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Author Topic: Severn Beach Line; trains, performance, tickets and usage  (Read 60157 times)
grahame
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« Reply #165 on: April 26, 2018, 18:10:07 »

If Gromit's not available, maybe we could get the enterprising denizens of Cromwell Road to lay it while NR» (Network Rail - home page) look the other way...

Grommit's track laying speed was, though, truly exceptional ...
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SandTEngineer
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« Reply #166 on: April 26, 2018, 18:12:42 »

(I'm going to get into trouble with S&TE again here for showing my higgerance, but here goes)

Extending the loop from CFN (Clifton Down station) to Narroways would presumably have the benefit that you'd 'just' have to move the signally thing and the pointy switchy doodah down the track about 2km east of their current location. There's probably getting on for 2km of old FB rail knocking around in Montpelier Cutting; give Gromit an orange jacket and point him in the right direction and before you can say 'Cracking track, Gromit!' Robert would be yer mother's new close personal friend. How hard can it be? If Gromit's not available, maybe we could get the enterprising denizens of Cromwell Road to lay it while NR» (Network Rail - home page) look the other way...

I'll come back to you on that Red Squirrel, with some facts and figures to show you why NR put these things into the 'too difficult box'  Wink

...oh and by the way, I going to use some of your terminology in future posts as it really made me chuckle.  First time I've ever heard a set of points called a 'pointy switchy doodah'  Cheesy
« Last Edit: April 26, 2018, 18:28:53 by SandTEngineer » Logged
Red Squirrel
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« Reply #167 on: April 26, 2018, 19:08:04 »

Bringing the second platforms back into use at Redland and Montpelier, and having them EA-compliant, would probably cost more than the PW (Permanent Way) and signalling I imagine...
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grahame
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« Reply #168 on: April 26, 2018, 19:28:53 »

Bringing the second platforms back into use at Redland and Montpelier, and having them EA-compliant, would probably cost more than the PW (Permanent Way) and signalling I imagine...

They're - what - 500 metres apart and the platforms remaining are currently on different sides of the track.  By comparison, it is 400 metres for someone in a wheelchair to cross from the up platform to the down platform at Bradford-on-Avon. No - no conclusion - just having some ideas which look very silly. And I don't know whether either / both stations would need new footbridges or be able to have independent access on the second side.

I did notice this last week ... and wonder how busy that line is compared to the one at Redland and Montpelier



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martyjon
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« Reply #169 on: April 26, 2018, 19:31:41 »

Bringing the second platforms back into use at Redland and Montpelier, and having them EA-compliant, would probably cost more than the PW (Permanent Way) and signalling I imagine...

That's why I suggested in my earlier post to just double the stretch from Narroways to the tunnel.
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martyjon
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« Reply #170 on: April 26, 2018, 19:41:13 »

Bringing the second platforms back into use at Redland and Montpelier, and having them EA-compliant, would probably cost more than the PW (Permanent Way) and signalling I imagine...

They're - what - 500 metres apart and the platforms remaining are currently on different sides of the track.  By comparison, it is 400 metres for someone in a wheelchair to cross from the up platform to the down platform at Bradford-on-Avon. No - no conclusion - just having some ideas which look very silly. And I don't know whether either / both stations would need new footbridges or be able to have independent access on the second side.

I did notice this last week ... and wonder how busy that line is compared to the one at Redland and Montpelier





Looks like Sea Mills, if so tis same line.
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Red Squirrel
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« Reply #171 on: April 26, 2018, 21:07:01 »

I suppose Sea Mills has grandfather rights...

Making the disused platform at MTP accessible would be problematic without a very long ramp or a lift. RDA (Regional Development Agency) ought to be pretty straightforward, actually, if the council were willing to grant access via Cotham Gardens.
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TonyK
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« Reply #172 on: April 27, 2018, 23:03:24 »

I would be surprised if someone's not suggested it / looked at it. But how do the economic, financial and political case(s) stack up?    Will the Severn Beach line compete with or compliment other plans underway such as Metrobus, MetroWest and the Bristol Underground?   Isn't it part of Metrowest in which case capacity will have been considered?

Strangely, or maybe not, MetroBust doesn't really touch the SVB line anywhere. The nearest it comes to it is passing below, on the M32. Atkins, in 2006, did suggest ripping up the line and replacing it with a guided busway. This met with stiff opposition, and they have had to wait until now to prove that guided busways are not necessarily cheap and easy to build. So other than on that existential basis, the SVB line neither complements nor competes with MetroBust. It is part of MetroWest, or at least will be when that happens properly, and should be part of routes to Bath Spa (or possibly even Westbury) and Portishead. The Bristol Underground will remain a pipe-dream until there is absolutely no room on roads for anything to move. The only reason I can see for it being mentioned is to try to persuade the locals that the councils and the new Metro Mayor actually have ideas, and that they can forget how long we have been talking about Portishead and rejoice that we want an Underground instead.

Quote
Routine cross-acceptance of tickets on public transport (not just put in place when one mode / operator is malfunctioning) would be too joined up ...  Grin Grin.   No-brainer, but you would want to have a co-ordinated fare system.  My understanding is that rail fares on "The Beach" are lower than bus fares at present, and indeed the low fares may also be a barrier to major investment in infrastructure such as an extra track as the rate of immediate return might be pretty poor.

