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Author Topic: Portishead Line reopening for passengers - ongoing discussion  (Read 384548 times)
JayMac
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« Reply #375 on: September 25, 2014, 13:35:11 »

From the Bristol Post:

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Developer offers patch of land for new railway station

A HOUSING developer has offered to sell a patch of land for a new railway station at Portishead. Persimmon Homes, which has built new houses and apartments in the town, has suggested using land at Moor Farm, Sheepway, for the station which would be needed when the line between Portishead and Bristol Temple Meads is opened up to passenger trains.

The best place for a new station has been keenly debated in the town for several months and now there is a danger that the issue could hold up the re-opening of the line.

In a letter to The Times, Carl Haley, managing director of Persimmon Homes Severn Valley, says they had always supported the re-opening of the line which would make it easier for commuters to travel backwards and forwards to Bristol and reduce congestion on the roads.

He says: "Persimmon has monitored the continuing debate over the location for the new station. Businesses and local people should be concerned that unless the debate is closed out soon, the project may be put in danger if the funding is lost.

"We understand that to deliver a station on Harbour Road a new level crossing will be required. But, the overall aim of the Office of Rail Regulation is that, 'other than in exceptional circumstances, no new level crossings on any railway; therefore creating no new risks'.

"Alternatively, to deliver North Somerset Council's preferred locations on Quays Avenue will result in disruption to one of the main vehicular routes into the town. This will not only affect the character of the residential area, but would come at some considerable cost.

"Persimmon Homes controls land at Moor Farm, Sheepway which can provide a station that does not require a level crossing and does not require costly and disruptive work to Quays Avenue. Furthermore, the Sheepway solution will not affect existing local residents with noisy, slowing trains tracking past their properties.

"Our Sheepway solution will also enable a sustainable pedestrian/cycle link along the former railway back into the town centre. Enhancement to the current X2 and X3 bus links and a further car park, sitting alongside the current car park locations, creates a genuine transport interchange.

"It does not require a new level crossing, creates no new risks, will be more economically viable and will minimise disruption to the town centre."
« Last Edit: September 25, 2014, 14:41:44 by bignosemac » Logged

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« Reply #376 on: September 25, 2014, 18:30:08 »

Re: BNM's post immediately above:

This would in effect be an 'out-of-town' or Parkway station and I thought one of the options rejected early on.  The road leading to the site would need a considerable upgrade (was on X3 bus today co-incidentally, and noted how narrow it is in places) and an even bigger car park needed because only the fanciful could believe that most potential train pax will use the bus first.

On a related note, I believe First are having considerable difficulties maintaining a service through the new Village Quarter because of parked vehicles in the narrow roads and are on the point of demanding North Somerset Council do something before they withdraw the X3 altogether. The railway needs to get in as close as possible to play its part in transporting people in and out.
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« Reply #377 on: September 25, 2014, 18:59:31 »

Very good point. Ditch the X3 and replace it by a train(er). the sooner the better !
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JayMac
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« Reply #378 on: September 25, 2014, 19:36:11 »

The Village Quarter and East Quay Marina in Portishead are a classic example of a local authority rubber-stamping large residential developments and giving no consideration whatsoever to the practicalities of running a bus service through it.

The time to consider bus access was the time the developers submitted their roads plan for the development.

I've been round the route of the X3 numerous times and I can well believe the problems First are experiencing.
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« Reply #379 on: September 25, 2014, 20:27:51 »

Anyone wishing to comment on public transport issues in Portishead should address their concerns to Cllr Elfan ap Rees, Executive Member for Transport on North Somerset Council.  Lips sealed
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« Reply #380 on: September 25, 2014, 20:37:54 »

He's also a member of the West of England (dis)Joint(ed) Transport Board...
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« Reply #381 on: September 25, 2014, 21:15:16 »

He's also a member of the West of England (dis)Joint(ed) Transport Board...
...of the Local Enterprise Partnership, where he is responsible for MetroBust, along with his fellow LEPers.
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« Reply #382 on: September 26, 2014, 00:43:10 »

This week, the much vaunted X2 and X3 15 minute service has been reduced to 2 buses every half hour. Since Monday I have waited for almost 3 hours in total for what should be a bus every 15 minutes. Then 2 arrive together. Like PCSO's they seem to go around in pairs for protection !
« Last Edit: September 27, 2014, 17:22:58 by chuffed » Logged
TonyK
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« Reply #383 on: December 19, 2014, 15:45:52 »

I wonder if Travelwest's bus checker app works in Portishead? It gives information about the actual location of the bus, some of it accurate.

Meanwhile, the New Year should see the announcement of the site for Portishead station, according to the Bristol Post.

Quote
Location of Portishead's railway station will be decided in the New Year

A decision on the location of Portishead^s new railway station will be made in the New Year. North Somerset Council says it expects to be in a position to announce the location for the new station in February.

A consultation was held earlier this year on three potential sites for the new station.

Three locations were put forward for the station, which will be delivered as part of the MetroWest Phase One project to re-open the Portishead line to passenger train services from Spring 2019.

Sites included land to the east of Quays Avenue, land across Quays Avenue and a site between Serbert Road and Harbour Road.

The consultation revealed that the site across Quays Avenue is the option most favoured by local people.

The site is 600 metres from the town centre and would require some modifications to the road to realign Quays Avenue and the creation of a new junction at Haven View.

The consultation results come at the same time as a business case for a level crossing at Harbour Road is being drawn up to be submitted to the Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about)).

The move to draw up a business case for a level crossing follows pressure from Portishead Town Council which has been campaigning for the original site for the station ^ at Harbour Road ^ and a level crossing to be reconsidered as part of the Metrowest project.

