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

[whole diary]

[johnneyw]

Last I read was that it was due next year but statements from PR^▸ (Public Relations) people are worthless these days.

[JayMac]

The building on platform 1 at Avonmouth is no more.

[TonyK]

Ah well. An end to speculation, if nothing else.

[trainer]

The Severn Beach line is one I like to travel on for pleasure from time-to-time and with this in mind, two days ago I interrogated National Rail Enquiries for a single fare (with a Senior Railcard) from SVB (Severn Beach) to BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains) (Bristol Temple Meads).  My delight at the ridiculously low Anytime fare of ^1.00 was only beaten by my disbelief at the revelation of the the jaw-dropping Off Peak Fare of...^54.40 (^2.00 and ^80.90 without railcard).  I am well aware of threads on fares elsewhere and our ongoing agreement of the lack of sanity in the fare structure on the railways, but I draw this to our attention here to encourage travel on a lovely little line.  Not only will you enjoy the estuary and river bank scenery as well as fine views of Bristol and its ports (when not in tunnels and cuttings), but as long as you travel Off Peak and pay the Anytime fare you'll bask in the knowledge that you've saved shed loads of dosh.  Those forced to travel in Peak Time will I fear have to be content with paying the smaller amount with no savings. Shame. 

[Red Squirrel]

Interesting - that ^80.90 fare also applies to an off-peak single from Lawrence Hill to Stapleton Road, a distance of just less than a mile. Is there a more expensive fare, per mile, in the world?

I note that there is a more expensive option, though - you could use a 'Freedom of the South West Rover' for this journey, at ^111.50.

[grahame]

You could get a first class upgrade from Liskeard to Coombe ... don't forget to add the price of the standard class ticket too!

http://www.brfares.com/#!fares?orig=LSK&dest=COE

[JayMac]

The perils of using National Rail Enquiries for fares advice.

The Severn Beach Line fares are zonal, an inner zone between Clifton Down and Bristol Temple Meads, an outer zone between Clifton Down and Severn Beach, and an all line zone which does what it says on the tin. These fares apply at all times.

This confuses NRE^‡(resolve)'s algorithms when they look for Off Peak fares. Consequently it throws out Rover prices as the only valid Off Peak fares. Garbage in, garbage out.

Ask here on this forum for fares advice. My algorithms are much better. 

[grahame]

Ask here on this forum for fares advice. My algorithms are much better. 

{like}

To quote a recent case:
  National Rail ^50.50
  RailEasy ^35.90
  Grahame ^25.80
  BigNoseMac ^19.00

(Swindon to Weymouth tomorrow today - out at 08:47, back at 17:30)

[IndustryInsider]

Time for a new website: bigrednosespottedmac.com. 

[John R]

Isn't it time fares were increased on the Severn Beach line? Taking annual seasons as an example, a 1 zone season is ^240, and a 2 zone season is ^360. This compares with inner/outer zone seasons on first bus of ^650 and ^840 respectively.

Another comparison, Keynsham around 4 miles from BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains) has an annual season of ^852.  I appreciate that to quote mileages on the SB^▸ (Signal Box) branch are a bit misleading, as it loops round, so the distance as the crow flies is somewhat lower. But nevertheless, these fares appear ludicrously low, with the 4 miles from Clifton Down to Temple Meads working out at around ^1 a day with an annual (^240).

[JayMac]

I would support a modest increase in fares and there was speculation that this may happen in the September 2015 fares round. Looking at booking engines and industry fares databases it doesn't appear that SVB line fares are increasing, but there could be a late amendment. The SVB Line fares have not increased for five years.

I emailed the Severnside Community Rail Partnership about possible fare rises some time ago. No reply. Didn't chase up.

I don't think a comparison with Bristol bus season tickets is relevant as those bus seasons are valid on First services cross the city and the surrounding areas. A SVB Line season is point to point.

There is a danger that if an increase is too steep it could drive passengers away. The SVB Line has been a huge success story over the past six years. The increase in passenger numbers and better revenue collection enabled the local authority subsidies to be reduced year on year, eventually to zero.

[TonyK]

I would support a modest increase in fares and there was speculation that this may happen in the September 2015 fares round.

The fares are not subject to the usual national process, but are set by local politicians. The ones who set them in the first place, and those who suggested an increase a couple of years ago but decided against because of the impending local elections state of the economy, are not those currently in charge of local transport.

This is one of those "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenarios. I am not usually one for conspiracy theories (MetroBust apart, where they are all true) but I cannot discount the possibility that the modest improvements to the SVB line services in 2007, when the fare was set, were intended to prove that the line was not viable. Cue Atkins with their report of 2005, which proposed spending a colossal amount of money to convert it to a guided busway. We all know what happened - passenger numbers have more than doubled since then, a 12,000 seat arena is being built opposite BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains), and the commercial axis of Bristol has begun to move towards the Enterprise Zone, centred around what is now one of the busiest railway stations outside of the Metrolopse. Suddenly, having only one local branch line appears to be a serious understatement.

The weekly fares (^6.00 for one zone, ^9.00 for the whole 26-mile round trip BRI-SVB) are a fantastic bargain. A colleague now commutes because it is cheaper for a week than it is to park for a day, and now wonders why he didn't start sooner. But far from every journey is paid for. Only BRI has a gate, and the trains at peak times are so full that the staff have little chance of getting a fare from every passenger. The need for a TM^‡(resolve) to open and close doors with little more than 2 minutes between stations from CDN onwards doesn't help. MetroBust originally promised integrated cross-modal ticketing, but that has gone the way of all the other pie-crust promises, so the SVB is on its own so far as revenue gathering and protection is concerned. If everyone paid in advance for their journeys, with a TM to check, the service might even operate at a profit, even at the current fare levels.

The solution? Imaginative thinking, leading to proper contactless card payment for transport across trains, buses, and ferries within the Greater Bristol area, a bit like in London. In fact, exactly like in London. Sadly, beyond the ability of the unelected unaccountable oligarchy that is the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership Joint Transport Executive Committee. Let's have an ITA^▸ (Integrated Transport Authority)!

BNM, you're bragging again. You show me your algorithms, I'll show you mine.

[grahame]

I would support a modest increase in fares and there was speculation that this may happen in the September 2015 fares round.

The fares are not subject to the usual national process, ....

This is one of those "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenarios. ...

This is such an important topic for local rail and public transport.   I have highlighted the main points - for which I believe "designation" is a key ...

[TonyK]

The best one I've heard yet was on Monday, ex BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains). The TM^‡(resolve) apologised for not being able to issue tickets because of a shortage of equipment at Temple Meads, so if you need a ticket for your journey, please buy one at your destination station.

Good luck with that at Lawrence Hill, Stapleton Road, Montpelier... all the way to Avonmouth.

[JayMac]

Two additional Sunday evening services for the summer (until 11th September 2016) on the Severn Beach Line.

1953 Bristol TM^‡(resolve) - Avonmouth 2017 returning at,
2022 Avonmouth - Bristol TM 2050

2053 Bristol TM - Clifton Down 2106 returning at,
2123 Clifton Down - Bristol TM 2137

Most welcome. Although I'd like to see this year round and the later service going through to at least Avonmouth.