Railfuture Severnside Homepage

Railfuture Severnside Homepage

 


    Severnside Branch Press Releases and Letters

    Severnside Branch Reports

    Geographical Area Covered

    Somerset, North Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, South Gloucestershire, Wiltshire (excluding Tisbury, Salisbury, Andover and Warminster), Swindon and Gloucestershire.

    Who's Who in Railfuture Severnside Branch

    Co-Chairman: David Redgewell
    and John Walker
    Secretary: Nigel Bray

    Tel: 01452 501986

    Severnside Branch Meeting

    Saturday 3 December at Manvers Street Baptist Church, Bath (under five minutes' walk from Bath Spa station) at 2 pm. Chris Irwin will give a presentation on the McNulty Report which proposes efficiency savings on the UK rail network..

    Report of Joint Meeting with Railfuture Wessex

    This was held at the Great Western Inn in Yeovil on Saturday 28th May.

    Report of Yeovil meeting.

    Report of Annual General Meeting 2011

    This was held on Saturday 9th April in Bristol at the Hole in the Wall public house, with guest speakers from Transport for Greater Bristol Alliance and Portishead Railway Group.

Great Western Main Line Electrification

    Railfuture Severnside Branch welcomes the announcement made today, on 1st March 2011, to electrify the Great Western main line throughout from Paddington to Bristol and South Wales.

    As well as promised faster trains from Bristol to London we would like to see restoration of the direct Oxford service, plus reopened stations at Corsham and Wootton Bassett.

    Annual General Meeting 2010

    The 2010 AGM took place on Saturday 10 April at the Leisure Centre, Bruton Way, Gloucester.

    Before the AGM a presentation on the Ultra Light Rail Scheme was given by Mr. Ford of TravelWatch West Midlands and Professor Chambers of the University of Gloucestershire.

    Report of 2010 AGM.

    Annual General Meeting 2009

    The Annual General Meeting was on Saturday 25 April at 2 pm in the G.W.R. Staff Association Club, The Incline, Temple Meads, Bristol.

    The guest speaker was Mr. John Leach, Chairman of Frome Public Transport Users Association.

    Report of 2008 AGM.

    Annual General Meeting 2007

    This was held on Saturday 13th October 2007 at the G.W.R.S.A. Club, near Taunton station.

    Our thanks to our guest speaker: Julian Crow, Regional Manager, West of England, First Great Western.

    Report of meeting.

    TransWilts Campaign

    Please follow the link to sign the petition for a frequent Swindon to Salisbury train service via Melksham.

Letters and Reports

Joint meeting of Railfuture Severnside and Wessex Branches at the Great Western Inn, Yeovil

28 May 2011.

24 members and visitors present. John Friedberger in the Chair.

1. Apologies for absence: Seven apologies were received.

2. Bristol- Weymouth line

Ideas for linking the two Yeovil stations

John Friedberger referred to a long term aspiration of Wessex Branch for a Bournemouth- Exeter service via a new chord at Yeovil. In the short term his Branch’s AGM had asked John Barker (First Great Western) to improve signage between the two Dorchester stations. John Dixon said existing transfer between the two Yeovil stations was either slow (on foot) or costly (by bus or taxi) and suggested a single two level station where the two lines crossed, as at Tamworth. Two other speakers contended that a combined station at the suggested site would be expensive to build and no nearer the town centre than were Pen Mill or Junction stations.

Eric Barbery recalled that BR had considered and rejected the idea of a halt on the Weymouth line at its nearest point to Yeovil Junction. He believed it might be possible to reinstate the Clifton Maybank curve as its alignment was close to the disused island platform at the Junction station. Noting that Network Rail had built a very expensive chord at Barkston, near Grantham, in recent years, he said that a new curve allowing trains from the Weymouth direction to run into Yeovil Junction required little more than pointwork. A representative of South West Main Line Steam Company, based at the Junction, said he supported such a connection. He added that this suggested south to west chord had never been built although an embankment to carry it had been formed in the 1850s.

Nigel Bray said Severnside Branch had suggested using a Parry People Mover to link the two stations in its response to Somerset County Council’s Future Transport Plan but SCC had dismissed the idea with the comment that "there is a commercial bus service between the two stations." Another speaker said the inter-station bus was only commercial because it served the town centre.

Future strategy for the route

It was noted that passenger numbers on the route had increased by 163 % in six years and that the Olympics would pose a challenge. John Friedberger considered that the massive increase in usage gave cause for optimism about the line’s prospects. David Redgewell referred to the Department for Transport’s refusal to allow FGW to hire in loco-hauled sets this summer. FGW was therefore using its own resources for the 09.09 Bristol T.M.- Weymouth and 16.55 Weymouth- Bristol T.M. on Summer Saturdays, although it did have the option of hiring Class 158s from South West Trains. DfT had declined to fund a Swindon- Weymouth service on Summer Sundays (post-meeting note: now to run from 17 July to 28 August, underwritten six Wiltshire businesses). The 2010 proposal from "open access" operator GoCo for an Oxford- Weymouth service was currently on hold.

One speaker said he had travelled to Bath from an unstaffed station but the Conductor had made no attempt to sell him a ticket. Another suggested it was difficult for staff to walk through the train if luggage was placed in the vestibules. David Redgewell said DfT approval was required for any additional On Train staff now that FGW’s franchise specifications were frozen.

One speaker appealed for less pessimism about the line. David Redgewell suggested the risk was not of closure but of a very low budget service which might be imposed by DfT following FGW’s intended surrender of the franchise in 2013. John Friedberger urged all present to write to their MPs.

Andy Hutchings (Heart of Wessex Rail Partnership) said he was very optimistic about the future of the line. HOWP produced 35,000 leaflets a year to promote the line and recently gave away local produce on a train from Weymouth. Simon Taylor said the line guide was excellent but there needed to be greater awareness of it at the northern end of the route. Recently when he had asked for a copy at Bath Spa, staff had difficulty in finding one.

Asked whether HOWP had data for journey origins and destinations on the route, Andy Hutchings said he could supply John Friedberger with the same figures it provided for FGW. David Redgewell noted that from Frome northwards the line was part of the Bristol commuter network. Nigel Bray added that the need for trains timed for commuters into Yeovil had been raised in Severnside Branch’s response to the Somerset FTP.

HOWP had been pushing for the maximum use of platform 1 (nearest the entrance) at Yeovil Pen Mill. David Redgewell believed the difficulty might be ghost paths for diversion of main line trains. It was suggested that the "Access for all" argument could be used to get more trains routed into platform 1. Janet Repton said she had campaigned for Disabled access at Bradford-on-Avon but when the work was eventually completed it no longer met Health & Safety standards.

John Friedberger asked whether local people would be prepared to pay slightly more to travel on the line. During discussion the consensus view was that its fares were if anything on the high side.

3. Exeter- Waterloo line

John Friedberger said he had been involved in writing Westcountry to Waterloo, the real alternative, produced by the Rail Passengers Committee in 2005. He believed it had helped the case for the Axminster loop which was installed in 2009. He noted that NR planned to spend £20m upgrading the signalling west of Basingstoke which was said to be life expired. The money was committed, which meant it was safe from any cost cutting which might arise from the McNulty Report. There were no plans to significantly improve train services but the reliability and punctuality of the trains were now much better than five or six years ago.

He added that Wessex Branch aspirations for the route were new rolling stock in the medium term and double track throughout from Exeter to Basingstoke in the long term. A speaker urged those present to ensure that resignalling did not compromise double tracking by placing structures on the trackbed. David Redgewell warned that resignalling might result in the loss of NR staff currently selling tickets, as at Templecombe. He anticipated a trend towards one shift staffing of stations but believed it would be better to reduce staff numbers through vertical integration. McNulty favoured replacing staff with ticket machines but these had been robbed and vandalised in the Bristol area.

