffic to our local Malls at Cribbs and in town.
The link out of town to Portishead is an obvious option. Take a look at the Bristol to Portishead road or the A4 / Avonmouth bridge on an evening or people trying to reach / park near Ashton Gate (or the residents of Ashton Gate)and ask if any of those people would be interested in a train service.
And look what a Henbury circular railway could do if we bothered to show any interest in the idea AND developed it to its maximum potential rather than the bare minimum.
Temple Meads, Montpelier (for Gloucester Road), Redland, Clifton, Sea Mills, Shirehampton, Avonmouth, Henbury, The Mall Cribbs (via a subway), Filton A38 (for the works and college), Parkway, Filton Abbey Wood, Horfield/Lockleaze, Ashley Down (for County Ground and Memorial Stadium), Stapleton Road, Lawrence Hill, Temple Meads.
So much of this is already in place, it's unbelievable that we haven't realised it's potential.
Bristol, instead of laughing at the idea everytime a possible hurdle appears, approach it with the same determination to overcome the challenges as we do when we want to cram a bus lane into an already blocked up Gloucester Road!
I think the potential success of such ventures will not be in doubt. What would determine it's success of how we go about it and the impression the people of the area get from it.
Make a token effort, leave people to find out for themselves what's on offer, use old dirty trains, stations with access via dark bramble filled lanes with no link to their intended market and you will have something that users dread having to use (like our e”
by Paul, Shirehampton
Wednesday, October 29 2008, 1:07PM
“People are missing the point. Bristol City Council (& its councillors) don't want a feasible working plan, they want a grand plan that they can be remembered for regardless of the fact it will tunr into a white elephant. Come on trains are just so 20th century.”
by Terry Manski, Portishead
Wednesday, October 29 2008, 9:48AM
“Yes!!! Some support for the missing line. We need that link to Bristol - it'll take hundreds of cars off the road, be a greener part of the world, and stop Portishead residents burning all that oil as they sit in a traffic queue caused by our inept local council's planning department.”
by Alex, Bristol
Wednesday, October 29 2008, 9:37AM
“Anything to reduce congestion in our cities by making other forms of transportation more attractive, the better.”
by Chris, Redland
Wednesday, October 29 2008, 9:36AM
“Bring it on!
Portishead is in dire need of a return to rail travel, as a glance at the Portbury Hundred any morning will show and a Henbury loop, from Temple Meads to Redland, Clifton, Shirehampton (WITH A P&R STATION), Avonmouth, Henbury, Filton (CRIBBS), Parkway, Horfield, Easton and Temple Meads - and vice versa - would create an ideal commuter and shopping service, as well as providing convenient links to main line long distance services.
Most of the line through Henbury is double track already, so I disagree with the BEP report stating that widening is required costing millions.
The usual mis-informed quasi-sensationalist BEP style of reporting. Please review the article BEP.
A regional TRANSPORT EXECUTIVE is what is really needed to join up Bristol CC with South Gloucestershire, north Somerset and BANES. without this we'll get the same short-termism and irrational arguements that killed the original tram project as BCC and SGC couldn't agree a terminus!
Oh, and whilst ranting, it's about time the councils stopped thinking of the dreaded bus as a solution. It isn't - people don't like them. We have very serviceable existing rail routes in the region which need minimum investment.”
by Mark, South Glos
Tuesday, October 28 2008, 5:03PM
“For all the talk and hype about Bristol's lost tram (which would cost millions), Bristol has several servicable rail lines that could easily be upgraded at minimal cost and solve many issues.
Millions was spent putting in Shirehampton PRide, and reducing road widths; all for a few hundred cars a day, whilst it is a only few hundred yards from an existing rail station in service!”