The site at Harbour Road was identified 20 years ago for a new station as part of the masterplan drawn up for the Portishead Quays development.

But it was later ruled out after rail regulators said no further level crossings should be built in the UK (United Kingdom), except for in ^exceptional circumstances^.

The move came after the ORR revealed it had not been formally asked to assess the feasibility of a level crossing at Quays Avenue.

North Somerset Council ^ which will have the final say on the station location ^ made an initial approach to the ORR in May 2013 asking it whether it was likely to support the construction of a new level crossing.

But the ORR said that based on the limited information it received from the authority and the fact that three options were being put forward, it would not, at that time, authorise a new crossing to go ahead.

The ORR said to make a more informed decision, it expects the applicant to provide ^sufficiently compelling^ evidence to demonstrate there is an exceptional need.

The business case is now being finalised by the MetroWest project team.

North Somerset Council spokesman Nick Yates said: ^A decision is expected to be made on the location of the station early next year, probably February. We are currently finalising a technical assessment in relation to the case for a level crossing, which needs to go to the Office of Rail Regulation, before a decision can be made.^

North Somerset Council has has already purchased the three mile section of redundant track between Portishead and Portbury to protect it from being developed and clearance work on the line has already been carried out.

That clearance work was done in spring 2013, and will need doing again.
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« Reply #384 on: December 20, 2014, 17:54:07 »

I wonder if Travelwest's bus checker app works in Portishead? It gives information about the actual location of the bus, some of it accurate.

Not very well !  The same for the bus-stop electronic displays.

Thanks for the newspaper article.  I do hope they get the crossing sorted out and put the station in its proper place by Lidl.
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« Reply #385 on: December 21, 2014, 19:03:29 »

Thanks for the newspaper article.  I do hope they get the crossing sorted out and put the station in its proper place by Lidl.

Or for those with money, by Waitrose.
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« Reply #386 on: January 09, 2015, 20:51:05 »

From the Bristol Post:

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Work to start on clearing vegetation on Portishead to Bristol railway line

Railway lines leading out of Portishead intersected by Quays Avenue, part of the original tracks out of the town

WORK is to start on clearing vegetation along the disused section of Portishead's railway line this month. Contractors will start on clearing overgrowth on the three mile section of the redundant Portishead line as part of multi-million pound plans to get trains running out of the town again by 2019.

This will be followed by clearing work on some parts of the freight line in Pill.

The clearance work is needed so a full topographical survey of the line for the next stage of engineering design work for the project to reopen the railway can be carried out.

A considerable amount of technical feasibility work has already been carried out over the last 12 months, which was set out in the preliminary business case endorsed by the West of England Joint Transport Board in the autumn.

The business case found the project gave high value for money, had sound commercial footing and was financially affordable and deliverable by 2019.

The next stage of the project involves outline engineering design, further work on operation design and drawing up a planning application for the scheme.

The work will be included in the outline business case due to be completed by November. North Somerset Council leader Nigel Ashton, pictured, said: "A great deal of work is progressing on the project."

Over the next 12 months the project team will carry out more detailed engineering design, further work on operation design and the preparation of a major planning application. It will also be necessary for decisions to be made on the train service and to secure the remaining funding requirements."

A decision on the location of the new railway station for the town is due to be made next month.

The opening of the Portishead line is a key priority of the Metrowest Phase One project being pioneered and funded by the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP» (Local Enterprise Partnership - about)). The MetroWest Phase One scheme, which will cost between ^44 and ^55 million, will see passenger trains run out of Portishead again by the spring of 2019. Passenger services from Portishead to Bristol were cut in 1964, although the line to Portbury Dock reopened in 2002 for freight trains only. A study in 2010 showed that travel time from Portishead would be 17 minutes compared to an hour by road during peak times.
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« Reply #387 on: February 12, 2015, 17:25:43 »

From the Bristol Post:

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A DECISION on whether a level crossing could be built in Portishead as part of a multi-million-pound scheme to re-open the town's railway is expected within days.

The MetroWest project team leading the drive to get trains running out of the town again by 2019 submitted a business case for a level crossing at Harbour Road to the Office of the Rail Regulator last month.

The ORR» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about)'s official policy is for no new level crossings on any railway "other than in exceptional circumstances" and to replace existing ones with bridges or underpasses.

But if the MetroWest planners are able to provide "sufficiently compelling" evidence one is needed on Harbour Road to make the planned route viable it could be allowed, with a decision expected by next week.



Moderator note. This post has been edited to attribute the text to the Bristol Post.




« Last Edit: February 13, 2015, 23:08:37 by bignosemac » Logged
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« Reply #388 on: February 12, 2015, 18:50:21 »


A DECISION on whether a level crossing could be built in Portishead as part of a multi-million-pound scheme to re-open the town's railway is expected within days.

The MetroWest project team leading the drive to get trains running out of the town again by 2019 submitted a business case for a level crossing at Harbour Road to the Office of the Rail Regulator last month.

The ORR» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about)'s official policy is for no new level crossings on any railway "other than in exceptional circumstances" and to replace existing ones with bridges or underpasses.

But if the MetroWest planners are able to provide "sufficiently compelling" evidence one is needed on Harbour Road to make the planned route viable it could be allowed, with a decision expected by next week.





Should point out that this is quoted from the Bristol Post

Personally, I think this has gone on long enough. A level crossing here would be justified. Trains either way will be running at walking pace, and it will put the station in a correct position.

 Wink
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« Reply #389 on: February 13, 2015, 15:14:46 »


Should point out that this is quoted from the Bristol Post

Personally, I think this has gone on long enough. A level crossing here would be justified. Trains either way will be running at walking pace, and it will put the station in a correct position.

 Wink


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