One speaker suggested the line needed some limited stop trains, although this would probably need more track capacity.

David Redgewell said he would like SWT to deploy spare rolling stock at weekends to reinstate extension of its services west of Exeter which were cut out in December 2010. These had provided a useful link between South West and Southern England. He said Railfuture would need to campaign to retain the Worcester- Brighton service, currently worked with a SWT set, when the FGW franchise ended in 2013. A letter was read out from John White of Swindon, who had used them to return home from Dawlish Warren, praising the seating layout and trolley service on the SWT Class 159s.

John Friedberger invited comments on Gerard Duddridge’s article in Railwatch 127, notably the proposition that a half hourly service between Exeter and Yeovil Junction could be achieved by timing trains to cross at Whimple and Chard Junction. One speaker said the Axminster loop allowed trains from the Exeter direction to terminate at Axminster without disrupting through trains. He added that there was a need for more Axminster- Exeter trains to relieve overcrowding on trains used by large numbers of shoppers. David Redgewell considered that a new loop was needed at the proposed Cranbrook station.

4. Any Other Business

John Friedberger said that the McNulty Report was supposed to be about reducing waste. He had asked Andy Pitt, SWT Managing Director, why a local contractor could not have been used for the lengthening of Grateley station platforms. A speaker suggested that railway infrastructure cost more and took longer to build in the UK because of NR’s restrictive practices. Another speaker referred to "trade union attitudes". John Friedberger replied that Railfuture was strictly neutral where political parties were concerned but he accepted that vested interests of all types worked against the common good.

The A.G.M. of Railfuture Severnside

held in Gloucester Leisure Centre on 10 April 2010.

Before the formal business began, members were given a Power point presentation on the Ultra Light Rail scheme being developed by Cheltenham Chamber of Commerce and the University of Gloucestershire.

Michael Ratcliffe, Chief Executive of the Chamber, described how the project had evolved from a discussion with the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway (GWR) about how to establish a rail connection from its present southern terminus at Cheltenham Racecourse to the main line station.

Willy Ford of Travelwatch West Midlands said had developed the idea into a proposed network linking Cheltenham with Gloucester via Gloucestershire Airport with extensions to Quedgeley and Stratford-upon-Avon.

Frank Chambers, Professor of Physical Geography at the University, reminded the meeting that the smallest conurbation in the UK with a modern tram system was Nottingham and that schemes for Bristol, Leeds and South Hampshire had been axed in recent years on grounds of cost. Smaller centres such as Cheltenham and Gloucester, with a combined population of under 250,000, stood no chance of getting light rail unless the cost of construction could be drastically reduced.

John Dixon pointed out that funding for the Bristol tram system had been available at the time but was lost because Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire Council could not agree over the route. This prompted Mr. Ratcliffe to say, "Do not lose windows of opportunity which may come once in a lifetime."

All three speakers considered catenary fed trams to be too expensive for medium sized cities. The solution was to have lightweight vehicles with a weight limit of 3 tons per axle. Trams in the UK have hitherto been based on 50 ton vehicles. The relatively heavy axle loadings of conventional trams required expensive diversion of underground utilities where street running was involved. With Ultra Light Rail (ULR) vehicles this would not be necessary because of minimal pressure on the road surface.

ULR vehicles, carrying up to 50 passengers, would be powered by hydrogen, produced from anaerobic digestion of household waste. Even if Gloucestershire met its target of recycling or composting 60 % of waste by 2020, it still expected to send 150,000 tons to landfill each year.

Asked by John Franklin whether anaerobic digestion was the alternative to plans for incineration of waste, Professor Chambers replied that it most certainly was. Mr. Ford added that when the cost of dealing with harmful dioxins released by incineration was taken into account, anaerobic digestion was no more expensive. An incinerator was estimated to cost £90m, whereas the products of anaerobic digestion can be sold. Anaerobic digestors had been built at Montpellier, France; and at Selby, Yorks. The latter used plant which had formerly produced citric acid. Finance for the light rail scheme might be available from the European Union inter-regional fund, which allows organisations to demonstrate technologies applicable in other member states.

John Walker asked whether ULR vehicles were similar to the Parry People Mover in use on the Stourbridge Town branch. Mr. Ford replied that the PPM was a heavier vehicle with a flywheel; it was less fuel efficient than ULR.

Referring to the extent of the proposed ULR system, Mr. Ford said Phase 1 would be Cheltenham Racecourse to Lansdown, to be followed by rapid transit between Cheltenham and Gloucester centres. Later extensions would be from Gloucester to Quedgeley via Tuffley and via the Gloucester Quays retail complex. The Stratford extension would involve ULR vehicles running over the preserved GWR when its own trains were not running. John Franklin asked where the sections not on former railway lines would be routed. Mr. Ford said bus lanes could be utilised as would the Golden Valley bypass which passes the airport. Mr. Ratcliffe said that Mr. Mark Boyce, President of Gloucestershire Chamber of Commerce, was very supportive of ULR in Gloucester and had suggested routes for the system.

Prof. Chambers noted that the three local MPs supported ULR and had met with Transport Secretary Lord Adonis to put the case for the scheme. Tony Lloyd asked whether the project needed an Integrated Transport Authority to get it going. Mr. Ford replied that he hoped organisations such as the Light Rail Transit Association and Railfuture would promote it.

Asked whether diversion of main line trains would be possible over the Stratford extension, the panel thought not. Mr. Ford said that the ex Great Western route through Cheltenham had suffered from instability in its formation which made it unsuitable for modern freight trains and he had suggested to Network Rail the rebuilding of Evesham- Ashchurch as a future diversionary route.

Annual General Meeting business

15 members present. John Walker in the Chair.

1. Apologies were received from three members.

2. Minutes of the previous A.G.M. held on 24 April 2009 were accepted. Stephen Wade asked that the Minutes of the current A.G.M. be circulated soon after it was held. Nigel Bray replied that this would involve sending out another Newsletter to nearly 100 addresses at a cost of over £50 in postage and photocopying. For this reason Branch Newsletters were produced only when meetings were called.

3. Chairman’s Report

John Walker referred to the need for improved rail infrastructure in Bristol, notably the restoration of four tracks over Filton Bank, although he wondered whether the bridge at Stapleton Road was fit for two additional tracks. Tony Lloyd commented that Great Western electrification was one of the driving forces for quadrupling, which nearly everyone supported.

John said he had asked Network Rail whether steam charter trains would be allowed to run on the GW main lines after electrification. The consensus view was that they would continue to do so as on the East Coast and West Coast main lines. A discussion followed as to whether the UK rail system could ever become 100% electric. John noted that the promoters of the proposed new nuclear power stations at Hinkley Point had expressed an interest in sponsoring train services to take construction workers to Williton via the West Somerset Railway.

4. Secretary’s Report

Nigel Bray said he sent responses on behalf of the Branch to five major Consultation exercises. The House of Commons South West Regional Committee had invited comments on transport in the Region. He had given some robust answers to the question of whether the Region was doing enough to promote environmentally friendly transport and was pleased that the Branch response was printed in full in the Committee’s Report which was published in February. Noting that the Regional Committee was composed entirely of Labour MPs, he considered this put pressure groups at a disadvantage. Anne Lock advised that Conservatives and Liberal Democrats had refused to join it.

Nigel referred also to the Consultation for the Network Rail Draft GW Route Utilisation Strategy. The final version, launched on 30 March, was a definite improvement and seemed to accept the need for additional track capacity within Bristol. Nevertheless it was clear that many rail projects had yet to secure the necessary funding. John Walker noted that NR had misrepresented the case for Portishead reopening by claiming the track needed to be upgraded for 60 mph running. George Bailey suggested there was scope to expedite reopenings by Section 106 funding from new housing development, as was being proposed for Tavistock. Anne Lock mentioned that the Strategic Health Authority’s evidence to the SW Regional Committee had stressed the health benefits from investing in public transport; she wondered whether the Authority could make the same point to NR.

