| Archived Save the Train forum articles - 2005 to 2010. See below
Severn Beach Line Development....Or Closure By Stealth? - 2293/5294 Written by Lee on Thursday, 17th May 2007 On 25 January 2007 , as a result of FOSBR pressure , Bristol City Council decided to reinstate the subsidy for the Severn Beach Line , with the money to be spent on providing a more regular train service between Bristol Temple Meads and Avonmouth. The next step would surely be for Bristol City Council , First Great Western & Severnside Community Rail Partnership to shout it from the rooftops that the train service is about to be transformed beyond recognition. So why arent they? Here are the Severn Beach Line Development Plan (click on http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Documents/Custom/Severn%20Beach%20Line%20Development%20Plan.pdf) proposals that they DONT want you to notice : All passenger facilities at Severn Beach station are to be moved to the roadside. The land next to the station has been released for housing development , which would leave just a completely bare platform in a small gap surrounded by houses. Coincidentally , the land that could be sold as a result of closure is a factor in the new DfT Closure Guidance....(click on http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/F3641215?thread=2441627) The logic of providing an all - day Saturday train service to Severn Beach is questioned , as is the cost of leaving the rail infrastructure idle while the rail - replacement bus service runs. It is suggested that Avonmouth - Severn Beach bustitution could be extended to include Saturdays. There are also plans to extend the bus link to Pilning , which has recently had its train service cut from daily to weekly..... Interestingly , it is also suggested that this could become a conventional bus link. A similiar situation exists at Norton Bridge , Barlaston and Wedgwood stations on the Stafford - Stone line , which will continue to be served by bus services operating under contract to 2009. A review of bus and rail options to serve these stations will be undertaken with interested parties and the franchisee during 2007-8. Norton Bridge station has no means of access since the footbridge leading to it was removed in 2004. It doesnt take a genius to work which of the above "options" is more likely to be adopted. This leads me neatly on to Lee's quiz question - Whats the only means of access to St Andrews Road station? Answers on a postcard please.... The plan also focuses on the urgent need for a Clifton Down turnback signal to : "In times of disruption terminate late running Avonmouth / Severn Beach services and restart the inward working from there, eliminating inconvenience to the large majority of passengers." "Enable a more frequent service pattern on the Temple Meads to Clifton section, which is the most heavily used and has the potential for maximum growth in patronage." By an uncannily strange coincidence , there has been a big rise in the number of services turned round at Avonmouth instead of running to Severn Beach recently , which is likely to lead to a drop in passenger numbers. There also appears to have been a weird reluctance on the part of guards recently to check & collect fares on the section between Severn Beach & Clifton Down , which means that several passenger journeys will not appear in the figures. The Severn Beach Line Ranger Re: Severn Beach Line Development....Or Closure By Stealth? - 2293/5353 Written by Lee on Tuesday, 22nd May 2007 I gave "right of reply" to the authors of the Severn Beach Line Development Plan , Andrew Griffiths (FGW) and Keith Burton (Severnside Community Rail Partnership) via a set of related questions. Keith has yet to reply , but I have heard back from Andrew who has responded as follows : Q1 - All passenger facilities at Severn Beach station are to be moved to the roadside. The land next to the station has been released for housing development , which would leave just a completely bare platform in a small gap hemmed in by houses , thus effectively reducing the station to a glorified bus stop / pull - in / information point. Is this really the right way forward? AG - The present situation of an old bus-type shelter situated 100m down a draughty and desolate platform does not, I suggest, do much for personal security, and the location will hardly feel 'hemmed in' even if high-rise flats are built! Re: Severn Beach Line Development....Or Closure By Stealth? - 2293/5363 Written by Lee on Wednesday, 23rd May 2007 [quote author=Lee link=topic=2293.msg5353#msg5353 date=1179833348]Q8 - Surely the LDP could address this by committing itself to developing the WHOLE of the line , rather than just the section between Bristol Temple Meads & Clifton Down , as the tone of both the LDP and the recently - published DfT South West Regional Planning Assessment For The Railway implies will be the case? AG - It is about the whole of the line, but no amount of wishful thinking will change the reality of where the demand is.