Portishead Line reopening for passengers - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

Beaten to it.

I was in the process of replying along the lines that I was fairly sure CfN would respond in the style of Francis Urquhart.

And so it came to pass!

[TonyK]

"You may very well think that: I couldn't possibly comment."  (Francis Urquhart) 

[chuffed]

From the North Somerset Times


Train link excitement mounts

Tracey Fowler, Reporter Thursday, January 31, 2013
9:00 AM

STEAM engines and a brass band will accompany the first passenger trains to run out of Portishead for 53 years.

..
These are just some of the plans already under way in anticipation of trains operating on the re-opened Portishead to Bristol line in April 2017 - 150 years after the station first opened.

Following a meeting in December between North Somerset MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) Dr Liam Fox, members of the Portishead Railway Group and transport minister Simon Burns, Dr Fox said he felt more ^upbeat than at any previous time^ about the prospect of seeing trains running to and from Portishead.

He said: ^The information the minister gave us left us all feeling very optimistic and I expect we will get a definitive announcement on dates and funding in parliament before the summer recess.^

A report is expected to be issued by North Somerset Council within days, asking the council^s executive to agree to spending money on the development of the line, which is included in phase one of the proposed Bristol Metro rail project.

Work clearing the Portishead track could begin within weeks, ahead of the nesting season, to allow further surveys to take place on the line.

Bristol^s mayor George Ferguson has recommended the city council approves its share of the funding for the first phase and the other two authorities that make up the West of England Partnership, an organisation formed to respond to joint opportunities and challenges including transport, are expected to follow.



If this happens, re-opening the line will be one of the projects put forward to Government ministers during the spring. If successful, it would receive Government backing before the autumn.

Portishead Railway group confirmed this is exciting news.

Vice chairman Colin Howells said: ^After more than 12 years of campaigning, Portishead Railway Group now believes the re-opening of the Portishead to Bristol railway line is in sight.

^It appears decisions are being made both nationally and locally which, when progressed, should see trains running on the line by 2017. This would coincide with the 150th anniversary of trains first running on the track.^

Passenger services out of Portishead began on April 18, 1867.

To keep up to date with the progress of the Portishead railway campaign visit www.portisheadrailwaygroup.org

[TonyK]

Exciting indeed! In another place, I said that clearance of vegetation would be a solid sign of progress. If it isn't done by the end of March, though, then it cannot be done until October. Network Rail, or their agents, will want first of all to look at te old rail, some of it more than a century old, to see if it is sufficiently robust to allow use of it by construction trains. If it is, that would be a huge plus as a single train of empty wagons could accomplish as much by way of clearance as a fleet of lorries. According to the Halcrow report which forms the GRIP3 report for the project, drainage will be assessed, and full engineering drawings can be made after clearance.

There is a fair bit of vegetation down there, as the pictures I took some months back show:


at the bridge near Portbury Wharf, and:


looking back towards Sheepway. A good day's work for a good man with a strimmer!

[chuffed]

Clearing the vegetation has started at the Quays Avenue end of the line this week, as highlighted in the North Somerset Times.

North Somerset have produced a very clear consultation document regarding the site of the new station. You can access it here 

http://www.nsomerset.gov.uk/Environment/Planning+policy/Local+Development+Framework/Sites+and+Policies+Development+Plan+Document.htm.

 and I urge anyone with an interest to have their say. With NR^» (Network Rail - home page) very reluctant to build new level crossings a road over rail bridge is being considered at Quays Avenue, along with alternatives sites where the vegetation is being cleared or further on down the line making it more of a Portishead Parkway.

In my opinion the Waitrose site would still be the best option if there was a level crossing but I think the road over rail bridge would be a real blot on the landscape especially for the residents of Haven View who would probably be looking at the equivalent of the infamous Temple Meads flyover right outside their lounge windows...not to mention all the expense and disruption caused to everyone else, by taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut. I think NR should be persuaded to back down on their no new level crossings ruling, failing which Option 2 is by far the best option compared to the Parkway idea.

[ellendune]

Link does not work

[chuffed]

Such a long link....the end got missed off !

Try this ..

http://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/Environment/Planning+policy/Local+Development+Framework/Sites+and+Policies+Development+Plan+Document.htm.

