Portishead Line reopening for passengers - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[swrural]

I don't agree that FTN has no right to respond.  I see no legal basis for that at all - anyone may respond.  Visitors and others with a love of the area have a moral right as well.  I appreciate residents near the development have a right to be listened to very carefully, of course. 

Consultations are for everyone to respond to, should they wish.  I frequently do so when it has anything to do with the Bristol area, about which, judging from what has taken place in North Somerset over the last decades, I could have more of the said 'love' than Mr ap Rees does.   

[TonyK]

Apologies for those who don't know this area, but to discuss the issue, we need to get down to this kind of detail.  Although I don't agree with FTN's specific proposal, he exemplifies the kind of radical thinking needed.

Wow! Me up there with Che Guevara. Don't tell the vicar!

One of the most valuable things I take from this forum, apart from the massive leap forward in my education about railway matters, is the chance to float ideas  and read other peoples', even if they are shot down in flames. Public opinion does make a difference, apart from the awful BRT^▸ (Bus Rapid Transit) project, and I may even get in touch with NSDC after all. I take the point about the traffic. Had Quays Avenue been built with an imaginary railway running through it, then it could have been built as I suggested without any chance of protest from residents. But the clearest vision is always 20/20 hindsight.

So what about Radical Proposal #1, where the bridge over the railway is offset from the housing, or even (RP1a) moved east, towards the proposed Sheepway option? Don't forget that WEP, with the full support of Elfan ap Rees and Nigel Ashton, want to spend 14,000,000 of our hard-earned (or ill-gotten in my case) pounds on a bus-only junction to the M32, so the awful Bust Rabid Transit can get stuck in the rush hour traffic more quickly. They also want to build an embankment through Nigel Ashton Vale and a bridge over the Portbury line, so that commuters can get to work from the LA park and ride less quickly than they do now. If we can spend eye-watering sums on rubbish schemes, why can't we spend relatively modestly to facilitate good ones?

I was disappointed, BTW^▸ (by the way), to see no less a figure than Lord (Andrew) Adonis cast a damper on the Portishead line in no less august a publication than the Times today.

From the Scottish Borders to the West Country, via aspiring commuter towns in between, engineers are working to reopen rural branch lines severed by the Beeching Axe 50 years ago.

 Lines previously abandoned to nature are being revived by local authorities seeking to relieve congestion on the roads and restore public transport. Figures published last week showed that despite years of above-inflation fares rises, train travel is expanding to record levels.

 Where 50 years ago the political challenge was how to manage decline, the dilemma today is how to accommodate more passengers and achieve the Government^s aim of lower state subsidies.

 Next week, railway enthusiasts will mark the 50th anniversary of the Beeching cuts when the chairman of the British Railways Board published a report recommending the closure of 2,363 stations and 5,000 miles of track. Dr Beeching saw a future in which the car was king and recommended that more than half of all stations be closed and a third of the railway be junked to staunch heavy losses on the state-run railway.

 Local protest movements were cast aside and the 1960s saw many rural areas cut from the public transport network. But the diggers have returned to some lines, clearing vegetation and buildings that had taken over.

 Work has begun south of Edinburgh on a ^300 million scheme, the biggest currently under way. Network Rail, which took over the project to build 30 miles of track and seven stations last year, hopes that trains will return to the old Waverley line between Edinburgh and Carlisle in 2015 for the first time since 1969.

 In Devon, the county council is consulting on proposals to revive the Tavistock line. It is planning a 9km (5 mile) single-track line through cuttings and embankments abandoned by Beeching to reconnect Tavistock to Bere Alston. An hourly service to Plymouth is seen as a way of easing congestion on the A386 from a 750-house development on the outskirts of Tavistock.

 Last week, North Somerset Council hired contractors to clear the disused Portishead line as supporters prepare plans to rebuild the railway to Bristol. The 17-minute train journey would be far more convenient than the hour-long rush-hour drive, they claim.

 And Network Rail is waiting for government funding to rebuild part of the old Varsity Line between Oxford and Cambridge in a ^250 million scheme that would restore passenger services between Oxford and Bedford for the first time since 1967. The plan to relay track between Bicester and Bletchley would provide a link between the Great Western and West Coast Main Lines in a move which supporters claim would boost the local economy.

 Sir David Higgins, the Network Rail chief executive, said that one of the greatest challenges for the railway was how to cater for growth.

 Figures from the Office of Rail Regulation showed 385 million passenger journeys in the three months to January, 14 million more than for the same period last year and the highest number yet on the privatised railway. Revenue rose by 8 per cent to ^1.96 billion in the quarter.