[/quote] The ORR have just released the Station Usage Figures for 2005/2006 (link below.) http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.1529 Stations west of Clifton Down : Big rises for Severn Beach , St Andrews Road & Avonmouth , smaller rises for Sea Mills & Shirehampton. Surely this calls the findings of both the LDP & the Regional Planning Assessment into question? Re: Severn Beach Line Development....Or Closure By Stealth? - 2293/5548 Written by Lee on Tuesday, 5th June 2007 I posed a further question regarding this : I would like to refer you to sections 2.6.7 - 2.6.9 of the LDP (link below.) http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Documents/Custom/Severn%20Beach%20Line%20Development%20Plan.pdf Your footfall data for 2005 - 2006 is as follows : Lawrence Hill - 46551 Stapleton Road - 74257 Montpelier - 65347 Redland - 50258 Clifton Down - 142329 Sea Mills - 34129 Shirehampton - 29651 Avonmouth - 28717 St Andrews Road - 4996 Severn Beach - 26690 However , the ORR station usage data for 2005 - 2006 is as follows (link below.) : http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.1529 Lawrence Hill - 55865 Stapleton Road - 86997 Montpelier - 73573 Redland - 55529 Clifton Down - 153027 Sea Mills - 36411 Shirehampton - 31539 Avonmouth - 43365 St Andrews Road - 8008 Severn Beach - 37008 With big rises in passenger numbers registered at Avonmouth & Severn Beach , and a smaller , but still significant rise registered at Shirehampton , please could I request that the following section of the LDP be altered to reflect this? : "2.6.9 Over time usage patterns are surprisingly erratic, and there must be a slight question mark about the data as the overall totals do not appear to be consistent. With this caveat, no station has grown every year, although St Andrews Road and Redland have become substantially more busy, and Shirehampton, Avonmouth and Severn Beach substantially less busy (but the latest - November 2006 - local authority count shows an increase in usage at Shirehampton)" AG - Report data is in fact RSP 2005 year and so should have been listed as 2004-05, not 05-06. Re: Severn Beach Line Development....Or Closure By Stealth? - 2293/5832 Written by Lee on Saturday, 23rd June 2007 [quote author=Lee link=topic=2293.msg5353#msg5353 date=1179833348]Q5 - The plan also focuses on the urgent need for a Clifton Down turnback signal to : "In times of disruption terminate late running Avonmouth / Severn Beach services and restart the inward working from there, eliminating inconvenience to the large majority of passengers." "Enable a more frequent service pattern on the Temple Meads to Clifton section, which is the most heavily used and has the potential for maximum growth in patronage." By coincidence , there has been a big rise in the number of services turned round at Avonmouth instead of running to Severn Beach recently , which is likely to lead to a drop in passenger numbers. AG - Really? Re: Severn Beach Line Development....Or Closure By Stealth? - 2293/6131 Written by Lee on Saturday, 7th July 2007 The Summer Passenger count on June 28th , organised by Severnside Community Rail Partnership with the help of FOSBR , showed an increase of 12% in use since last year (link below.) http://www.fosbr.org.uk/news.php?newsid=0000000116 Here is a futher article on this (link below.) http://www.westpress.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=146238&command=displayContent&sourceNode=146064&contentPK=17765403&folderPk=100268&pNodeId=145795#continueNews link to index of articles |
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Save the Train was the campaign to bring an approriate train service back to and through Melksham. Most big contributors are still around writing at the Coffee shop forum where new members are very welcome. The train has been saved - sort of - we have stepped back up from an unusable service to a poorish one but it's doing very well. We did that through setting up the TransWilts Community Rail Partnership. That fulfilled its early objectives; it has been taken over by local and regional government types who are now doing medium and long term work. The team from this forun can also be found at the Melksham Rail User Group (which was the Melksham Rail Development Group at the time these articles were written and we had no users. We mustn't loose sight, though, that the train service remains poor and needs our community support in marketing and campaigning to keep it going in a positive direction ... and all the more so when we're expecting to find a different normallity once we get out of the Coronavirus Pandemic and head for zero carbon via the climate crisis. Yes, it's saved ... it's now a key community facility ... the need for enhancement and the strong and near-universal local support remain, and the rail industry and goverment remain slow to move and provide the enhancements even to level us up with other towns. Please support the Melksham Rail User Group - now very much in partnership rather than protest with the rail industry and local government, including GWR, TransWilts and unitary and town councils. And please use the trains and buses, and cycle and walk when you can. -- Graham Ellis, (webmaster), February 2021 | |||
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