Report from the Bristol City Council meeting :
"Only partially improved service from December.
FGW▸ having rolling stock and staffing issues - 40 min service on Severn Beach line starting May 2008.
Station upgrades to take place before then."
Bristol City Council Press Release :
++ Improved Severn Beach Line service from May 2008 ++
A new and improved train service will operate on the Severn Beach Line from May next year, thanks to a partnership between Bristol City Council and First Great Western.
This will provide travellers with three trains every two hours on weekdays and Saturdays - an improvement on the current hourly service.
For the first time, there will also be an hourly service on Sundays too.
The new timetable will run from May 2008, when the additional trains needed to run the improved timetable become available to First Great Western.
As well as the improved service beginning in the spring, a major investment programme to transform stations along the route will take place. Bristol City Council and First Great Western have together committed over ^100,000 to the improvements, which include improved passenger security, information and ticket facilities.
Councillor Mark Bradshaw, Executive Member for Access and Environment, said:
^The new, more frequent train service will greatly benefit passengers travelling to and from Bristol from surrounding areas. This service improvement will be complemented by the upgrading of stations along the route, making the whole travelling experience much more pleasant.
^This committed investment in service improvement, passenger information and station upgrading is vital if we are to make better use of our local rail infrastructure and to persuade more people to leave the car at home. The council will keep up the pressure for the full range of service improvements to be in place from next May.
^The council is disappointed that the new service won't be in operation from December 2007 as originally hoped, but we will keep pressing First Great Western to ensure they secure the additional rolling stock. We look forward to the new, improved Severn Beach Line service operating from May 2008.^
Andrew Griffiths, Regional Manager, First Great Western said: ^When we sat down with our community partners last year and drew up a Development Plan for the line, we never dreamed that the improvements contained in it could be delivered so soon.
^It's really great that the council share our vision for the line, and have made this substantial financial commitment to its upgrade.
^With the much more frequent train service and safer, more pleasant stations the Severn Beach Line will make a major impact on transport in the city, and be something the citizens of Bristol can truly be proud of."
BBC» article (link below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/6990899.stmResponse from Jon Rogers , Ashley Ward Lib Dem Councillor ;
"How can we believe the promise of an improved service from May 2008, when we were promised an improved service from December 2007 and haven't got it? We should be pushing for some sort of guarantee and more transparency."
I would make the following observations :
1) I think we need a written guarantee that the 40 min service will start from May 2008 , otherwise it will be wriggled out of again. I am sure that the longer it is not in place , the more the tempation will be to spend the
BCC» money allocated instead on a Clifton Down turnback signal.
2) BCC , Alison Forster and Keith Walton still have questions to answer as to why they continued to insist that 40 min service was likely to take effect from December 2007 , when all the evidence suggested otherwise. If I were Andrew Griffiths , I would be somewhat annoyed that , having told the truth at the Working Group meeting , everyone with a vested interest contradicted him. Mind you , judging by his press release comments , he doesnt seem that bothered.....
3) What about the Bedminster & Parson Street frequency reductions?
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