Portishead Line reopening for passengers - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

I emailed the new Labour Mp for North Somerset about Portishead and he replied within the hour. I think this one single issue will make or break his reputation as an 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).

Agreed: and it will be interesting to see how 'engaged' North Somerset Council are, bearing in mind their historic reluctance to join WECA^» (West of England Combined Authority - about) and their historic reluctance to fund anything to do with the re-opening of the Portishead Line. 

[TonyK]

I added my two penn'orth on Radio Bristol this morning (this link may change when the show finishes) - scroll to 11:24:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_radio_bristol

You might find this a better link. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0j935s3

That didn't work - I was going to do a MP3 clip of the exchange, but couldn't find it before bedtime.

[Red Squirrel]

Try this: https://bristolrailcampaign.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Portishead-Radio-Bristol-30_7_24.mp3

[TonyK]

Try this: https://bristolrailcampaign.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Portishead-Radio-Bristol-30_7_24.mp3

Well said, RS!

[chuffed]

The latest edition of Todays Railways (#271) is reporting on Page 7, that 'Labour's new North Somerset 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) Sadik Al-Hattari said that he had had it confirmed to him, that the Bristol-Portishead re-opening,part of the Metrowest scheme that predated the Restoring your railways programme, IS SAFE, not least as Network rail is about to submit what seems to be the 493rd update of its business case!

[Red Squirrel]

Are you able to extract the text of this article, chuffed? We (Bristol Rail Campaign) haven't had such reassurance from Portishead Railway Group, who are working with Sadik Al-Hassan to try to plug the funding gap.

[Red Squirrel]

It is clear that the project is not cancelled, but that's not the same as saying it is funded:

[chuffed]

I have asked Sadik Al-Hassan as to the nature of these assurances ....are they verbal or written ?. I would refer readers to my earlier post where Rachel Reeves confirmed Wellington station is going ahead......much further back and much later in the GRIP^▸ (Guide to Railway Investment Projects - Network Rail's process for project management of schemes through development and implementation) process.

[RichardB]

I think Portishead will happen but I think others will end up being chopped.  Same with hs2 to Euston I think that's too far forward not to cut

I agree re Portishead.  We need clarificatiion to be 100% but I don't think Portishead is a "Restoring Your Railway" scheme - it long predates that programme.  I agree re Euston too and I think the line to Crewe will also be built.   We'll see soon enough.

Clearly I was wrong about Portishead and, despite it long predating RYR^▸ (Restoring Your Railway), it had been wrapped up in the RYR programme.  Fingers crossed the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) review gives the thumbs up.

[Red Squirrel]

PRG are seeking clarification on whether 68% or 90% of the budgeted cost of the Portishead line was already covered before RYR^▸ (Restoring Your Railway) came along. Either way, it is clearly mostly non-RYR. But - and this may be a big but - DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) were also committing to cover any over-run. Following the Northumberland Line, this will likely make them nervous.

[TonyK]

PRG are seeking clarification on whether 68% or 90% of the budgeted cost of the Portishead line was already covered before RYR^▸ (Restoring Your Railway) came along. Either way, it is clearly mostly non-RYR. But - and this may be a big but - DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) were also committing to cover any over-run. Following the Northumberland Line, this will likely make them nervous.

I suppose one possible crumb of comfort could be that the government has no reason to string this out any further, nor excuse for doing so. It will be here for at least 5 years, so if a decision is made to finance the building sometime this year, the work should be finished before anyone else will be in office to cancel it again.

RYR had the whiff od a political bone being thrown to distract from other problems. More of a stench now.

[chuffed]

There is a letter in the North Somerset Times this morning arguing the 'merits' of running buses along the Portishead line signed by the Portishead busway campaign. I suspect this is a one person outfit headed by a certain Barry Cash. I will waste no more time, energy and space giving this any more publicity !

[Red Squirrel]

There is a letter in the North Somerset Times this morning arguing the 'merits' of running buses along the Portishead line signed by the Portishead busway campaign. I suspect this is a one person outfit headed by a certain Barry Cash. I will waste no more time, energy and space giving this any more publicity !

Absolutely no surprises there. Mr Cash, incidentally, lives in Bristol.

[chuffed]

The fightback begins.....



Dear Member,

The Public Petition supporting funding for the Portishead line is now live and will be presented to Parliament in September by Sadik Al-Hassan, 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) for North Somerset.

The petition has to be created in a specific way and there are some changes that you need to know about as a result.

The most important is that the petition must have the original, handwritten signatures, names and addresses of the petitioners (photocopies and electronic signatures are not permitted). This means we need lots of people personally gathering signatures, which PRG will then collate and pass to our MP to take to Parliament.

We are inviting our members to collect as many signatories as they feel able to gather and then return the completed sheets to us. We quite understand if you are unable or unwilling to do this, but will appreciate as much help as we can get. We will also be out on the streets gathering signatures as well, in Pill this Saturday morning and in Portishead on various days. Thank you to all those who've offered to help with this.

There is also a rally at Temple Meads being planned by the Bristol Rail Campaign (formerly FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways)) at 7pm on Tuesday 27th August. More information on this will follow when we have it.

If you'd like to help by collecting signatures from your circle of friends, family and organisations, here's what you need to know:
You can find the petition and a briefing note explaining it here:  www.portisheadrailwaygroup.org/petition.html
Please print off as many copies as you need, but do not alter the petition form in any way.
If you are unable to print copies, let me know and we'll physically get you some.
The PRG Frequently Asked Questions document has been updated and can be found on the PRG website. This may help with any questions you need answered.
Please check that people only sign once, no matter how often they've seen the petition.
Please collect complete sheets of signatures if possible and minimise half filled sheets by stopping, or working with other PRG members to share and fill whole pages.
The closing date is Sunday 25th August (10 days time!) and you can either return sheets to me by post ASAP or drop-off (8 Little Halt, Portishead. BS20 8JQ) or to any PRG signature collector on Tuesday 27th Aug.
Tuesday August 27th is Petition Day! This will be our main public signature day and we're aiming to cover Portishead High St, Sainsbury, Waitrose, Kestrel Court, Folk Hall etc. We will then head for Bristol to collect more signatures at the Temple Meads rally.
Other public signing days like Pill can happen as well of course.
PRG will then collate all the signature sheets for Sadik Al-Hassan to present to Parliament at the earliest opportunity.
We'll send more details on the Bristol Rail Campaign rally and other public signing events when we have them. Please ask if you have questions.

The petition states:
‘… Reopening the Portishead branch line is necessary to reduce traffic on the congested roads between Portishead and Bristol; reducing such traffic would lead to lower CO2 emissions, thus benefitting the environment; and is needed to encourage investment and economic growth in Portishead and the greater Bristol area.
 
The petitioners therefore request the House of Commons to urge His Majesty’s Government to recognise the considerable work already performed to reopen the Portishead branch line; to recognise the public funding already invested in it; and to ensure that the necessary central government funding is provided to reopen the Portishead branch line’


Thanks for your support.

[Red Squirrel]

Bristol Rail Campaign's call to action is here:

https://bristolrailcampaign.org.uk/portishead-railway-needs-your-support/