More effort needed to go into the Portishead campaign because of a recent crazy proposal to convert the line west of Pill into a guided busway. Tony Lloyd suggested a future Branch meeting in Bristol should emphasise the importance of reopening the line. There was also a need to investigate the true cost of guided bus systems. Stephen Wade pointed out that rubber traction on concrete used more energy than steel wheels on steel rails. Anne Lock said she believed the West of England Partnership wanted the South Bristol Link Road built and for guided buses to run over it in order to present the scheme as pro- public transport. John Dixon referred to a report in the Bristol Evening Post that Junction 19 (linking Portishead with the M5) was to be rebuilt at a greater cost than that required to reopen the Portishead line.

 

5. Treasurer’s Report

Tony Lloyd advised that the Branch had added about £200 to its reserves. Guidelines for Branch Treasurers advised against Branches holding more than two years’ expenditure in reserve. He invited ideas from the floor on how to spend these growing resources. Stephen Wade suggested investing in a meeting focussed on a specific theme such as railway v. guided bus. Tony considered that the Committee needed to meet face to face, not only via teleconferences, to work on a campaign leaflet.

6. Election of Officers

The following were elected en bloc:

Co-Chairmen: John Walker and David Redgewell

Secretary: Nigel Bray

Treasurer: Tony Lloyd

Media spokesman: Bruce Williamson

Committee members:

George Bailey (North Somerset Railway)

Julie Boston (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways)

John Dixon (Portishead Railway Group)

Gerard Duddridge (representing Somerset)

Anne Lock (Corsham Station Campaign)

Stephen Wade

After much discussion it was resolved that in future all existing Committee members would be required to confirm prior to the A.G.M. whether they wished to seek re-election.

7. Any Other Business

7.1 Stephen Wade referred to a proposal to revive the Sharpness branch line for passenger and freight services, using rolling stock which had been stored at Long Marston. Eric Barbery said he understood the intended freight traffic to be coal imported from South Wales.

7.2 Anne Lock circulated a flyer from Go ! Co-operative, a mutually owned company proposing to run trains between Oxford and Weymouth via Swindon and Westbury under the Open Access rules for train operators.

 

Director of Planning

Bath & North East Somerset Council

Trimbridge

Trim Street

BATH

BA1 2DP.

22 October 2008

Dear Sir,

Core Strategy: Radstock railway station site

In response to the latest Consultation exercise for the B&NES Core Strategy, Railfuture would like to restate its belief that the Radstock- Frome railway should be reopened when funding permits. We consider that the line is too important an asset to be lost to redevelopment.

In our view it is anomalous that Radstock does not have a rail service. The local population is now much larger than when the Somerset & Dorset line closed in 1966 and when there was in any case less concern about the environmental effects of road traffic growth. Norton- Radstock is almost as large in population as Frome and a reopened Radstock station would make a good railhead for Midsomer Norton, Chilcompton, Stratton-on-the-Fosse and Paulton. The combined population of Norton-Radstock and these three villages must be around 25,000. Whilst the nearest main line railhead to Norton Radstock is Bath Spa, that station has very limited parking, not to mention the problem of road congestion in the city.

Railfuture considers that Norton-Radstock has sufficient population and tourist potential for a regular daily train service between Radstock, Frome and Westbury, with some through trains to Reading and London. Some of the present First Great Western stopping services west of Reading which terminate at Bedwyn, Wilts, could be extended to Radstock if sufficient rolling stock is available. A new halt could be provided near to Frome town centre on the existing freight only line between Frome North Junction and Hapsford but the main interchange with other rail services would be at Westbury.

The other main justification for reopening the Radstock- Frome railway is tourism. Norton Radstock has similarities with the Forest of Dean in that both are former mining areas with rich industrial histories. Radstock has the additional feature of the Somerset Coal Canal, designed by John Rennie and reputedly built by William Smith, the producer of the first geological map of Britain. This heritage, combined with the beauty of much local scenery, presents an opportunity to develop a tourist industry of similar importance to that in the Forest of Dean. The local authorities in the Forest recognise the Dean Forest Railway, which has had a connection with the national rail network at Lydney since the mid 1990s, as part of the regeneration process, not as an obstacle to it.

We recognise that there is an embryonic heritage railway at Midsomer Norton but which is completely isolated from the national rail system. We wish that project well but would emphasise the value of the Radstock- Frome line as a potential means of access to the area. Heritage services on it should help to subsidise the cost of regular train services between Radstock, Frome and Westbury.

We would point out that the Severn Valley Railway has a connection to the national network at Kidderminster and also traverses a former coalfield on the borders of Shropshire and Worcestershire. Likewise the Swanage Railway passes through an area once important for clay extraction; this line is connected to the Weymouth- London main line, although not yet operating on to the latter.

Railfuture does not oppose the use of some former railway land at Radstock for housing. After all, the occupants of the new dwellings are potential customers of a regular train service. What is most important is that a corridor is retained to allow a station to be built of sufficient length to accommodate modern diesel multiple unit trains and that there is provision for easy interchange with local buses.

Yours sincerely,

 

Nigel Bray

Hon. Secretary

Railfuture Severnside

 

5 October 2008.

Regional Planning Team

Government Office for the South West

2 Rivergate

Temple Quay

BRISTOL

BS1 6ED.

Proposed changes to Regional Spatial Strategy for the South West (Section 5: Transport).

Railfuture Severnside, which covers Gloucestershire, Greater Bristol, Somerset and North Wiltshire, welcomes the broad principles of the rewritten Section 5, particularly the aim of reducing the rate of road traffic growth (para. 5.1.3); the awareness of the need for transport networks to recover quickly from disruption (5.1.4); and the policy to encourage siting of industrial developments near to suitable rail or water freight facilities (5.1.27).

5.1.4 Relief of pinch points and recovery from disruption

It is good to see acceptance of the need for targeted new infrastructure to relieve pinch points in transport networks. Where railways in the Region are concerned, two critical locations are the 12 ½ miles of single track between Kemble and Swindon on the Cheltenham- London main line; and the North Bristol corridor between Dr. Day’s Junction and Filton Abbey Wood, which was reduced from four tracks to two in the 1980s to save maintenance on half of a bridge at Stapleton Road station.

Railfuture would like to see restoration of double track between Kemble and Swindon, not only to cater for population growth in Gloucestershire and the Swindon area but also because the line is the only realistic alternative route between South Wales and South East England whenever the Severn Tunnel is closed. We consider reinstatement of at least a third track on the main line through North Bristol to be essential for the efficient segregation of local and long distance rail traffic across the city.

If the railways in the Region are to attract more business, the network will need more operational flexibility. Railfuture strongly believes that more diversionary routes are needed, so that the natural hazards of rail operation such as fleet and equipment failures, bridge strikes from road vehicles, vandalism and weather related incidents, not to mention planned Engineering work, cause the least disruption to train services, especially to time sensitive traffic such as freight.

A very sensible investment in 2004 was the upgrading of the Henbury loop between Avonmouth, Filton and Bristol Parkway to enable diversion of long distance trains while Engineering work took place in the Filton Abbey Wood area. Cross Country Trains has diverted its services via Bath, Westbury and Castle Cary to avoid Engineering blockades on the Bristol- Taunton main line.

In some cases diversionary routes which would be valuable today have been dismantled. These include Cheltenham- Stratford-upon-Avon, part of which has reopened as a heritage railway. This line not only provided an alternative route between Gloucester and Birmingham but linked major centres of tourism. With the rising cost of petrol it is most important that disused rail formations which have potential as strategic routes are safeguarded for reopening in the future.

