Sewweb - South East Wales and West of England Business link

[whole diary]

[bradshaw]

As an complete aside, there was a Pilning to Severn Tunnel car carrier service which operated from 1924 to supplement the Aust ferry.

[johnneyw]

As an complete aside, there was a Pilning to Severn Tunnel car carrier service which operated from 1924 to supplement the Aust ferry.

Blimey, I never knew that. Did it finish with the opening of the first Severn Bridge just like the ferry did?
There must have been some loading/unloading infrastructure for that and I wonder if any of it still is in evidence?

[grahame]

As an complete aside, there was a Pilning to Severn Tunnel car carrier service which operated from 1924 to supplement the Aust ferry.

I have quite a collection of old pictures, timetables, etc ... the whole "Severn before the first road bridge" story is fascinating. But as you say "complete aside" and time for another thread on a quieter day.

[grahame]

I have quite a collection of old pictures, timetables, etc ... the whole "Severn before the first road bridge" story is fascinating. But as you say "complete aside" and time for another thread on a quieter day.

Couldn't resist ...

[Red Squirrel]

Seeing the tarpaulin over one of the cars in grahame's photo reminds me of a tale told me by an old friend whose family used the service on more than one occasion:

It goes without saying that cars on open trucks steam-hauled through the Severn Tunnel came out a different colour than when they went in; worse, they were covered in clinker. For a nominal fee (maybe 6d) you could have your car 'protected' by an old tarpaulin, which most likely was covered inside and out (not that they took care to work out which was which) with grit. The upshot of this is that paying the extra was a really bad idea, and seasoned travellers relied on the wind blowing the clinker off when they got back on the open road...

[bradshaw]

Ceased in 1966 with the opening of the bridge. Photo taken in August 1963 on a South Wales shed tour. It shows the bay platform. we travelled over the Severn on the Aust Ferry

[Adrian]

And yes, in answer to Adrian, you can get queues where the M49 joins the M5 on summer Friday/Saturday, but they wouldn't affect commuters from Wales using the new M49 junction.   

As a commuter to Aztec West, the point I was trying to make is that it is the jammed up section of the M4 around Newport (typically from J28 to J23a) is what makes the train an attractive mode for me to travel to work.  Park and ride at STJ^▸ (Severn Tunnel Junction railway station) or Pilning wouldn't help me, but a station at Aztec West would.  The other thing that would make a difference is an increase in the frequency of the stopping service to half hourly or better.  Although I have no evidence, I would expect it is particularly people working in North Bristol who are buying houses in Wales and commuting over the bridge.

I first commuted over the old Severn Bridge in the early 1990s, and jams were the exception rather than the rule.  It doesn't take much to cause gridlock now, and with the projected growth following the removal of the tolls I reckon the jams will continue to get steadily worse, and there will be more and more people like me who aim to avoid using the M4 altogether for the peak hour commute.

I do think there is a good case for adding more parking space at Severn Tunnel Junction on the south side of the tracks, but I reckon this will be of most benefit to people living in the Magor / Caldicot / Usk area who need to travel to central Bristol.   The new open access operator might consider stopping their trains at Severn Tunnel Junction too.  It's not convenient to get from STJ to London - except when the 0730 Cardiff - Portsmouth is short-formed and the 0629 SWA^» (Swansea - next trains) - PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) routinely stops there.

[Celestial]

Ah, OK, thought your point was about traffic east of the bridge.  I completely agree with your points re M4 traffic around Newport and the usefulness of a station at Aztec West.

I'd agree also that it is probably those working in North Bristol who are buying properties over the bridge. For those working in the centre the train is still more attractive, so removal of the tolls won't probably encourage many to move. 

[Lee]

Good news for passengers at another station in the SEWWEB orbit as Patchway sees the deck of its new footbridge lifted into place this weekend, with the bridge due to be open for passengers by the summer - https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/patchway-train-station-closed-easter-2770599

[Red Squirrel]

Can't find anything about this on the South Glos Planning Portal, but according to NR^» (Network Rail - home page):

Work has started on a new accessible footbridge, with lifts, at Patchway station. The deck of the new structure will be lifted into place during the Easter weekend. The bridge is due to be open for passengers by the summer.

Source: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/our-routes/western/great-western-mainline/south-gloucestershire/

I'm intrigued that Patchway (usage 2017/2018: 110,632) warrants lifts, whilst nearby recently-extended Filton Abbey Wood (usage 2017/2018: 1,048,000) doesn't...

[Western Pathfinder]

Plenty of room for very long ramped access at Filton Abbey Wood,hence no need to install expensive lift equipment, nowhere near the amount of room that would be needed at Patchway,so they got lifts instead.

[grahame]

I'm intrigued that Patchway (usage 2017/2018: 110,632) warrants lifts, whilst nearby recently-extended Filton Abbey Wood (usage 2017/2018: 1,048,000) doesn't...

Ease of doing Abbey Wood with slopes ... no need for lifts.  Patchway sight might be rather tight for slopes?

Pilning Westgate will be slopes too ... even with 165,000 journeys (low estimate) per year.  Aztec West will need lifts - no realistic way to put in sloped access on that site.   Will it be the only lift with 3 levels on it - 2 different platform levels and a street level - on the system?

[Adrian]

I'm intrigued that Patchway (usage 2017/2018: 110,632) warrants lifts, whilst nearby recently-extended Filton Abbey Wood (usage 2017/2018: 1,048,000) doesn't...

Ease of doing Abbey Wood with slopes ... no need for lifts.  Patchway sight might be rather tight for slopes?

Pilning Westgate will be slopes too ... even with 165,000 journeys (low estimate) per year.  Aztec West will need lifts - no realistic way to put in sloped access on that site.   Will it be the only lift with 3 levels on it - 2 different platform levels and a street level - on the system?

I think there might have been room to squeeze in ramps on the Rolls Royce side of Patchway Station, but on the other side I think it would have taken out a lot of the parking / waiting area.  I wonder if that's even land owned by the railway?  Maybe, because the Patchway footbridge had to be replaced for electrification, it came out of a different budget?

I wonder if Patchway will become the only station on the network with lifts but no real-time train displays?

[Red Squirrel]

Is the Bristol Post is a bit behind the news? This image from Jun 2018 seems to show the new bridge already in place: https://goo.gl/maps/hxsrrTyN2jKnxnWcA

Perhaps it's just the lifts they're doing this weekend?

[Adrian]

That's the temporary footbridge.  The proper replacement is going more-or-less where the old one was.