Portishead Line reopening for passengers - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[martyjon]

958,980 passenger trips by rail in the opening year increasing to 1,295,103 passenger trips by 2036

If the above statement were to read, 'over 900,000 passenger trips in the opening year rising to over 1 1/4 million by the year 2040', yes I would accept that but here we are again, all the planners, decision makers and knowalls putting out figures designed to impress, they must think we are all village idiots.

[chuffed]

Some orange army activity in between the two hump backed bridges in Portbury.
Some vehicles and a caravan in a compound, surveyor poles and black plastic on the line and in the fields either side. Anyone have any idea what's going on ?

[TonyK]

Some orange army activity in between the two hump backed bridges in Portbury.
Some vehicles and a caravan in a compound, surveyor poles and black plastic on the line and in the fields either side. Anyone have any idea what's going on ?

Could be some surveying.

[johnneyw]

At least it's activity, more activity than at Portway.

[bradshaw]

This appeared on the Cornish Railway Society site this morning
http://www.cornwallrailwaysociety.org.uk/latest-input--news--old-pictures-etc

Portishead branch
Peter Maliphant

​Dear All,
At our meeting last week, we reviewed all the latest news and the detailed plan looking forward to the line reopening in late 2023 or thereabouts.
 
There are three documents that you might be interested in reading:
 
My presentation summarising the news and forward plan is here:
https://www.portisheadrailwaygroup.org/The%20Next%20Four%20Years.pdf
The minutes from the meeting, covering parts of the presentation and Q&A, are here:
https://www.portisheadrailwaygroup.org/PRG%20152%20-%20members%20meeting%20minutes.pdf
 
The full briefing by North Somerset Council, with masses of information about the DCO^▸ (Driver Controlled Operation), is here:
http://apps.n-somerset.gov.uk/cairo/docs/doc29672.pdf
 
If you have any questions or comments, please do email them to me and we’ll answer as best we can.
 
Regards, Peter.
 
Peter Maliphant, Membership Secretary, Portishead Railway Group 

[TonyK]

The links make for interesting reading, including the council's minutes. I have been critical of North Somerset Council in the past for their handling of their end of the project, but not any more. They made a couple of daft decisions earlier on, and at one time seemed to have no enthusiasm for reopening the railway, prefering roads (and MetroBust). But as the project reaches a much more mature phase, they seem to be doing all the right things. It's good to see that there will be a fair bit of preppy-uppy work done in anticipation of the DCO^▸ (Driver Controlled Operation). They have put quite a large bet on the DCO, which must surely go through, but it's brave for a council to pony up 10% of its budget for one project. WECA^» (West of England Combined Authority - about) will try to take at least some of the glory, but this is going through because of Weston super Mare, not Western super Mayor.

I'm still critical of them on other topics, mind.

[Timmer]

‘The line reopening in late 2023 or thereabouts’.

Using wording like that doesn’t exactly fill you with confidence does it 

[IndustryInsider]

No, but making statements such as  ‘will be opening by 2023’ when the project is still at a fairly early stage has proven to be unrealistic for so many other schemes that I think I’d prefer a level of vagueness.

[Phantom]

‘The line reopening in late 2023 or thereabouts’.

Using wording like that doesn’t exactly fill you with confidence does it 

I'm going for no earlier than 2025 then 

[Timmer]

No, but making statements such as  ‘will be opening by 2023’ when the project is still at a fairly early stage has proven to be unrealistic for so many other schemes that I think I’d prefer a level of vagueness.

And when it comes to the railways delivering plenty of vagueness is often required.

[chuffed]

A four page special feature on the Portishead line in the current issue of RAIL (issue      885). Includes a detailed explanation of what needs to be followed in order to get trains running, and includes a black and white photo from August 1964 of a steam train in Portishead station that I've never seen before !

[sikejsudjek3]

The amount of time this project has dragged on you'd think it was HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) ! Utterly ridiculous, and should have been done years ago.

[johnneyw]

Arrived in my inbox from Travelwest today, confirmation that the DCO^▸ (Driver Controlled Operation) is on target to be submitted September:

29.08.201908:49 am

North Somerset Council is working towards submitting a Development Consent Order (DCO) application in the autumn to the Planning Inspectorate for the £116m MetroWest Phase 1 scheme.
The DCO application seeks powers to build and operate the disused section of railway from Portishead to Pill, gain environmental consent to undertake works to the existing freight railway through the Avon Gorge and obtain powers for the compulsory acquisition of land.

Relaunching train services from Portishead with new stations at Portishead and Pill is a key part of the MetroWest programme of transport improvements across the region being led by the West of England Combined Authority (WECA^» (West of England Combined Authority - about)) and North Somerset Council.
The council is in the final stages of engaging with statutory bodies on the environmental and flood risk impacts of the scheme which need to be worked through before the DCO application can be submitted. These discussions have meant revisiting the track designs and providing flood compensation areas to counter any impacts from possible flooding. Further work is also required to take into account advice received on the effects of the scheme on air quality which need to be modelled and then reflected in a number of the DCO application documents.
Leader of North Somerset Council Cllr Donald Davies said the council was committed to investing in local infrastructure: “The Portishead line is a nationally significant project that will deliver wide ranging environmental and economic benefits to our region.
“Once completed, Metro West Phase 1 will connect an additional 50,000 residents directly to the national rail network and will improve the level of service for a further 180,000 residents on the Severn Beach and Bath corridors.
“We want to ensure that the DCO application is as strong as possible and we need to be meticulous with regards to the process. By addressing these points now, we will save time within the overall programme, and a submission in September should not impact on the 2023 opening date.”
West of England Mayor, Tim Bowles, said: “This is an important milestone in the MetroWest project, which will improve rail services for people living across the region. I want the West of England to have the rail network it deserves to help reduce congestion, improve air quality and keep people moving.”
Once the application is registered by the Planning Inspectorate, the Secretary of State for Transport is expected to make a decision within 18 months.
Subject to final business case approval, construction work is expected to start on the Portishead to Bristol line in December 2021 and take around two years to complete

[Red Squirrel]

The council is in the final stages of engaging with statutory bodies on the environmental and flood risk impacts of the scheme which need to be worked through before the DCO^▸ (Driver Controlled Operation) application can be submitted. These discussions have meant revisiting the track designs and providing flood compensation areas to counter any impacts from possible flooding.

Fascinating - arguably eccentric - that it is necessary to do a flood risk assessment. Does the scheme involve building vast new embankments and cuttings, or is it more a case of replacing worn-out ballast and rusty track with fresh ballast and new track? Have I missed something?

Further work is also required to take into account advice received on the effects of the scheme on air quality which need to be modelled and then reflected in a number of the DCO application documents.

One would hope that less than five minutes with a calculator should be sufficient to prove that a train (even a fairly elderly DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit)) emits less pollutants than 200 or more cars queuing on the Portbury Hundred. But again, maybe I've missed something?

[martyjon]

This quip is a bit over the top isn't it.

“The Portishead line is a nationally significant project that will deliver wide ranging environmental and economic benefits to our region". ....

Talk to anyone outside of "our region" and they wouldn't know where you were talking about but mention HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) and everyone knows about that project.

Once the application is registered by the Planning Inspectorate, the Secretary of State for Transport is expected to make a decision within 18 months.

And if he / she doesn't, what then ?

Subject to final business case approval, construction work is expected to start on the Portishead to Bristol line in December 2021 and take around two years to complete

And knowing how rail project constructions tend to over run snopak out the two to read "three years to complete" that is assuming the final business case approval is granted.