The efficiency of rail networks also requires sufficient loops on main lines to enable faster trains to overtake slower ones. In recent years Network Rail has taken a number of freight loops out of use, for example at Grange Court, between Gloucester and Lydney on the main line between Gloucester and South Wales. This route is a major passenger and freight artery. It not only carries steel trains between Tees-side, Scunthorpe or the West Midlands and South Wales but is part of the diversionary route for London- South Wales trains when the Severn Tunnel is closed.

Most recently, Lansdown loop, just south of Cheltenham station, was disconnected for some weeks. The track layout at Cheltenham is very restricted because neither track is signalled for bi-directional working. Retention of this loop and resignalling the lines through the station to allow each track to be used in either direction would greatly reduce delays which occur if a train fails in the station area and cannot be overtaken with the present signalling

The main railways in the Region are heavily used by InterCity, regional and local passenger services as well as by freight. We consider any reduction in track capacity through the removal of loops to be short-sighted.

5.1.9 Local journeys on routes of national importance

Possible conflict between local commuting and long distance journeys along corridors of national importance may arise on the Bristol- London and Exeter- Birmingham main lines, on which station closures in the 1960s deprived a number of towns of their rail services. Corsham, Wellington and Wootton Bassett are prime examples of where population has increased very considerably since the stations closed, while road congestion has worsened in the SSCTs for which these towns are satellites.

The A4 is heavily congested in both directions between Bath, Corsham and Chippenham in the peak hours. This is likely to escalate with housing and MoD development planned for Corsham. The town’s population has grown by 20 % in five years and an estate at Catherine Park was approved on the understanding that Section 106 funding would be provided towards the cost of a station.

The planned Firepool commercial development, close to Taunton rail station, will generate more traffic on the town’s road network and strengthen the case for reopening the station at Wellington and for providing additional train services from Bridgwater. The need for a reopened station at Wootton Bassett will grow with the continuing expansion of Swindon.

In Railfuture’s view the achievement of a shift away from car travel for these journeys requires more than just bus-based investment. Journey times by bus have slowed as more traffic lights have been installed on main roads while motorway accidents can cause gridlock in nearby towns and cities for hours, making a nonsense of bus timetables. Bus use in Bristol has fallen despite the introduction of Showcase bus routes, while rail use in the city has increased. The Government’s July 2007 White Paper on railways noted a 75% growth in total rail use in Bristol between 1995/96 and 2004/05 (Note 1). Rail travel in the UK reached an all time high of 49 billion passenger kilometres in 2007/08 (Note 2) and the recently reopened Ebbw Vale line in South Wales is carrying double the number of passengers forecast for its first six months of operation (Note 3). More locally, the most recent statistics (2006/07) for station usage show increases over the previous year at the great majority of stations in the Region (Note 4). These figures give confidence that new or reopened stations in the Region are likely to be well supported.

It is accepted that major expansion of local rail services in the Region will require additional rolling stock and improved infrastructure, particularly in the Bristol area. We understand that some of the 1,300 new carriages promised by the Government to be built by 2014 are to be based at Bristol. In the meantime, there is a case for extending the use of selective door opening by High Speed Trains at smaller stations, for instance at Keynsham in the Bristol morning peak. Railfuture would like this practice to be extended to reopened stations also.

5.1.22- 5.1.27 Freight and the Primary Route Network

Although the Region’s rail network cannot currently accommodate 9’ 6" containers, trains of 8’ 6" containers between Southampton, the Midlands and North have been diverted via Salisbury, Westbury, Melksham and Swindon at times of Engineering work on their normal route via Basingstoke and Reading. Engineering work in the Winchester area has often resulted in diversion of container trains via Romsey and the Laverstock curve, east of Salisbury, to rejoin the regular route at Basingstoke.

Two factors are likely to produce more diversions via Westbury in the coming years. One is gauge enhancement work to clear the Southampton- Reading- Birmingham route for 9’ 6" containers. The other is the remodelling of Reading station between 2010 and 2015, including the Reading West curve used by the container trains. This will increase pressure on the Bristol- Southampton route with the risk of delays to FGW Cardiff- Portsmouth services because there are no loops for recessing freight trains between Wilton Junction and Westbury. The Melksham section (Bradford Junction- Thingley Junction) of the diversionary route is single track without loops or sidings but is sometimes used for diverting FGW High Speed Trains. Melksham is in any case one of the fastest growing towns in Wiltshire and needs a far better local train service between Swindon and Salisbury than the present derisory two trains each way per day. All these factors present a case for increasing line capacity by double tracking or at least providing a long loop at Melksham.

The proposed a road / rail freight interchange in the Exeter area is welcomed but many other SSCTs could also support similar facilities. Gloucestershire County Council has developed a freight railhead at Ashchurch which received trains of bottled water during the floods of 2007. All Transport Authorities should be required to safeguard land for rail freight depots if none already exist within their boundaries. At the time of writing, Bath Westmoreland sidings have become disused with the cessation of household waste traffic but they should be retained for possible future use. Apart from the need to reduce road traffic, useable rail sidings may be very valuable in the event of major emergencies such as flooding.

Regeneration and access to new tourist industries

The Region has a number of former mining areas where, in varying degrees, there has been cultivation of tourism centred on exploration of local industrial heritage. The Forest of Dean has led the way with its Dean Heritage Centre and the Dean Forest Railway. The latter has interchange with the national rail network at Lydney and is seen as part of the regeneration process in the area. Another example is Purbeck Mineral & Mining Museum, relating to clay extraction in Dorset and which can be reached via the Swanage Railway.

Norton- Radstock had a long tradition of coal mining which ceased in the 1970s. The Norton Radstock Regeneration Company plans to build housing on former railway land at Radstock. Unfortunately the proposed development does not safeguard the railway line to Frome despite its potential to bring tourists into an area of scenic beauty and industrial heritage, as well as transporting local residents to Frome and beyond. The line is disused as far as Hapsford, whence it is currently used by stone trains from Whatley Quarry but even the disused section is in a relatively good state of preservation. A revived railway would help diversify the economy of Norton- Radstock by attracting visitors and would not be incompatible with some new housing. The precise intentions of Bath & North East Somerset Council for the North Somerset Railway do not appear clear and there is a need for the Spatial Strategy to produce policies which promote sustainable access to tourist attractions.

Yours sincerely,

Nigel Bray

Hon. Secretary, Railfuture Severnside.

References

1. Delivering a Sustainable Railway, White Paper CM 7176, 2007, Fig. 5.2.

2. figures taken from National Rail Trends yearbook, Office of Rail Regulation.

3. figures for the Ebbw Vale line quoted in Today’s Railways UK magazine, October 2008.

4. Station Usage File, 2006/07, Office of Rail Regulation, June 2008.

Before the formal business of the A.G.M., guest speaker Keith Walton, Chairman of Severnside Community Rail Partnership, described the Partnership’s aims and achievements. He said SCRP was the first of its kind to cover urban areas and was set up in 2004 in order to identify and implement measures to improve local rail services radiating from Bristol. It covers the routes from Taunton to Gloucester; Pilning to Freshford; and the Severn Beach line, although it has not undertaken any work in Gloucestershire since the County Council’s withdrawal from the Partnership in 2007.

He said SCRP’s six main aims were more conveniently timed trains; easier timetable information; promoting awareness of off peak services; station improvements, particularly at unstaffed stations; production of briefing notes for decision makers and stakeholders on rail issues; resolution of local rail problems through meetings of interested parties.