 After a decade of above-inflation fares rises there is still no relief in sight for passengers. Network Rail^s blueprint for growth to the end of the decade is based on another five years of rising ticket prices.

 Michael Palin, the broadcaster and president of the Campaign for Better Transport, welcomed the reopening of lines. ^There was a time when there was a lot of sentiment about the railways and everyone had to have their own little line. Now there is a business case to be made. The more the merrier,^ he said.

 But Lord Adonis, the former Labour Transport Secretary, said that the priority should be investing in the existing railway. ^There are a few Beeching closures that should be reversed, like Lewes-Uckfield and Oxford-Cambridge, but the big demand for investment is in the existing network, not in reopening rural lines of marginal benefit,^ he said. ^Increasing capacity on the major commuter lines into the big cities and developing high-speed rail is the key priority for investment.^From the Scottish Borders to the West Country, via aspiring commuter towns in between, engineers are working to reopen rural branch lines severed by the Beeching Axe 50 years ago.

I thought better of him than I do now, but shall consider adding him to my Christmas card list deletees, along with Elfan ap Rees and and Nigel Ashton Vale.

[swrural]

FTN
In the quote I don't see where Lord Adonis cast doubt on the Portishead line at all.  He did on 'rural lines of marginal benefit'.  The Portishead line is an urban line (to my mind, I know that it's pretty as well in places).

Better send him an Easter egg.

[trainer]

FTN's quote from The Times:

'Last week, North Somerset Council hired contractors to clear the disused Portishead line as supporters prepare plans to rebuild the railway to Bristol. The 17-minute train journey would be far more convenient than the hour-long rush-hour drive, they claim.'

What does the journalist mean by 'they claim'? It seems to me to be patently obvious that 43 minutes saving in time will be 'far more convenient'. Or is bad grammar concealing a challenge to the journey time suggested?

I tend to give Lord Adonis the benefit of the doubt on this one as the article is a 'something and nothing' piece with little real substance to it and I doubt Portishead would rank with less commercially viable projects like...  (Nearly put my head on the block there by annoying another pressure group, but withdrew it.  )

[PS: anyone help me with how to put in short quotes in the purple boxes?  Thought I'd learned, but haven't.  Pm will do.  Thanks]

[Scott]

I'm not even sure how they came up with that 17-minute figure. By my reckoning it's nearer 21, plus additional time at Pill whenever two services should be timed to pass one-another if the service is half-hourly. Or are they planning to have only Pill itself as an intermediate station between Portishead and BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains), which would weaken the economic case of the service?

Last I knew, intermediate stations were planned for Pill, Ashton Gate (or Ashton Vale), Parson Street and Bedminster, and *possibly* Portbury (which seems a bit pointless to me). Is there an update on this I am not aware of?

[trainer]

IIRC^▸ (if I recall/remember/read correctly) Ashton Vale is off the plan for the time being for reasons to do with easy access to a station site and the lack of residential population in the immediate vicinity.  I'm sorry I can't reference this and I've done a quick search on the forum with no relevant results, so presumably I didn't read it here.

[Chris from Nailsea]

[PS: anyone help me with how to put in short quotes in the purple boxes?  Thought I'd learned, but haven't.  Pm will do.  Thanks]

I'm happy to help with that, trainer! 

At the start of the piece of text you want to quote, type [ quote ] (without the spaces); at the end of the piece of text, type [ /quote ] (again, without the spaces).

Like this.

[trainer]

Thanks, CfN, I will try that next time. 

[anthony215]

An article about this has appeared in a certain Bristol newspaper:

http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/Portishead-rail-station-location/story-18468606-detail/story.html#axzz2O4Te4kBg

[Chris from Nailsea]

A detailed article, from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Beeching Report: The fight to reopen Portishead's rail link


Work to clear the disused railway line has already begun to find out how much work will be needed before trains can start running again

Campaigners have been fighting for more than 20 years to get the rail link back in a North Somerset town.

Members of the Portishead Railway Group have even set the date of 18 April 2017 - 150 years to the day the line was opened - to have trains on the track.

Fifty years have passed since Dr Richard Beeching restructured Great Britain's railways, but the effects of his cuts are still being felt.

In 1964, the railway station in the Severn Estuary coastal town closed for the last time because of low passenger numbers and falling freight use.

The campaign group is supported by the West of England Partnership which argues there is a "very good business case" for using the branch line once again.

"Bridges, tunnels, cuttings - it's all there - none of it has been built on," said Alan Matthews, chairman of the group. "The line has never been lifted and the track is still there but all overgrown."


Despite an extra long platform at Portishead for day trippers, passenger numbers continued to fall

The nine miles of single track line between Ashton in Bristol and Portishead was opened in 1867. Running along the Avon Gorge, it offered passengers a regular service with stations at Clifton Bridge, Pill and Portbury.

