Severn Beach line - timetables, engineering work, closures, incidents (merged topics)

[whole diary]

[Lee]

A couple of answers on this :

The proposed Sunday service pattern would indeed be hourly to Avonmouth. It would have only run to Clifton Down had the controversial turnback signal proposal there not been shelved for the time being.

Figures (and visual observation) suggest that while the off - peak trains arent exactly full , they are getting a little busier.

Consultation? FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) are having trouble getting FGW^▸ (First Great Western) and BCC^» (Bristol City Council - about) to talk to them , and they are members of the Line Working Group , with an "official" right to be consulted......

[Lee]

Is Redland your local station , JoPublic? If so , you will be interested in this :

Ruth Webb: Statement to Bristol City Council Climate Change Committee on 13 December 2007 at the Council House.

My name is Ruth Webb and I am making this statement on behalf of the Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways, of which I am a member. I live in Redland, near Redland Station, and use the Severn Beach Railway line as often as possible for onward rail journeys to Wales and London for example. It would also be possible to use the train for shopping trips to Clifton Down.

Since you have set up a specially designated Climate Change Committee, you^ll obviously be aware that the environment is the most important problem facing not just Bristol but the whole planet. You must also know that, while no journeys at all is the greenest solution, the realistic solution is to find the least polluting form of transport and encourage people to use that. As Mr Tom Harris (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport) said in a written answer to the House of Commons on April 25 this year: ^based on average occupancy levels, trains produce around half the carbon emissions of cars per passenger kilometre^. (www.parliament.the-stationery-office.com/pa/cm200607/cmha) Where transport is needed (ie in circumstances where walking and cycling are perhaps not practicable), trains, and particularly suburban trains and light rail solutions, represent the most efficient and greenest way of moving people about through cities and between those cities and their outlying commuter-belt towns. Professor Roger Kemp of Lancaster University, who threw doubt on the green credentials of intercity highspeed rail travel, agreed that within urban areas, rail was clearly the best solution. [Interview in the Edinburgh Evening News, 23 June 2004.] We therefore urge you to add rail to the Climate Change Committee^s transport list ^ which at present includes only walking, cycling and bus - and to give it urgent consideration.

We are very fortunate to have the Severn Beach Line plus at least 20 other suburban stations, and are grateful for the investment already made by the council before 2006, which was crucial in increasing passenger numbers. However, for Bristol to be as green as possible, you need to actively encourage the full use of the existing trains, as well as reinstate lines such as the Portishead railway. With a half hourly service, cross-city journeys, for example Patchway to Parson Street, would become entirely feasible. In Birmingham, where services are half-hourly minimum, over 50% of commuters use public transport, as opposed to 11% in Bristol, and 20% of commuters use rail, as opposed to 1.6% in Bristol. In fact, Bristol has the highest car use and the lowest rail use of any city outside London. It would be good to see Bristol at the forefront of green developments rather than lagging behind other cities. This would be good publicity as well as good sense.

There is a financial cost as well as an environmental cost, of course: Bristol loses a million pounds a week from congestion and over ^1.8 million from road accidents, according to your own figures. [Bristol Local Transport Plan Update 2002] The cost of financing better public transport should be seen in this context.

To encourage greater use of the suburban rail network, the services need to be more punctual, more reliable and more frequent. We are very disappointed at the delay over the promise made by First Great Western and Bristol City Council to provide even a 40 minute service to Avonmouth. Even if the Council feels itself constrained by the Department of Transport, we hope you will stand up to pressure and keep your promises to your voters. We ask you to obtain a written commitment from First Great Western to provide the 40 minute service from May 2008 at the very latest.

We also call on the Climate Change Committee to suppport this resolution:

^This committee is concerned about the poor standard and punctuality of local rail services in the South West. We agree to make public representations to the government and the Government Office of the South West. We also call on Kerry McCarthy MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) and Stephen Williams MP who signed the statement below on Saturday 11 March 2006, for their public support.

We, the undersigned, agree to lobby the Government Office of the South West, the Department of Transport and Bristol City Council to achieve a half hour service seven days a week on the local rail network.^ Signed on Saturday 11 March 2006 by: Kerry McCarthy MP Stephen Williams MP Thank you.

[Lee]

Quote from the link below.
http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2007/12/ministers_have_to_end_commuter.html#more

Recent changes have included reducing the normal two-carriage 5.49pm Temple Meads to Severn Beach rush-hour commuter service to one carriage to free capacity for busier routes.

