Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
Travel & transport from BBC stories as at 09:15 28 Mar 2024
- Easter travel warning as millions set to hit roads
- Man suffers life-threatening injuries after train stabbing
- Baltimore Bridge Collapse
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]
 02/06/24 - Summer Timetable starts
17/08/24 - Bus to Imber
27/09/25 - 200 years of passenger trains

On this day
28th Mar (1992)
MOD Kineton tour, branch line society (*)

Train RunningCancelled
06:57 Swansea to London Paddington
07:43 Swansea to London Paddington
08:18 London Paddington to Cardiff Central
08:30 London Paddington to Weston-Super-Mare
09:00 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington
09:12 London Paddington to Cardiff Central
09:29 Weston-Super-Mare to London Paddington
09:30 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads
09:46 Westbury to Swindon
10:15 London Paddington to Cardiff Central
10:30 London Paddington to Weston-Super-Mare
10:41 Cardiff Central to London Paddington
11:00 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington
11:05 Swindon to Westbury
11:16 London Paddington to Cardiff Central
11:23 Weston-Super-Mare to London Paddington
11:30 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads
11:50 Cardiff Central to London Paddington
12:15 London Paddington to Cardiff Central
12:17 Westbury to Swindon
12:30 London Paddington to Weston-Super-Mare
13:15 Swindon to Westbury
14:19 Westbury to Swindon
15:14 Swindon to Westbury
Short Run
05:40 Bristol Temple Meads to Penzance
06:38 Weymouth to Gloucester
06:54 Taunton to London Paddington
08:34 Exeter Central to Okehampton
08:38 London Paddington to Westbury
09:50 Cardiff Central to London Paddington
Delayed
05:03 Penzance to London Paddington
05:23 London Paddington to Swansea
05:33 Plymouth to London Paddington
05:55 Plymouth to London Paddington
06:00 London Paddington to Penzance
06:05 Penzance to London Paddington
07:10 Penzance to London Paddington
08:03 London Paddington to Penzance
08:35 Plymouth to London Paddington
09:04 London Paddington to Plymouth
An additional train service has been planned to operate as shown 09:13 Bristol Temple Meads to Gloucester
09:37 London Paddington to Paignton
10:04 London Paddington to Penzance
10:23 London Paddington to Oxford
10:35 London Paddington to Exeter St Davids
PollsOpen and recent polls
Closed 2024-03-25 Easter Escape - to where?
Abbreviation pageAcronymns and abbreviations
Stn ComparatorStation Comparator
Rail newsNews Now - live rail news feed
Site Style 1 2 3 4
Next departures • Bristol Temple MeadsBath SpaChippenhamSwindonDidcot ParkwayReadingLondon PaddingtonMelksham
Exeter St DavidsTauntonWestburyTrowbridgeBristol ParkwayCardiff CentralOxfordCheltenham SpaBirmingham New Street
March 28, 2024, 09:26:43 *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Forgotten your username or password? - get a reminder
Most recently liked subjects
[146] West Wiltshire Bus Changes April 2024
[117] would you like your own LIVE train station departure board?
[80] Return of the BRUTE?
[63] Infrastructure problems in Thames Valley causing disruption el...
[49] Reversing Beeching - bring heritage and freight lines into the...
[27] CrossCountry upgrade will see 25% more rail seats
 
News: the Great Western Coffee Shop ... keeping you up to date with travel around the South West
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Linked Events
  • FOSBR AGM - ONLINE: January 29, 2021
Pages: [1]
  Print  
Author Topic: FOSBR AGM / 29.1.2021 / by Zoom  (Read 3934 times)
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40687



View Profile WWW Email
« on: December 06, 2020, 17:22:22 »

Adding this to the diary ... email link for FOSBR (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) members will be sent by email prior to the meeting - posting here as a "plug" for FoSBR» (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways - site) who are, I am delighted, one of the groups embracing rather than skipping the online activities which we are somewhat limited to at the moment.   Lots of lovely stuff at https://fosbr.org.uk too.

Edit to correct year in subject line from 2020 to 2021
« Last Edit: December 06, 2020, 18:24:52 by grahame » Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
Reginald25
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 301


View Profile
« Reply #1 on: December 06, 2020, 18:05:31 »

Possibly 20Jan 2021?
Logged
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40687



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #2 on: December 06, 2020, 18:23:58 »

Possibly 20Jan 2021?

Or even 29 Jan 2021  Grin

Editing subject line in this post and the first post in the thread (which gets used in titles) too.
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
Red Squirrel
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 5190


There are some who call me... Tim


View Profile
« Reply #3 on: December 06, 2020, 19:38:40 »

Easy mistake to make!  Grin
Logged

Things take longer to happen than you think they will, and then they happen faster than you thought they could.
Red Squirrel
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 5190


There are some who call me... Tim


View Profile
« Reply #4 on: December 21, 2020, 20:06:50 »

More on the FoSBR» (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways - site) AGM (Annual General Meeting) at https://fosbr.org.uk/fosbr-agm-2021/

The link will be sent out on or around the 19th Jan to members with registered email addresses.

