Its odd that one of the reasons for cancelling the expansion to the Mall@Cribbs was lack of traffic infrastructure, whilst this change should have been synchronised with a Park and Ride, with train access, in North Bristol.

Why is the M1 route so late?

Why could they not run for a trial period with normal buses whilst Bristol Parkway is shut, and later when Filton Abbey Wood shuts for three weeks?

It surprises me that the two local authorities, Bristol and SGC, did not sit down with First Bus, GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) and Network Rail and do something.

The decision to prioritise Metrobus routes 2+3 over 1, at the same time that Bristol Parkway is shut for three weeks, before Filton Abbeywood shuts for three weeks next month may have been determined by the Temple Meads gyratory issues, but it does not stop people from North Bristol( and Yate, Thornbury, etc) from having to work in the centre of Bristol.

There are certain decisions, or lack of them, that I would call a dereliction of duty and I would class this as one such case.

Adding a bus every 15 minutes from Bristol Parkway to the centre would certainly have helped.

Why don't the railways run on a 4-day shift pattern over eight days with a maximum of two overtime days per 8 days.

This would ensure better rest periods, and hopefully less overtime and more basic pay.

I know it is a hairbrained idea, but something has to be done to ensure staff do not run out of hours, volunteer for weekend shifts or not turn up due to exhaustion.

Well, it has taken two days for me to confirm that me choice of local buses over Network Rails|GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) bus replacement programme was the correct one.

Colleagues at work that have struggled with bus replacemernts from Yate to Filton Abbeywood/Patchway and journeys onto Bristol Temple Meads report delays and severe overcrowding.

Why couldn't they arrange with First Bus to run direct buses from Bristol Parkway to Bristol Temple Meads for the three weeks. Say every 15 minutes?

Whilst Cribbs Causeway has many parking spaces, about 7K, they are not central or well located for a Filton Arena, and it would be stupid to add thousands of more parking spaces just for an Arena.

A simple, fast link from the Arena to the Mall will provide access to this parking.

Building a new rail station at Henbury, with a fast link to Mall and the new planned bus station will also help people to get to/from and Arena efficiently.

Bristol must be one of the fastest growing cities in the country, and due to its size, and the population of neighbouring authorities there is a need for a local arena.

The problem with going to London, Birmingham, Cardiff and Exeter is that return public transport stops at 10pm none of them are located easily for Bristol traffic.

I hope that any plans for Filton include

• local rail access
• monorail for Mall@Criibs car parks
• central bus station for local and national buses to ensure people can get home

Reluctantly, I agree with Marvin on this issue. Bristol is not a huge city with spare space for a large Arena, unless expensively done with accommodation, entertainment and retail to ensure that the site is fully utilised for much of the day. The population of Bristol has already grown by 10% in the last 10 years, and is approaching 500K fast,  the need for accessible entertainment venues is essential for a vibrant city. The need for an Arena is more important now than ever.

However, this whole process has been dragging on 15 years and the failure of work not to be in progress is Marvin's, and Marvin's alone.

What is sad about GWRs^▸ (Great Western Railway) decline, and potential future is that very little of it is in their control.

Whilst NR^» (Network Rail - home page) and DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) are not wholly responsible, the failure to deliver upgrades, new rolling stock (new and cascaded) on a schedule that could allow for training has made their job, and their customers experience, difficult.

All good questions, but the P&R^▸ (Park and Ride) bus already does part of this route, so I assumed yes.

Why not run the M2 service in an alternating loop around the city centre?

Why not split proposed the very long M1 route into M1 and M4 and increase the service frequency of these two routes? 

With this three-week closure approaching, I have now looked into my travel options.

The train I currently use is the 0624, Bristol Parkay to Penzance, (for Temple Meads) which for these three weeks will start at 0628 from Filton Abbey Wood. Sonds good, but how do I get to Filton Abbey Wood for 0625?

The bus services from Bristol Parkway start at 0640, so not good.

No cycle access weith the current building of Platform 4 and four tracking.

No bus service to Filton Abbey Wood, but a 10 minute walk from Abbey Wood retail park park.

So, it looks as if I'll have to get a bus ticket each day.

It's a real shame, Bristol Parkway, whilst shut, will still have excellent Cycle racks and 1900 parking spaces, probably more than all other rail stations in Bristol area put together!

Why couldn't GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) run an earlier bus to Filton Abbey Wood in the morning, and allow more people to easily get to Temple Meads for work and connections.

Shame that the m1 service is so late, two years from the initial estimate. It would be have been a great help with NR^» (Network Rail - home page)|GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) shutting Parkway for three weeks next month.

If a major issue with overcrowding is the continual use of ALL trains from London Paddington is the use of Intercity trains for 'short' commutes, then the easiest solution is to make these trains ticket only leaving Paddington.

Ticket barriers can be programmed to accept specific tickets only.

Finally, I'd much rather suffer overcrowding at a station, than on a train.

https://www.gwr.com/travel-updates/planned-engineering/electrification2018

Is this the second or third full multi week closure this year (can't remember if one closure was partial)?, apart from every weekend this year and quite a few Mondays when nothing works!

What is going on that they have to fully close a main line station again? Why could they not have laid the extra track during one of the other shutdowns, or used one of their track laying trains over the weekend?

The bus replacement service will probably be a joke again. Insufficient buses, drivers who get lost from FAW to BPW^» (Bristol Parkway - next trains) and a bus timetable that is an aspiration but never delivered!