Further interesting quote :

The Government plans to make 1,300 extra carriages available over the next seven years and Mr Cole said FGW^▸ (First Great Western) would lobby as hard as it could to ensure the company was allocated a share.

David Redgewell, of lobby group Campaign for Better Transport, said he had seen in improvement in services run by FGW during the latter stages of the week. But he urged the Government to work with the train company to make extra carriages available.

This weekend, FGW is using a hired old-fashioned locomotive and coaches between Bristol and Chippenham to help provide extra seats. Mr Redgewell said he hoped the extra train could also be used to ease overcrowding on weekday commuter services.

Although there were no plans to use the hired train through the week, Mr Cole said the idea should not be ruled out completely.

[Lee]

First Great Western has blamed staff shortages for the cancellation of 27 train services on the Severn Beach line in a single week leading up to Christmas (link below.)
http://thisisbristol.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=144913&command=displayContent&sourceNode=231190&home=yes&more_nodeId1=144922&contentPK=19401816

Saturday was the worst day for axed services, when 11 trains failed to show up.

John Hall of FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) :

"The cancellations have become quite spectacular."

"I had hoped not to be personally caught out, but [last Sunday] daughter, who was on her way back from Aberystwyth, phoned to say that she was on a number 8 bus due to cancellation of the Severn Beach train. My wife took the car up to meet her."

Mr Hall believes the mechanical failures on some of the operator's trains could also be affecting the service. He said: "There will be so many cancellations due to staff shortages that it hides the lack of availability of trains due to mechanical failure."

"The last time Andrew Haines (chief operating officer for First Great Western) replied personally to a complaint of mine was in October when he gave explanations for an earlier week that seemed to split roughly equally between staff shortage and mechanical failure."

Adrian Ruck, spokesman for First Great Western said more train crew were due to be recruited to make up for the shortage.

He said: "There are issues with crew availability, which is down to seasonal illnesses."

"Obviously, it's a less than ideal situation and cancelling trains is always a last resort. If we can avoid cancelling trains, we do."

"We are recruiting additional staff and when they have been recruited, we hope train cancellations will be reduced."

Mr Ruck said trains with fewer passengers using them, such as the Severn Beach line, were more likely to be affected by cancellations than more popular services.

He said: "We have to look at the impact of the decision (to cancel a service) has on people."

"If it's a choice between a lightly-used service or a heavily used one, the lightly used ones are cancelled first. If a train is cancelled, we will arrange alternative road transport for passengers."

[Timmer]

Good to see the Bristol Evening Post has highlighted all the recent cancellations on the Bristol-Severn Beach line but what about all the cancellations and short run services across the region that have happened over the past couple of weeks I ask?

[Jim]

"It will be better next week" A.G probabally said!

[Timmer]

"It will be better next week" A.G probabally said!

Lets hope it is...it can't be any worse 

[Lee]

From an FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) member :

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but a quick dig on various systems reveals that the SB^▸ (Signal Box) line will be completely closed for Engineering works from Monday 18/02/2008 until 16:00 on Friday 22/02/2008.

Replacement buses will be running all week. NRE^‡(resolve) shows *impossible* timings for these buses, such as 10 minutes from Montpelier to Stapleton Road. How many people actually use them when they are provided?

No doubt FGW^▸ (First Great Western) will see fit to announce the closure only the week before, as happened last year.

[smokey]

I'm not sure what these Week long Engineering Closures are about, the work CAN be done at NIGHT.

Talking to train crew lately, I'm advised after 2 weeks of line closure between St Budeaux and Gunnislake a few trees were cut down, a few rails changed and a bit of new ballast put down, the amount of work BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) would do in a couple of Nights more likely one night.

Even worse after 2 weeks closure on the Par-Newquay Branch visible work done,

*** all!

Work get Cancelled? then why not reinstate the Train Service!

Some one from Network Fail, sorry Rail like to tell what happens?

Hope someone takes Some Video footage of the Severn Beach line before and after the February line closure.

[Lee]

I am copying this quote across, because it gives me a neat intro into this particular topic :

One of the problems with the current railway is the amount of infrastructure that has been lost even on open lines.

If you consult Altlas of the Great Western railway by Cooke, you will see that many stations (mostly closed) had platform loops so that a stopper could be ressessed to let a fast go through. The most striking example being something like 10 such places between Padd and Anyho on the joint line via Wycombe. There were even something like four on the Badminton line. There were even  loops at some of the  recently reopend stations on the Barry to Bridgend line.

