Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways (FoSBR) - merged topics

[whole diary]

[Lee]

Read the latest superb effort , mostly the work of Cat Hobbs & Joe Patrick (link below.)
http://www.fosbr.org.uk/newsletter/60.doc

[Lee]

As outlined in a letter to the Bristol Evening Post (link below.)
http://www.fosbr.org.uk/Bus.htm

[Lee]

Can be found in the link below.
http://www.fosbr.org.uk/newsletter/61.doc

[Lee]

Meeting 17.05 onwards (on arrival of 16.22 from Severn Beach) at the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) staff club , Station approach , Temple Meads Bristol.

[Lee]

Their response to the news that First is worst for overcrowding (link below.)
http://www.fosbr.org.uk/Post.htm

[Lee]

Details contained in the links below.
http://www.fosbr.org.uk/Complain.htm

http://www.fosbr.org.uk/Letter2.htm

[Lee]

Can be found in the link below.
http://www.fosbr.org.uk/newsletter/62.doc

[Lee]

FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) say that transport Policy in the Bristol Development Framework - Core Strategy for development in Bristol up to 2026 lacks rail-based initiatives to alleviate traffic congestion within the city (link below.)
http://www.fosbr.org.uk/Hulme.htm

[Lee]

At the recent Passenger Focus meeting Alison Forster (for what its worth now) stated that the 142 pacers would be used doubled up and provide more seats per journey than a class 150 sprinter. With the proven unreliability of these units how many times will the services be short formed

And how (as I believe you have pointed out before , martyjon) will any Class 142 units be "spare" to provide the extra train required for a 40 minute frequency service on the Severn Beach Line from May 2008 , if they are going to "double up" in Devon?

On that note , I am told that Andrew Griffiths & Keith Walton are fed up with FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways)'s "negative attitude" regarding the constant Severn Beach line cancellations and broken promises regarding provision of the 40 minute frequency service.

Apparently AG & KW are saying that the train crews support their view on this.

Can anyone confirm that this is the case?

[martyjon]

On that note , I am told that Andrew Griffiths & Keith Walton are fed up with FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways)'s "negative attitude" regarding the constant Severn Beach line cancellations and broken promises regarding provision of the 40 minute frequency service.

Apparently AG & KW are saying that the train crews support their view on this.

Lee.

Can you expand on this, I could understand it if the word "negative" was ommited or the word "hostile" used instead. If these two gentlemen had any bottle they would be supportive of the lines users, KW is supposed to be a "friend" of the lines users and should be supportive of them. AG is the "deliverer" of the service and his failure on occasions to provide road replacement transport show incomptenece in his sphere of operation.

As for the comments regarding the train crews support, it doesnt surprise me.

I attended the MTLS^▸ (More Train Less Strain) meeting in Bath way back at the beginning of the year. An RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) representative was there and spoke and gave his full support to any action (fare strike) that the passengers may instigate.

I spoke and asked him for his members to also support the passengers in cases where the passengers were denied boarding due to overcrowding for the driver to turn off the engine and halt all traffic on that route until another unit was brought to the location, no matter how much disruption is caused, and thus allow passengers wanting to travel, to travel in reasonable conditions.
Action of this nature would be headline front page news, rather than relegated to the inside pages, not that the MTLS campaign didnt achieve prominence.

The response from the RMT an outright NO.

Havent you in the past posted a link to the RMT site regarding their criticism of the MTLS campaign by the union. 

It wouldnt surprise me in the least to hear that the trains crews are taking the attitude as you described.

By the way the post I started this thread with was the text of an e-mail I received and I reproduced it in its entirety to start off this thread.

Regards.

[Lee]

By the way the post I started this thread with was the text of an e-mail I received and I reproduced it in its entirety to start off this thread.

Is that a request to move the thread to another board (eg Bristol Commuters?) If so , I will gladly do this , as I may have inadvertently veered off topic. Mind you , I am not the first , and I am sure that I wont be the last....

Regarding expanding on this further , basically Keith Walton sent an e-mail to anybody who is anybody in Bristol , blasting Julie Boston of FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) for their negative attitude. Andrew Griffiths also sent one to Julie along the same lines saying that FGW^▸ (First Great Western) were prepared to work with FOSBR "if they are positive."

Also , I think that it is important to point out the difference between More Train , Less Strain (MTLS^▸ (More Train Less Strain)) and Friends Of Suburban Bristol Railways (FOSBR) , for the benefit of new forum readers :

MTLS were set up originally as a "direct action" group to protest against the effects of the December 2006 Timetable and the associated rolling stock reductions , but who now have wider aims. The RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) are largely supportive of MTLS (not withstanding the example you gave) but FGW would probably rather they didnt exist.

FOSBR are a user / pressure group of longstanding (many years.) RMT policy is to fully support their aims , and FGW actually encourage people to join FOSBR (see notes in Timetable E.) FOSBR are also fully - cooperative members of the Severn Beach Line Working Group , along with FGW , Network Rail , Bristol City Council & others. 