The fares on the SVB must be the best value in terms of pence per mile anywhere in England. The fare was set at £3 return between Severn Beach and Temple Meads back in 2007, when the service was improved to the point of being usable by commuters.( My inner conspiracy theorist still thinks that improvement was done to prove that the line was not economic, and give Atkins their way after all!) A weekly ticket costs £9, which is less than a day's car parking in central Bristol. Between Clifton Down and any station to Temple Meads is a mere £2 return. The fares would cover the cost of the service if they were all collected, but that isn't easy at peak periods, given the large number of passengers, the short distance between stations, and the lack of TVMs (Ticket Vending Machine) or gatelines anywhere but Temple Meads. There have been proposals to raise the fares, but Bristol City Council no longer subsidise the service, and GWR (Great Western Railway) may recognise that any increase could reduce the numbers actually paying for the ride. Extra track would enable extra trains, and so extra passengers, and would probably justify fare rises, but no-one seems to want to do that, at least not until MetroWest rail is up and running, and a more holistic approach can be taken.

The Severn Beach Line has been, for the past decade, its own feasibility study. The success it has had even with limited expenditure on improvements should be used to calculate new figures to judge cost against benefit for urban rail investment, because it doesn't look as though the current formulae fit the job.
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« Reply #173 on: April 28, 2018, 14:46:14 »

Bringing the second platforms back into use at Redland and Montpelier, and having them EA-compliant, would probably cost more than the PW (Permanent Way) and signalling I imagine...

That's why I suggested in my earlier post to just double the stretch from Narroways to the tunnel.
That is one idea. One thing which annoys me with getting the 0810 SML - BRI» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains) (0754 SVB-BRI) is that it leaves SML on time (in my experience) and runs fine to CFN (Clifton Down station). The problem then arrises whereby the 0803 BRI-AVN delays the 0810 SML-BRI by a good few minutes. One answer, for the benefit of passengers at RDA (Regional Development Agency) might be to extend the double track from CFN to RDA which would, I think, lessen the delay.

Another suggestion for northbound trains would be to bring the loop, and thus both platforms, at SML back into use. If a train is running late from AVN toward CFN but the train from CFN toward AVN is on time then the train from AVN could be held at SML.

Dave
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Western Pathfinder
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« Reply #174 on: April 28, 2018, 15:38:27 »

Bringing the second platforms back into use at Redland and Montpelier, and having them EA-compliant, would probably cost more than the PW (Permanent Way) and signalling I imagine...

That's why I suggested in my earlier post to just double the stretch from Narroways to the tunnel.
That is one idea. One thing which annoys me with getting the 0810 SML - BRI» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains) (0754 SVB-BRI) is that it leaves SML on time (in my experience) and runs fine to CFN (Clifton Down station). The problem then arrises whereby the 0803 BRI-AVN delays the 0810 SML-BRI by a good few minutes. One answer, for the benefit of passengers at RDA (Regional Development Agency) might be to extend the double track from CFN to RDA which would, I think, lessen the delay.

Another suggestion for northbound trains would be to bring the loop, and thus both platforms, at SML back into use. If a train is running late from AVN toward CFN but the train from CFN toward AVN is on time then the train from AVN could be held at SML.

Dave.


That would be a great opportunity,however I looked today at the Bridge On the River Trym it is subject to a 15 mph permanent speed restriction ,and has only the one track,over the road crossing to the edge of the Avon ,also as the line runs from SML toward AVN the trackbed has been encroached upon by the building of some installation or other. Which can be seen in the picture that Grahame posted further up this thread.
« Last Edit: April 28, 2018, 15:45:05 by Western Pathfinder » Logged
martyjon
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« Reply #175 on: April 28, 2018, 15:50:44 »

Quote
That's why I suggested in my earlier post to just double the stretch from Narroways to the tunnel.

Then the 0803 BRI» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains)-AVN could be held on that stretch if running late to allow the 0810 SML-BRI to pass on that re-doubled section.

Quote
Another suggestion for northbound trains would be to bring the loop, and thus both platforms, at SML back into use. If a train is running late from AVN toward CFN (Clifton Down station) but the train from CFN toward AVN is on time then the train from AVN could be held at SML.

Sensible suggestion but the holders of the purse strings don't think like that, they only think of their bank accounts, If I scupper that then there's more in the pot for me to take out as a bonus.
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DaveHarries
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« Reply #176 on: April 30, 2018, 00:02:59 »

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That's why I suggested in my earlier post to just double the stretch from Narroways to the tunnel. Then the 0803 BRI» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains)-AVN could be held on that stretch if running late to allow the 0810 SML-BRI to pass on that re-doubled section.
Yes true. Perhaps one way to achieve that would be to slightly retime the 0803 BRI-AVN to leave BRI at 0806 to give the 0810 SML-BRI time to make the Redland call.

Dave
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johnneyw
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« Reply #177 on: April 30, 2018, 22:05:51 »

Driving down Portway the other day with my brother we had a quick look at the park and ride to see if there were any signs of activity with regards to actually building the station. Apart from a bit that had been somewhat cleared of undergrowth, perhaps for the earlier ground survey, any other signs of activity were conspicuous by their absence.
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johnneyw
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« Reply #178 on: July 17, 2018, 10:54:42 »

Is anyone in the know if the Beach Line is running again? Don't want to pootle down to Redland Station later if the signalling issues that scuppered yesterday's services have not been fixed yet.
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« Reply #179 on: July 17, 2018, 12:28:00 »

Is anyone in the know if the Beach Line is running again? Don't want to pootle down to Redland Station later if the signalling issues that scuppered yesterday's services have not been fixed yet.

Normal today so far
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