In March 2007 SCRP and First Great Western had jointly published the Severn Beach Line Development Plan (SBLDP). He noted that the enhanced service from 19 May 2008 would give Severn Beach trains throughout the day, albeit at two hourly intervals. There would be three trains every two hours between Avonmouth and Temple Meads but single track sections on the branch have prevented the introduction of the half hourly service for which Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways (FoSBR) has been campaigning, with the support of Railfuture and many other organisations. It would be feasible if there were a passing loop at Redland. With a view to increasing usage of stations on the line, SCRP was trying to make them more visible from adjacent streets, eg by placing a large sign on the overbridge at Clifton Down.

Keith referred to the poor condition of many unstaffed stations, which created a perception of fear among potential users. The pill box type of waiting shelter tended to attract undesirables in the evenings. Ironically the Probation Service had supplied young offenders on Community Service Orders to carry out the heavier work involved in station improvements. Both these works and a garden created by a local school at Montpelier were still undamaged a year later. A long wall at Avonmouth station which had been covered in graffiti was cleaned up by a local primary school with assistance from AXA Insurance. It was now adorned with a silhouette of every child at the school, giving ownership of the station to the school. A local school was also involved with Sea Mills station. The derelict platforms at Stapleton Road were being used as a community garden, with an event taking place there (and at Weston Milton) that very day. SCRP had managed to persuade Network Rail that the garden would not prejudice reinstatement of the platforms to receive trains in the future. Stapleton Road had suffered the most vandalism and greatest number of muggings amongst all Bristol stations but it now had a café which provided a human presence during the day. Nearby foliage had been used to dump knives, syringes or other evidence of crime but, said Keith, "we think we are winning at the moment."

Improving the ambience of Weston Milton station had proved more challenging than at some urban stations. A trench has now been dug to prevent yobs from driving over the flower beds, an example of designing out crime.

SCRP was working with FGW and other bodies to upgrade information and security systems at unstaffed stations. Each station on the Severn Beach line would get a help button and a train information screen, both connected to FGW Control Office. At Patchway, the excellent CCTV system in the adjacent Rolls Royce premises had been adapted to focus on the station platforms by altering the angle of a camera.

Question and answer session

1. John Dixon asked (a) whether the disused portion of the underbridge at Stapleton Road could be replaced; (b) whether small businesses could be encouraged to set up at unstaffed stations; and (c) whether SCRP would actively support the campaign to reopen the Portishead line.

Keith Walton replied that NR had told him it planned to repaint the bridge. The difficulty for potential small businesses at local stations in the Bristol area was the lack of redundant buildings, although at Yatton a café and cycle hire shop now occupied former railway premises. SCRP did not have the manpower to play an active part in campaigns such as Portishead, although it would be involved indirectly now that North Somerset Council had commissioned consultants to examine the case for reopening. Nevertheless, the needs of existing stations would be SCRP’s main priority.

2. Julie Boston asked whether SCRP would be involved in events to promote the enhanced service on the Severn Beach line from 18 May. Keith advised that a sub group of the SBLDP Committee, including a FoSBR representative, was working on publicity matters. SCRP would ask FGW to consider free travel for the first few Sundays. The aim was to promote off peak travel.

3. A speaker referred to improved signposting of Clifton Down and Avonmouth stations. Dick Drew added that the "double arrows" station sign ought to be included on signs for the Clifton Down shopping centre also. Keith commented that station signs also needed to be visible to bus users.

4. A speaker who commuted from Stapleton Road to Filton Abbey Wood noted there had been a station at North Filton (closed in 1986) near to Bristol Airbus. The pedestrian route from Filton Abbey Wood to Airbus took 20 minutes and although 5,000 people worked at Airbus there was little awareness of that station amongst the workforce. Keith asked him to send him an e-mail.

5. Julie asked whether SCRP would support the Campaign for Better Transport’s call for the Regional Funding Allocation for Bus Rapid Transit and the South Bristol Ring Road to be diverted to rail projects. Keith replied that SCRP was not a policy lobbying group and did not have the resources to be so in any event.

Railfuture Severnside Branch.

Minutes of Annual General Meeting held at G.W.R. Staff Association Club, Bristol on 26 April 2008. John Walker in the Chair.

17 members present. Five apologies for absence were recorded.

Minutes of the 2007 AGM

The Minutes, which were reproduced in the most recent Branch Newsletter (Spring 2008), were accepted.

Chairman’s Report

John Walker discussed the campaign for a daily, all year passenger service over the West Somerset Railway from Minehead to Taunton. The main issues were whether the WSR Company would allow the Taunton Minehead Rail Link Company to operate over its tracks; the scarcity of suitable rolling stock; and whether Network Rail would accommodate an independent running line from Norton Fitzwarren into Taunton station.

Treasurer’s Report

In Tony Lloyd’s absence Nigel Bray advised that the Profit and Loss account for the 12 months to 31 December 2007 showed a balance of £873.81, an increase of £155.14. Several present considered that some of this growing income ought to be spent on campaigning. The Chairman therefore invited ideas from the meeting. Nigel noted that Gerard Duddridge was working on a coloured leaflet to promote the case for restoration of direct trains between the South West and North West. Gerard had informed him that he could get 1,000 copies printed for £316. George Bailey asked whether the Branch should finance other campaigns also. It was agreed to continue this discussion under A.O.B.

Secretary’s Report

Nigel outlined the Branch’s campaigns during the year, including comments made to Bath & North East Somerset Council (BANES) concerning the need to safeguard the Radstock- Frome line. George commented that from about 2005 Norton Radstock Regeneration had become negative towards the North Somerset Railway and had refused to show NSR any paperwork relating to a possible Section 106 agreement between NRR and Bellway Homes. BANES and NRR had argued that at least 210 homes would have to be built on or near the Radstock West station site in order to pay for decontamination of the former wagon works site. Now that house prices were falling, there would be fewer profits for Bellway Homes.

John Walker commented that a railway ought to be a selling point for houses. George said NSR was already a member of the Radstock Action Group and was seeking the support of an MEP but it needed help for lobbying.

Election of Officers. The following were elected unopposed:

Co-Chairmen: David Redgewell and John Walker.

Secretary: Nigel Bray.

Treasurer: Tony Lloyd

Media spokesman: Bruce Williamson

Committee members:

Julie Boston (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways)

John Dixon (Portishead Railway Group)

Gerard Duddridge (representing Somerset)

Graham Ellis (representing Wiltshire)

Anne Lock (Corsham Station Campaign)

Great Western Route Utilisation Strategy

Stephen Wade discussed the meeting NR had convened in the Bristol Novotel on 18 April to launch a new RUS for its Great Western territory. It would examine the current and future use of railways in the region. All stakeholders, including heritage railways, would be consulted. The terms of reference were "to operate, maintain, review and develop the network". The word "develop" had appeared for the first time and allowed the RUS to consider new or reopened lines, finance permitting. The RUS was intended to fit in with the South West Regional Spatial Study. It was looking at specific freight commodities and passenger demand including cross- Bristol journeys.

Consultation would take place over 18 months. The first phase would last a year and establish the scope of the study. It would then seek information on significant development plans, rail schemes and proposals. The next meeting, to be held at Bristol Novotel on 6 June, would seek a "wish list" in two categories: Achievable Routes (for which most infrastructure was already in place) and Large Capital schemes (which might be possible later on). NR contact is Andrew.genever@networkrail.co.uk

Stephen then outlined his own ideas including Gateway Stations, which would present a good image for rail travel. He considered that stations could be operated as a separate business from TOCs, which he felt were too concerned with maximising profits from their trains. In his view the FoSBR leaflet map of Bristol suburban railways was an excellent promotion for rail. Julie Boston commented that all stations shown on it, including proposed reopenings, were included in the West of England Partnership’s Joint Local Transport Plan.

A.O.B.