[swrural]

Thanks, Chuffed, you have made some good points.  I'll contribute after studying the options, especially if I think I have discovered something special.  Meantime, do you not think that the old Modernisation '60s garage (then, 'new station') site was the only one where you could reasonably expect people from the old part of Portishead to walk or cycle to?  Even the Waitrose site always looked like a P and R to me.

Just as an initial thought, if the town had a frequent local shuttle bus to connect with the train, would it matter where the station site was?

[chuffed]

Thank you for that, hope the link works now.

I too had thought of your last comment....but how many times have we seen buses laid on to new stations only to be wthdrawn as soon as the numbers begin to drop ...think Ebbw Vale/ Rogerstone.. and then reinstated and dropped again ....

[chuffed]

The existing Waitrose/ Lidl car park was full to overflowing this morning thanks to a combination of Sat shoppers and free coffee at Waitrose, the once a month Farmers Market, and the 20 deep queues in the library for the new X2 and X3 bus timetables...which incidentally have the route map printly wrongly...Just where any new station parking is meant to fit in with that lot is anyone's guess !!

[trainer]

At the risk of suffering the ire of chuffed, I note that it is not NR^» (Network Rail - home page) that has a rule about level crossings, but is a new Standard set by Her Majesty's (mispelt in the official document) Inspectorate of Railways.  I'm sure they are not without influence, but it means that no amount of campaigning will bring about a level crossing.

[ellendune]

In my opinion the Waitrose site would still be the best option if there was a level crossing but I think the road over rail bridge would be a real blot on the landscape especially for the residents of Haven View who would probably be looking at the equivalent of the infamous Temple Meads flyover right outside their lounge windows...

I see your point. I presume the blue hatching on the map is showing Quay Ave realigned slightly to the west to reduce the impact.  I agree the Waitrose site would be the best.

[John R]

At the risk of suffering the ire of chuffed, I note that it is not NR^» (Network Rail - home page) that has a rule about level crossings, but is a new Standard set by Her Majesty's (mispelt in the official document) Inspectorate of Railways.  I'm sure they are not without influence, but it means that no amount of campaigning will bring about a level crossing.

A good example of how the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) authorities gold plate safety (and other) requirements and then politicians complain that our railway costs more to build and maintain than the rest of Europe. Given the proximity of the road crossing to the terminus, trains could cross at a very low speed thus reducing risk to virtually nil. A sensible risk assessment would conclude that a crossing was the optimum balance of cost versus risk, but unfortunately we don't do things like that here.

[swrural]

The existing Waitrose/ Lidl car park was full to overflowing this morning thanks to a combination of Sat shoppers and free coffee at Waitrose, the once a month Farmers Market, and the 20 deep queues in the library for the new X2 and X3 bus timetables...which incidentally have the route map printly wrongly...Just where any new station parking is meant to fit in with that lot is anyone's guess !!

So a multi-storey car park is required there for the, er, less voluntarily ambulant residents?

[TonyK]

This is good news. Work had to start this month, or we would be into the nesting season, and would have to wait until October. I saw in WEP's programme that there would be a "refresh" of the GRIP3 report. Why, I don't know, unless it is to take account of the drainage works in the Pill - Ham Green tunnel and the awful spectre of the Bust Rabid Transit bridge (or Greater Bristol Metrobus, as our new red-trousered Mayor now calls it).

I like the idea of moving Quays Avenue slightly to the left. A level crossing would have alarms and motors that would annoy the people living very close - a matter of a few metres - to the line. Although there has been a continuous campaign since before their homes were planned, and the trackbed has been owned by North Somerset Council, they still did not buy a home next to an active railway. Given the history of most other transport projects, they could be excused for thinking nothing would ever happen. A humpty-backed bridge at the crossing point (right by the roundabout sign)



would not be popular. Building the station east of Quays Avenue would significantly reduce the number of people who would choose to walk to the station to get the train, and I am sure NSDC want to avoid building a huge car park. Shuttle buses won't solve the problem so far as the nearby area goes, but will be very useful in bringing passengers from the far ends of Posset - Redcliffe Bay, Walton in Gordano and such like.