Bath park and rail idea welcomed in government statement

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Bath park and rail idea welcomed in government statement


Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Bath Steve Bradley took Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg to Bathampton to show him where the park and rail scheme would go

A strategy that could see a new park and rail service built near Bath has been welcomed by the government.

The proposal, dubbed Bathampton Parkway, would offer a four-minute service into Bath four times an hour.

In its National Infrastructure Plan, the government said it would consider the business case being put together by Bath and North East Somerset Council.

Council leader Paul Crossley said the announcement "allows us to move to the next level with this project".

"There will, of course, be full public consultation," the Liberal Democrat added.

Steve Bradley, the Liberal Democrat bidding to succeed Don Foster as Bath's MP^▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post - a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London, depending on context), took Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg to Bathampton last week.

Mr Bradley said the hope was for government funding to be announced in the spring budget and for enabling works to be carried out while the line at Bath was closed for it to be electrified. He said a station needed to be created, a "hidden" car park built, and an access road developed through a hole that would be punched under the railway line.

"For decades Bath's roads have been plagued by congestion and pollution, and the council's newly adopted Transport Strategy aims to stop that," he said. "After months of lobbying by myself and council colleagues, the government has accepted that Bath needs support to tackle its congestion problems."

But Conservative councillor Anthony Clarke said: "What this city cannot afford to do is wait 10 or 15 years, if that's when the money is readily available. There is nothing in the announcement to suggest it is [available]. We must not use the announcement to stop moving ahead with getting a new [park and ride] scheme in place, even if it turns out to be a temporary scheme."

The government's National Infrastructure Plan stated: "The government welcomes the strategy put forward by Bath & North East Somerset Council and the West of England LEP^» (Local Enterprise Partnership - about) to improve transport capacity East of Bath and reduce city centre congestion.

"The government will consider a business case, which will be developed by Bath & North East Somerset Council, that assesses the viability of proposals including a park and ride, as well as a park and rail service, located to the East of Bath."

[Oberon]

If this plan is enacted I cannot see how the line west to Bristol will be able to cope with the extra traffic. I wonder if having a third platform at Bath Spa might be part of a solution?

[Red Squirrel]

If this plan is enacted I cannot see how the line west to Bristol will be able to cope with the extra traffic. I wonder if having a third platform at Bath Spa might be part of a solution?

Well there is a gert big gap between the platforms; were you thinking of an island? This being Bath, and that being a Grade-II listed building, it'd be interesting getting it sorted out.

[grahame]

If this plan is enacted I cannot see how the line west to Bristol will be able to cope with the extra traffic. I wonder if having a third platform at Bath Spa might be part of a solution?

Well there is a gert big gap between the platforms; were you thinking of an island? This being Bath, and that being a Grade-II listed building, it'd be interesting getting it sorted out.

Bath Spa station used to have a third platform - a bay at the east end and indeed there's not been anything built up / over where it was ... see my screen shot below.  I would suspect it isn't the plan  but a 3 or 4 car bay platform facing towards the park and ride could be provided without the need to damage too much history!

[grahame]

The "proper" way of doing this ...  ... is to take the existing 2 trains per hour (3 in some) that head east out of Bath towards Westbury and stop them at the park and ride.   Add in the Bristol - Oxford service (at least hourly) also calling at Bathampton, and the extra Bristol Metro service extended beyond Bath to the bay at Chippenham (re-instated as a loop) and you have 4 trains per hour.

At first glance, the result of my suggestion might be a very heavy loading of trains for just a few minutes into and out of Bath.  However, there's a large catchment area for Bathampton  which will also be wishing to travel to Bristol, and the new station would also be an interchange for passengers "doglegging" from Bradford-on-Avon to Corsham, or if we're contentious from Trowbridge to Swindon should the TransWilts service remain sparse and stop in the early evening.