1. It was proposed by Frank Toon, seconded by Stephen Wade and carried that the Branch contribute £100 towards the cost of Gerard Duddridge’s projected leaflet campaigning for the restoration of direct trains between South West England, North West England and Scotland via the West Coast.

2. Graham Ellis raised the question of Trans Wilts services (Swindon- Salisbury via Melksham) in the December 2008 Timetable, which he presented in a Save the Train leaflet. He had spoken to Andrew Haines (FGW) on 24 April.


    Sent to Andrew Griffiths, Regional Manager, Severn & Solent on 21st December 2007

    Times quoted are for Mondays to Saturdays unless otherwise stated.

    Gloucester- Cheltenham pocket timetable E10

    The new pocket timetable E10 is a novel and excellent idea in summarising the complete service in a very handy format. I hope it can be used to promote use of the train for local journeys now that Arriva Trains Wales has extended its Cardiff- Gloucester services to Cheltenham and also because of increasing congestion on local main roads. Journeys by bus on the main Gloucester- Cheltenham route (Service 94) are often of exasperating slowness, especially during the peak hours. Even the limited stop X94 route suffers from heavy delay during the morning peak. It is very often quicker to take the train from Gloucester and then walk 1½ miles to the centre of Cheltenham than to make the complete journey by bus.

    Railfuture welcomes FGW’s recent decision to waive the time restriction on Cheap Day Return fares from Stroud and Stonehouse into Cheltenham following the flood damage which has closed the A46 at Pitchcombe. Ideally there need to be additional trains as the earliest SX arrivals at Cheltenham are 08.03 and 09.03.

    Bristol-Weston-super-Mare corridor

    It is very good to see a better spacing of evening peak services from Bristol in view of the gap in the previous timetable from 18.07 to 18.50. The use of HSTs for three SX trains (16.18, 17.18 and 18.22) is welcome, as also is the pathing of the all stations services behind them at 16.25, 17.25 and 18.25.

    Keynsham

    In view of my earlier suggestion to develop this station as a railhead for South Bristol and North East Somerset, it is pleasing to see that the 06.30 SX Paddington- Bristol (and SWT’s 08.50 Bristol- Waterloo) now call there. I presume these additional stops are primarily to relieve overcrowding on local trains but Railfuture hopes that more of the faster trains can call there also.

    Now that FGW no longer serves Dean or Mottisfont & Dunbridge, it may be feasible for certain Portsmouth trains to call at Keynsham. I note that the 05.45 Bristol T.M- Portsmouth already calls there, as do 06.00 SX and 06.51 SX Portsmouth- Cardiff.

    It is good to see that the new Great Malvern / Worcester- Brighton trains (see next item) call at Keynsham in both directions, giving it direct services to a wide variety of stations on the South Coast.

    Gloucester- Worcester corridor

    Direct services between Worcester and Brighton offer some excellent journey opportunities which may not have existed before. These are valuable in view of the curtailment of other routes between Gloucestershire and Sussex via Reading, i.e. the recent withdrawal of SWT Reading- Brighton services north of Basingstoke and the removal of Gatwick and Brighton from the Cross Country network in December 2008.

    Through trains between Great Malvern and Weymouth look attractive on paper but it remains to be seen whether their timekeeping will be affected by the long single line sections south of Castle Cary. 15.11 Weymouth- Gloucester forms the main evening peak service from Bristol to Yate and Cam & Dursley, so it is as well that it is not timed to cross a southbound train between Castle Cary and Dorchester Junction.

    Railfuture’s main criticism of the new Timetable north of Cheltenham is the loss of conveniently timed peak hour trains from Ashchurch towards Gloucester. There is now no southbound train from Ashchurch between 07.05 SX (07.12 SO) and 09.21, the former too early and the latter too late for most commuters. Yet the 15.28 Warminster- Great Malvern (17.38 Gloucester) offers an attractive service home, as do Cross Country’s 15.45 and 16.45 Cardiff- Nottingham (at 17.46 and 18.46 from Gloucester). I tried to get Cross Country to stop its 06.34 Derby- Cardiff , due in Gloucester at 08.24, to call at Ashchurch but it declined to do so in view of the tight turnround at Cardiff for its next working.

    A possible solution to the Ashchurch dilemma lies in the 38 minute turnround of the 07.15 SX Gloucester- Great Malvern. Would it be feasible for 08.51 Great Malvern- Westbury to start about 30 minutes earlier on Mondays to Fridays ? Alternatively, if 07.15 Gloucester turned round at Worcester (ideally at Foregate Street), would this permit an even earlier start of the southbound train, i.e. an 08.15-ish departure from Worcester to Westbury ?

    Yours sincerely,

     

    Branch Secretary

    Railfuture Severnside.


Cross Country 2009 Timetable consultation


October 2007 Meeting in Taunton

    Guest speaker: Julian Crow, Regional Manager (West of England), First Great Western, "What’s going on in First Great Western?"

    Julian Crow explained the background to the Greater Western Franchise specification, which had been devised by the Department for Transport (DfT) at a time when the Government believed the costs of the railway industry were spiralling out of control. FGW had considered the specification to be "somewhat deficient" and had therefore undertaken a Consultation exercise with stakeholders, with a view to achieving a Timetable closer to what people wanted. The retention of the Exeter- Paddington semi-fasts, which had been removed in the original specification, was one of the successes of the Consultation.

    Although FGW’s December 2006 Timetable had been a great improvement on what DfT had specified, it had still disappointed a great many people. FGW was therefore revising the Timetable in December 2007; most of the changes would be outside the South West but cross-Bristol services would be restored to the pattern which had operated prior to the December 2006 alterations.

    Infrastructure and Fleet were the main factors which had adversely affected FGW’s Performance. FGW currently ran over more 1970s track than did most franchises because a great deal of the trackwork dated from the introduction of HSTs. Network Rail now had a very productive High Output track renewal vehicle based at Taunton but that Company currently had difficulties at the Thames Valley end of the patch where it suffered from a 30 % vacancy gap.

    The replacement of Paxman Ventura engines in HSTs by the MTU variety had doubled the reliability of the sets which had been re-engined. The internal refurbishment of HSTs had received a mixed reaction but the layout of more seats and fewer tables in Standard Class was inevitable given the franchise requirement to increase seating capacity.

    In order to improve the reliability of the former Wessex Trains fleet, FGW had moved maintenance from Cardiff to Bristol. Unfortunately the completion of its new depot at St. Philip’s Marsh had been delayed when the contractor went into liquidation. It was now almost complete following a new contract.

    Refurbishment of the ex Wessex fleet had just begun. £11m would now be spent instead of a planned £2m because of the mechanical state of the trains. Another imminent problem was the transfer of 11 ex First Transpennine Class 158s to Northern Rail. The only stock available in lieu were 142s, which FGW anticipated leasing for about two years before either collecting 150s being displaced by new stock in the West Midlands or making a business case for some of the 1,300 new vehicles to be deployed on Cardiff- Portsmouth, where there is known to be much frustrated demand. The incoming 142s may well run in pairs to provide additional or strengthened services to routes such as Barnstaple and Torbay but they would not be used in Cornwall !

    The Class 180 (Adelante) fleet will be returning to the leasing company. By the time FGW starting using them in 2001, the xx.55 Cardiff- Paddington service they were intended for was experiencing such growth that the 180s soon became overloaded. These 5-car sets cost as much to run as 7-coach HSTs because each Adelante vehicle is powered. They would be replaced by HSTs. When this happens the only unused multiple units in the UK will be 180s and 442s. FGW had recently snapped up the last two available 153s. There were now simply no spare sets on offer.

    The Government’s recent High Level Output Statement was remarkable in that it actually talked in terms of "growing the railway". The challenge now was to accommodate expected growth.