See their website for fuller details of what FOSBR stands for (link below.)
http://www.fosbr.org.uk/

Another criticism raised by Keith Walton in his e-mail was that FOSBR's attitude somehow belittled the efforts of community groups who help maintain Severn Beach Line stations. This is most unfair , as not only have FOSBR publicised these groups efforts , they have also provided volunteers to help them (as KW well knows.)

FOSBR , in fact , passionately promotes the role of local rail in the community. One example is the talk that I am due to give on their behalf at a church in Shirehampton on October 23 2007. I am really looking forward to meeting the members of the congregation , listening to their views , and explaining how I feel that they and FOSBR can work together to maintain / improve things along their local line.

All things considered , I believe that FOSBR have a very positive attitude , and what they do is very much along the lines of what I wanted to do when I became a rail campaigner.

In case anyone is wondering , this doesnt mean that I think that MTLS , or their campaign , are any less worthy.

[grahame]

Well - I think it's remarkable how positive some of the people campaigning for better services have been when you consider certain negative attitudes, and actions that can be considered as slaps in the face, by the varius organisations who specify and run the railways.  You'll notice that I'm not limiting that comment to *just* the Train Operating Companies.

Really, ... can Andrew be surprised by elements of negative attitude taken by the users of a line who have been promised a 40 minute service, and his employer have come back with a negative attitude themselves "thanks for the money.  But we won't be doing it at the moment, even though we said we would".  Is it a case of the pot calling the kettle black?

I know - not well, but I know - some of the people involved with FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways). They're tougher than we are here on the "TransWilts", and have far more campaigning skills and experience.  And perhaps that's why they've acheived what they have, which includes a handful of extra trains in the very early morning and evening on weekdays, where we have - as yet - achieved very little.  And these acheivements make them rather more of a threat to any organsation that doesn't share their goals.  Perhaps the outburst against FOSBR confirms that threat?

[martyjon]

Lee.

I understand the situation now and Grahame has summed it up nicely. AG and KW are displaying the negative attitude not FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) but where do AG and KW get their claims that the train crews support them from.

I was aware of the FOSBR organisation and its aspirations but it is always helpful to post the information for newcomers to the forum.

Also I have been involved with MTLS^▸ (More Train Less Strain) but their campaign seems to have gone 'cold' at the moment.

Regards.

[Timmer]

Also I have been involved with MTLS^▸ (More Train Less Strain) but their campaign seems to have gone 'cold' at the moment.

Indeed there hasnt been anything posted to their forum for quite sometime. Though Tony Ambrose has been active of late appearing on BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Points West at the time of Alison's departure. Their main focus at the moment appears to be the new ticket hall at Bath Spa and the problems with purchasing tickets and getting thru the barriers.

I would suggest their campaign would soon 'heat' up should there ever be a repeat of what happened last December.

[Lee]

Text from the FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) Representation To Bristol City Council  on 16 October 2007 :

My name is Jonathan Bliss. I am a member of Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways, and make this statement on their behalf. I am a resident of Redland, I am fortunate to live close to Redland station, I use the Severn Beach railway line. I also cycle, walk and if I have to, take the bus or drive a car.

From Redland station, I can reach Temple Meads by train in 15 minutes, although the route is indirect, going through Easton, and a return journey will cost ^2. If I take a bus, the journey time will be anything up to 45 minutes and the return fare is a minimum of ^2.60. If I walk, it will take about 30 minutes. If I take a car (even at 4 in the morning), it takes 10 minutes with all the traffic lights, and the return journey will cost ^1.20 (3 miles at 40p per mile). The direct distance is 1.54 miles. The car journey works out at an average speed of about 9 miles an hour, and that is the fastest means of getting to the station!

As most Bristol residents agree, transport is one of the biggest issues affecting life in the city. It is clear that transport policy has been allowed to drift. Buses are not the only answer, as anyone can see from the congestion in the centre caused by buses, which frequently stop in traffic lanes rather than bus stops. And buses in Bristol are very expensive. The annual adult bus pass for Zones 1 and 2 in Bristol is nearly 40% more than the bus pass for the whole of the London Metropolitan area. (^725 for First
bus pass in Bristol:
http://www.firstgroup.com/etickets/showticket.php?locations=124
http://www.firstgroup.com/etickets/showticket.php?locations=124; ^520 in
London:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/faresandtickets/seasontickets/1061.aspx
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/faresandtickets/seasontickets/1061.aspx

The Severn Beach line is a wonderful resource for the residents of north-west Bristol, but it is underused. We also believe that train services between Clifton/Redland and the office areas in South Gloucestershire should be much shorter and more frequent. The timetable shows a journey time up to 1 hour 18 minutes by train from Redland Station to Patchway, a direct distance under 5 miles.

We are very disappointed that the promised increase in services on the Severn Beach line has not materialised, and very concerned about the poor reliability of the service provided by First Great Western, with trains frequently cancelled, sometimes stranding schoolchildren (who are regular users of the line). We believe that trains should be even more frequent than what has already been promised, and that they should be adequately resourced.

We ask councillors of all parties to support the increase of services on the Severn Beach railway and other lines, and in particular, we ask the Executive Member for Transport to obtain to obtain a written commitment from First Great Western to providing the 40 minute service from May 2008, if not before.