Then there was four tracks down the bank from Filton, 4 platforms in use at Taunton and Netwon Abbot and in the case of Taunton 4 tracks from Cogload to Norton Fitzwarren.

Coupled with lots of single lead junctions it's starting to get impossible to run anymore trains and have an adequate mix of fast and stoppers.

Here is a summary of the Severn Beach Line Monday-Friday timetable from May 2008 :

From Bristol Temple Meads-Avonmouth - 0525, 0549, 0631, 0705, 0803, 0836, 0915, 1003, 1034, 1116, 1203, 1234, 1315, 1403, 1434, 1516, 1603, 1634, 1716, 1804, 1933, 2034, 2215.

From Avonmouth-Bristol Temple Meads - 0614, 0632, 0731, 0804, 0838, 0917, 1004, 1035, 1115, 1204, 1235, 1315, 1404, 1435, 1515, 1604, 1635, 1715, 1804, 1900, 2002, 2139, 2304.

Train services extend through to Severn Beach every 2 hours during the daytime.

Overall, the advantages include :

1) A step change for the better in the number of Severn Beach Line passenger train services.

2) The restoration of through daytime trains to Severn Beach and St Andrews Road on Mondays-Fridays.

3) An hourly Sunday service through to Avonmouth.

4) A better spread and improved timings for trains in the traditional morning and evening peaks.

5) A later last train from Bristol.

The disadvantages include :

1) The timetable is not the exact 40 minute frequency timetable that was campaigned for by FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways).

2) There is still an 89 minute gap between services from Bristol Temple Meads in the early evening.

3) The Saturday train service to Severn Beach and St Andrews Road is reduced in frequency.

4) Not all trains call at Lawrence Hill.

One of the most interesting aspects of the new timetable, however, is that it will require 3 paths (albeit not utilsed in every hour) in each direction along the main line (which used to have 4 tracks) compared to the current 1 path.

[Lee]

This also means that Lawrence Hill/Stapleton Road services will be revised from May 2008 :

- The Northbound Taunton-Cardiff service will no longer call at either station, but the Northbound Weston-Bristol Parkway service will call at both.

- Southbound calls at both stations will remain in the Gloucester-Westbury group of services.

- Every 2 hours in both directions, one Severn Beach Line train will not call at Lawrence Hill.

[John R]

This also means that Lawrence Hill/Stapleton Road services will be revised from May 2008 :

- The Northbound Taunton-Cardiff service will no longer call at either station, but the Northbound Weston-Bristol Parkway service will call at both.

Good!

[Lee]

This also means that Lawrence Hill/Stapleton Road services will be revised from May 2008 :

- The Northbound Taunton-Cardiff service will no longer call at either station, but the Northbound Weston-Bristol Parkway service will call at both.

Good!

Another advantage is that Stapleton Road and Lawrence Hill will have a direct daytime service in both directions to/from Bristol Parkway from May 2008.

[swlines]

Departures from Stapleton Road to Bristol Parkway on weekdays will be at: 0724, 0751, 0815, 0850, 0915, 0951, 1051, 1151, 1251, 1351, 1451, 1551, 1651, 1715, 1751, 1852 and 1951.

Departures from Bristol Parkway to Stapleton Road on weekdays will be at: 0658, 0725, 0846, 0919, 0934, 1019, 1119, 1219, 1319, 1419, 1447, 1519, 1619, 1646, 1719, 1746, 1811, 1819, 1919 and 2019.

Minus/add times as appropriate for Lawrence Hill.

Trains from Bristol Temple Meads to Severn Beach on weekdays will be: 0525, 0631, 0705, 0915, 1116, 1316, 1516, 1716, 1804, 2034 and 2215.

Trains from Severn Beach to Bristol Temple Meads on weekdays will be: 0603, 0720, 0754, 0954, 1154, 1354, 1554, 1754, 1850, 2129 and 2254.

[Graz]

I agree this is good- it's better for Lawrence Hill / Stapleton Road to be served by inter-Bristol services (as the Weston-s-M - Bristol Pway service is) rather than long distance routes for the time being. Anyone for Cardiff can still change at Filton Abbey Wood or Bristol Pway.

It also helps with delay times and of course the speed of the service. The two stations are still, in my opinion, very well served throughout the day especially with the increased Severn Beach line trains.