    Crossrail would be very disruptive during the construction period but, after completion, would benefit the South West by removing many suburban trains from Paddington, thereby releasing paths for long distance services. The remodelling of Reading station, announced with the White Paper, will enable trains to enter and leave the station at intervals of 2½ minutes instead of more than five minutes at present.

    He expressed optimism about the future of branch lines in Devon and Cornwall, all of which had seen impressive growth in patronage over the past year. He then referred to each branch in turn, showing how FGW was developing their respective main functions.

    The core business of the St. Ives branch was park & ride from St. Erth, where 600 parking spaces had been provided. FGW was working with Cornwall County Council, which was considering promotion of the line on electronic road signs.

    Cornwall CC was also seeking EU Objective One funding to provide a passing loop at Penryn to allow a more frequent service on the Falmouth branch.

    The Newquay branch was essentially a seasonal railway. FGW would be extending the high summer peak service to nine weeks in 2008. The role of the line depended on developing its long distance traffic. Whilst Par was not a major destination for travel from stations on the branch, there were no funds in the short term for the scheme to divert the line to St. Austell.

    The Looe branch was also very much a summer line. The Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership had reduced fares evasion by providing ticket offices both at Looe and on the branch platform at Liskeard.

    The Gunnislake line had experienced strong growth in patronage. Further growth could be expected if a scheme to reopen Bere Alston- Tavistock were to attract the necessary third party funding linked to a housing scheme. FGW itself would not be able to fund it.

    An additional round trip on the Exmouth branch would be provided from December 2007. Devon County Council was supporting a plan to extend platforms at intermediate stations to accommodate four-car trains.

    The Barnstaple branch had seen 35 % growth in custom in one year, possibly because of reduced fares. One or two additional round trips were planned from May 2008.

    It was very encouraging that there was now no negativity from DfT about branch lines. On the main lines, greater use of HSTs in Cornwall had enabled FGW to carry more schools traffic. The economy of the region needed earlier trains from London to Exeter and Plymouth. At present the first train of the day from Paddington (07.30) ran via Bristol and did not reach Plymouth until 11.15, arguably too late for a morning business meeting. There was also a need for fast trains taking three hours or less from Plymouth to London.

    Questions from the audience

    1. Anne Lock referred to the £33m cost of the proposed Westbury bypass and asked what the cost of restoring the line to Tavistock would be.

    Julian Crow suggested the capital cost of reopening Bere Alston- Tavistock might be in the region of £6m-£10m, depending on what work was required on structures. External support would be needed to fund the trains because no rural railway in the UK made money. He anticipated that the subsidy per passenger would be less than on the existing Plymouth- Gunnislake service but FGW would still need help to run a Plymouth- Tavistock / Gunnislake route without financial loss.

    2. John Dixon referred to the Portishead line and predicted that M5 Junction 19 would seize up if the railway had not reopened by the time new housing developments were built. He expressed concern at the delay to the Bristol- Avonmouth timetable enhancement and added that Bristol Panel Signal Box suffered from periodic faults.

    Julian Crow wondered whether the main travel trend from Portishead was actually towards Temple Meads. It was difficult to see a way forward on this subject but Bristol certainly needed a PTE. There was scope for growth on the Severn Beach line but the dispersed location of work and other destinations in the Bristol area pointed to the need for a Metro system. On the question of signalling, NR had a major programme of resignalling over the next decade, starting in South Wales and then in the West of England.

    3. Graham Ellis referred to the 35 % growth in usage of the Barnstaple line, which was facing the prospect of more trains. He said hoped to learn from FGW’s successes in Devon and Cornwall. It would help make a case for the TransWilts (Melksham) service if he knew what the pence per mile subsidy was from Cornwall County Council for Cornish lines.

    Julian Crow pointed out that Cornwall CC did not provide any rail subsidies but FGW was hoping to reduce costs on all branch lines as part of the Community Railways strategy. It was very difficult to identify the exact costs of any one train service because of shared fleet, infrastructure and staffing costs. He thought the Melksham line might be redoubled to carry additional Freightliner trains between Southampton and the Midlands, although NR believed that passenger services could be restored (to pre-December 2006 levels) without any increase in capacity. The challenge for the Melksham line was how to obtain additional sets whereas in Devon and Cornwall it was how to make more intensive use of existing crews and sets. Asked whether 142s could go to Melksham, he said they could but would need to be based at Bristol with other Pacers.

    Nigel Bray noted that 143s were already used on the Stroud Valley line. Julian Crow agreed that traincrews conversant with these would need only a short conversion course to be able to work 142s.

    4. Dick Drew commented that the Local Authority structure in Greater Bristol had been an obstacle to transport improvement. The four Councils covering the former Avon area did not seem to be working towards an agreed strategy.

    5. A speaker referred to the inadequacy of northbound services from Cornwall in the evenings. Julian Crow replied that evening travel on trains within Cornwall was not heavy for most of the year and the Franchise had not specified enhancements to them.

    6. Gerard Duddridge noted that connections to Weymouth from the South West at Castle Cary had improved and asked whether these could be developed further to give more journey opportunities for the Olympic sailings at Weymouth. He considered Castle Cary to have enormous potential as an interchange for Weymouth and local buses.

    Julian Crow commented that more work was needed on the Weymouth line timetable but it was difficult to justify more train services because the route had few major traffic generators and served many small flows. The timetable would change in December as part of the revision of cross- Bristol services. FGW tried not to upset the larger intermediate flows such as work journeys to Yeovil and school journeys to Dorchester. FGW hoped to run a daily loco hauled train over the line in Summer 2008. For the Olympics the line would need to move people from Bristol (eg in HSTs), provided Weymouth station could accommodate the extra trains.

    7. Gerard criticised the emphasis on high backed airline seats in the refurbished HSTs and said the scarcity of back to back seats would result in more luggage being placed on the racks.

    Julian Crow replied that the new seats had to have high backs in order to reduce the risk of whiplash injuries in the event of a crash. Luggage space would be a challenge during the summer but the Franchise required FGW to provide an increase in seating capacity.

    8. Mr. F. Pook (Burnham-on-Sea) said there was a need for a later evening train from Exeter to Taunton so that people connecting for Bridgwater, Highbridge etc, could attend events such as concerts. The current last trains (20.37 EWD, 20.55 Sun Exeter St. Davids) were too early for a main line connecting two county towns.

    Julian Crow accepted this was unsatisfactory. He understood there would be a 21.45 Taunton- Bristol service from December 2007 and it might be possible to adjust this to run later.

    9. John Walker spoke of the need to reinstate the Okehampton route to Plymouth in view of concerns that climate change might result in the sea wall carrying the main line at Dawlish being swept away.

    Julian Crow noted that NR had undertaken major expenditure on resignalling the main line (to permit Single Line Working when required) and on the sea wall itself. He accepted that a reopened Okehampton- Bere Alston route would be very useful.

    10. A speaker referred to the scarcity of train services from Taunton to Castle Cary and Westbury, eg for onward connections, and said it was not feasible to make a day trip from Taunton to Frome by any form of public transport. He believed the problem was the London-orientated mindset of decision makers.

    Anne Lock asked how this could be changed.

    Julian Crow said the remedy for specific journeys was incremental timetable change. A stop by a main line train at Castle Cary cost about four minutes and about seven at Westbury, where London trains not stopping ran via the avoiding line. Gerard added that approach control signals limited the speeds of trains entering and leaving the Frome loop. Higher speed junctions would reduce the time penalties for stopping at Frome. Julian Crow concluded by saying that the attitude of London-based civil servants could be changed over time through our elected representatives.