"It was run to a timetable and was definitely profitable up to the start of the 20th century," said Mr Matthews. "It was very busy during both world wars but Dr Beeching said the line had to do ^5,000 per week or it would have to close."

Despite a "very long" platform being built in Portishead to accommodate large numbers of day trippers, passenger numbers fell and in 1964 the line was closed to all but freight and by 1981 was closed completely.

Twenty years later, it was re-laid as far as Portbury Docks but for freight use only. The remaining 3.3 miles of redundant track - from Portbury into Portishead - has been sitting idle for the last 49 years "collecting rust and buddleias".

In 1861 the population of Portishead was just 1,201 - this has risen to about 22,000 according to the town council. With new housing developments in the area it is expected to increase by a further 8,000.

But with just one major road, the A369, linking Portishead with Bristol, the town has been described by North Somerset MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) Dr Liam Fox as "the most overcrowded cul-de-sac in Britain".

A study by Network Rail in 2010 showed travel time from Portishead to Bristol by rail would be 17 minutes, compared to an hour by road during rush hour.

In 2008 the redundant line was bought by North Somerset Council to stop the track being taken up or built on.


An opening date of 18 April 2017 has been set - 150 years to the day it was opened by Brunel

And now the West of England Partnership is in discussions with Network Rail to develop the Greater Bristol Metro which will include Portishead.

James White, from the partnership, said it would make sense to bring the branch line back. "The proposal is for two stations; one at Portishead and one at Pill, and a possible station at Ashton Gate," he said. "The idea is to have a half hourly service at peak times, in the morning and evening, and an hourly service the rest of the day depending on demand."

With the organisation estimating up to 400,000 passengers a year and 1,300 a day, Mr White said he was confident trains would be running by 2017.

But with the cost estimated at more than ^40m, a Network Rail spokesman said the work start date depends on when North Somerset Council obtains the funding.

"Reinstating the Bristol to Portishead line for passenger services is not our proposal," he said. "It is a third party aspiration. It is not in the Network Rail strategic business plan for 2014 to 2019, although we are working with other interested parties to try and make it happen."

North Somerset Council has already had a ^43m bid to reopen the line rejected by the government.

The authority applied for the money from the Regional Growth Fund back in 2011.

The Department for Transport is expected to make an announcement on funding later this year.

[TonyK]

An interesting report (although it neglected Ashton Gate in the list of earlier stations), if not a sign of work about to start. I didn't realise Network Rail were not behind the proposal. The anticipated passenger numbers seem a little low to me, although in every other recent railway reopening, passenger numbers have exceeded expectations, usually by a big margin. It seems you play safe with railway proposals, and exaggerate wildly with bus schemes.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the North Somerset Times:

Funding approved to progress railway dream



The next phase of preparation works for the re-opening of the Portishead^s railway line has been given the green light.

After considering an updated report on the rail project yesterday (Tues), North Somerset Council^s executive recommended a total of ^1.35million should be spent on more detailed preparation work over the next 12 months.

The money will come from four councils in North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Bath and North East Somerset and Bristol. North Somerset Council^s contribution will be ^675,000, funded by housing developer contributions to local infrastructure.

The re-opening of the Portishead line will form part of the Great West Metro Phase One project, which includes proposals for half-hourly train services between Portishead and Bristol.

The total cost of the project is likely to be between ^45m and ^55m, which is expected to be funded from a Department for Transport Major Schemes grant.

Leader of North Somerset Council, Nigel Ashton, said: ^This is a really major transport project which has the potential to have massive benefits, not just for North Somerset, but for the whole sub-region. We need to continue our efforts to move the project on sufficiently to secure the full approval and the necessary government funding. Any delay to this work would have a knock-on effect upon project timescales and costs.^

The next phase of preparation work includes progressing railway engineering design and preparation of a detailed business case.

Three locations are currently being considered for the Portishead railway station but financial and operational restrictions are likely to govern the final decision.

[grahame]

From the North Somerset Times:

Funding approved to progress railway dream



The next phase of preparation works for the re-opening of the Portishead^s railway line has been given the green light.

After considering an updated report on the rail project yesterday ...

At the risk of asking an extremely dumb question, why is the picture illustrating this a Brighton to Kingston Cheap Day Return from June 2006??

[ellendune]

At the risk of asking an extremely dumb question, why is the picture illustrating this a Brighton to Kingston Cheap Day Return from June 2006??

Because they wanted to get the article on another thread!

[Chris from Nailsea]

Indeed! 

See also http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=11558.msg129033