    Branch discussion

    11. Anne provided details of telephone conferencing services for use by the Committee members to update each other on local issues. Nigel undertook to study these with a view to setting up a regular conference (post-meeting note: trial run of Conference Genie took place on Friday 16 November).

    12. Nigel reported on his correspondence with ATOC concerning the latter’s proposals for increasing capacity on the existing network. Some of the ideas he put forward had been Gerard’s, including the realignment of Westerleigh Junction slightly further west to allow for higher speeds. A speaker asked whether it might not be preferable to reinstate the original route from Yate to Bristol via Mangotsfield. Gerard considered that TOCs would not want to omit stops at Bristol Parkway, although there might well be a case for a single track commuter line from Mangotsfield to Bristol.

    13. Anne reported on a West of England Partnership meeting she had attended, where Barbara Davis of its Transport team had pointed out that Bristol received much less funding than did Northern cities of comparable size. Anne referred to Section 106 agreements concerning transport infrastructure to be provided in connection with new housing developments. She said that such developments at Corsham and Portishead had been approved on the understanding that railway stations would be reopened. The reply given at the meeting suggested that these reopenings had not been ruled out.

    Anne noted that road schemes were assessed on the basis of 60 years’ worth of time savings (in seconds !) for each vehicle journey, whereas rail schemes in England were required to demonstrate a high benefit/ cost ratio or an operating profit. English rail projects needed to be assessed in the same way as were those in Scotland and Wales if they were to get off the ground.

    14. Michael Hodge (user of Bridgwater station) noted that his station had lost out in terms of connections westwards in the December 2006 timetable. He added that the 06.48 Bristol T.M.- Penzance did not call at Bridgwater, which had also lost a fast train with the ending of Manchester- Penzance services via Hereford (post-meeting note: the retimed 06.46 SX Bristol- Penzance calls at Highbridge and Bridgwater, with effect from 19 May 2008, following correspondence between Railfuture and FGW. From 9 December 2007, FGW revised its cross-Bristol services to provide an hourly Cardiff- Taunton stopping service. One result is that xx.04 or xx.08 departures from Taunton to Cardiff have improved connections to Bridgwater and Highbridge from the West).

    15. George Bailey noted that an Act of Parliament had been needed to open railways in the first place and he believed legislation was also needed to obliterate an existing line. He cited a case where developers had had to reinstate a section of canal. Nigel commented that the granting of a Transport & Works Order by DfT was the current mechanism for opening or reopening lines. Such an Order had also given Cambridgeshire CC permission to destroy the St. Ives (Cambs) line so that a guided busway could be built.

    16. John Walker updated the meeting on the progress of Taunton- Minehead Rail Link Company (TMRL) and noted that West Somerset Railway intended to run a service from Bishops Lydeard into bay platform 1 at Taunton via the Down Relief Line using an upgraded d.m.u. There might well be pathing problems on the DRL, which was much used by Engineering trains and in any case the WSR train was likely to be regulated for main line services at Norton Fitzwarren. John was now the link Councillor between West Somerset District and Somerset County Councils. He had contacted NR asking to be offered any surplus track from the High Output ballast depot at Taunton for use on the projected TMRL running line.

    17. David Redgewell commented that DfT had been asked to support pathing for a Minehead- Bristol service in the Summer 2008 Timetable and it was hoped this could be advertised in Butlins 2008 brochure. He added that the South West Regional Assembly and local authorities would be lobbying for additional rolling stock for the region. These bodies had appealed unsuccessfully to DfT against the transfer of the ex Transpennine 158s to Northern Rail but unfortunately this had resulted in postponement of the enhanced Bristol- Avonmouth service because the movement of alternative rolling stock to FGW for December 2007 had been put on hold while the appeal was being considered. He had been informed that a small number of the new build sets mentioned in the White Paper would be based in Bristol.

    David expressed concern that Arriva Cross Country services might become overcrowded on the Bristol- Penzance route because five-car Voyagers were to be redeployed on Euston- Holyhead (post-meeting note: the need for longer formations, including use of HSTs, was stressed in the Branch’s submission to the Cross Country 2009 Timetable Consultation). SWRA and the Regional Development Agency intended to produce a Rail Prospectus.


Radstock Railway Station Site


    Minutes of Annual General Meeting held at G.W.R. Staff Association Club, Bristol on 7 April 2007. John Walker in the Chair.

    15 members and one visitor present. Five apologies for absence were recorded.

    Minutes of the 2006 AGM

    The Minutes, which were reproduced in the most recent Branch Newsletter (Spring 2007), were read and accepted.

    Matters Arising

    Eric Barbery asked what was happening with the South West Regional Spatial Study. David Redgewell replied that the public inquiry would begin in Exeter on 17 April. He understood that documents were available via the South West Regional Assembly website. Julie Boston advised that there would be pro-rail input from FoSBR and Bristol Civic Society. David added that Transport 2000 and Travel Watch South West would be presenting evidence to the inquiry.

    David advised that BANES Council had approved a planning application for housing on railway land at Radstock. This would affect sidings at Radstock but the running line towards Frome would be safeguarded.

    Election of Officers. The following were elected unopposed:

    Co-Chairmen: David Redgewell and John Walker.

    Secretary: Nigel Bray.

    Treasurer: Tony Lloyd

    Committee members:

    Julie Boston (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways)

    John Dixon (Portishead Railway Group)

    Gerard Duddridge (representing Somerset)

    Graham Ellis (representing Wiltshire)

    Anne Lock (Corsham Station Campaign)

    Dick Drew stood down from the Committee after many years of service including seven as Secretary. It was not known whether George Bailey and Ian Bechey wished to remain on the Committee.

    Anne Lock suggested that the Committee should consider a regular telephone conference (Post-meeting note: Nigel Bray is unable to arrange this via his telephone provider but Anne will investigate how a network might be set up).

    Treasurer’s Report

    John Walker presented the Branch Accounts. He confirmed that he could no longer cover the Treasurer’s duties as well as being Co-Chairman. After the formal meeting, Tony Lloyd volunteered to be Treasurer. It was agreed that John would arrange a meeting to hand over the Branch Accounts paperwork and cheque book to Nigel, who would then deliver them to Tony (post-meeting note: Following completion of a Change to Mandate form, Tony and Nigel are now the two cheque signatories for the Branch. Many thanks to John and Dick for their assistance with this process).

    Secretary’s Report

    This was read and accepted. David Redgewell suggested that a letter be sent to the Welsh Assembly Government asking it to underwrite rolling stock for Anglo-Welsh services, eg Cardiff- Gloucester / Portsmouth / Taunton / Westbury.

    A.O.B.

     Julie referred to FoSBR’s recent success in persuading Bristol City Council to support funding of an additional train so that a half-hourly service could operate for a trial period between Temple Meads and Avonmouth. She proposed the following motion, which was carried unanimously:

    "This meeting welcomes the detailed paper produced by Transport 2000 (with support from Travel Watch South West ) for Growing the Railways in the South West, launched in Bristol in January 2007. In order to move things forward we

    (1) congratulate Bristol City Council on putting aside money for an additional train between Avonmouth and Temple Meads for a trial period of three years.

    (2) call on the West of England Partnership, the Government Office for the South West and MPs to raise the demand for a half hourly service for the 17 plus railway stations in the Greater Bristol area.

    (3) call on the West of England Partnership to integrate the rail service with the bus and, where possible, the Bristol Ferry service.

    (4) agree to investigate linking up with other rail campaigners such as CANBER which has the support of 10 campaigning groups (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/g1517) ".

    Post-meeting note: Nigel sent this resolution (minus clause (4) which he considered might confuse the recipients) to Councillor Dennis Brown (Bristol City Council); Councillor Sir E. Jenkins (BANES); GOSWE Head of Transport Policy; Simon Birch (West of England Partnership); and Kerry McCarthy MP.