The meeting is open to non-members - contact FoSBR at https://fosbr.org.uk/get-involved/contact-us/ to register. You can if you wish join FoSBR at https://fosbr.org.uk/get-involved/join-us/
Logged

Things take longer to happen than you think they will, and then they happen faster than you thought they could.
Lee
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 7519


GBR - The Emperor's New Rail Network


View Profile WWW
« Reply #5 on: January 04, 2021, 06:26:15 »

To be frank, it has been well over a decade now since FOSBR (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways)'s last big campaigning achievement - The frequency increases on the Severn Beach Line - and they sorely miss the analytical nous of nationally renowned FOSBR campaigners of that era such as Cat Hobbs and Joe Patrick, particularly when you read some of the uttter cobblers against the case for a new station at Aztec West they have been putting out recently, for example.

Indeed, as much as they bemoan in that link the fact that the prospects for new stations on the Welsh section of the Bristol-Cardiff line seem so much brighter than those for new stations on the English section, FOSBR have had a plan for future rail for as long as I can remember, and must surely share some responsibility that their campaigning hasnt moved that cause further forward.

So I guess what I'm asking is this - Is FOSBR still fit for campaigning purpose as we move into what will undoubtedly be very trying times ahead for rail, or is it time to look afresh at the merits or otherwise of a new vehicle to take the area's rail campaigning forward?
Logged

Vous devez être impitoyable, parce que ces gens sont des salauds - https://looka.com/s/78722877
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40687



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #6 on: January 04, 2021, 09:50:17 »

It is good to be frank, Lee, because that's how we learn and move forward and learn. Your post helps us learn what you think about some of FoSBR» (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways - site)'s effectiveness and quality of output. It does not look complementary, not encouraging, not kind, but at least (I think) you are honest in expressing your view - either that or you are trolling / posting to provoke a reaction.

Public transport campaigning does not achieve a smooth flow of results - it provided the very occasional significant leap forwards, smaller steps from time to time, and an offputtingly common serious of things that stop progress being made, reverse it, kick things into the long grass, have other ideas and view come in as spoilers, etc.  And none of us - FoSBR, MRUG» (Melksham Rail User Group - site), Coffee Shop, receive any financial remuneration what so ever for what we do and so, perhaps, incur no responsibility for how far forward we move over a period of time. The responsibility for a public transport network that, perhaps, does not move forward as (arguably) it should lays with those we elect to public office, and the various experts they choose to employ.  Even there many (or most) individuals are utterly frustrated by the complex machine they find themselves in and it's a systemic issue where they could do so much more if only "the system" allowed it.

You name some excellent campaigners no longer active in the area, and I could name more from Bristol and our wider area. In doing so as you do, you appear to be telling the current team that they are not filling the role vacated by these people.  I'm going to differ from that view - we are all different and do things in different ways.  There are some very effective things being done; agreed, more could always be done - and that is always the case - to have aspirations.

Neither you nor I live in Bristol / WECA» (West of England Combined Authority - about), though I travel there quite often in normal times, and am a user of there public transport network; arguably, North and West Wilts should be included as they are part of the same travel-to-work / economic area.  I payed my 2021 subscription to FoSBR a couple of days ago, look forward to their AGM (Annual General Meeting) and that (and their committee) is  the best place for them to consider how they're moving forward.

We stand a far better chance of achieving a transport system, and indeed a wider environment, fit for the future if we work together, discuss differences, come to appropriate conclusions than if we're onto each other's cases. I appreciate the irony that I'm onto your case, Lee, in writing this - regrettable, but we need to move on.
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
Red Squirrel
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 5190


There are some who call me... Tim


View Profile
« Reply #7 on: January 04, 2021, 15:07:56 »

Just to be clear, Lee, my post - which you describe as 'utter cobblers' - simply states some facts:


Personally I think that a station there would be a good idea, but it isn't part of FoSBR's Rail Plan.

To be frank, it has been well over a decade now since FOSBR (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways)'s last big campaigning achievement

Much of what we do in FoSBR is unglamorous - responding to consultations and calls for evidence, for example, and working with TfGB. We are particularly sad to have lost Tina Biggs this year - she has contributed hugely in terms of ideas and just hard work.

FoSBR (with others!) campaigned for the recently-completed four-tracking of Filton Bank. We feel that we played a part in that success.

I joined FoSBR because I believe, as grahame says, that we can achieve much more if we work together. It is frustrating; some people want to go faster and some slower than you, and some just have completely different priorities. We recognise the need to refocus as we enter the post-COVID world.

So I guess what I'm asking is this - Is FOSBR still fit for campaigning purpose as we move into what will undoubtedly be very trying times ahead for rail, or is it time to look afresh at the merits or otherwise of a new vehicle to take the area's rail campaigning forward?

FoSBR is not complacent about the challenges we face. To my mind, it makes more sense to work with what we've got.



« Last Edit: January 04, 2021, 15:47:13 by Red Squirrel » Logged

Things take longer to happen than you think they will, and then they happen faster than you thought they could.
Red Squirrel
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 5190


There are some who call me... Tim


View Profile
« Reply #8 on: January 29, 2021, 11:24:38 »

The FoSBR» (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways - site) AGM (Annual General Meeting) will be held on FRIDAY 29th JANUARY 2021, starting at 7.30 pm and ending at 9.30 pm. 

You can find information about the meeting on our website at https://fosbr.org.uk/fosbr-agm-2021/.  Our main speakers will be : 

  • Nicholas Falk (Executive Director of The URBED Trust) who will talk about integrating rail transport with development planning and how transport planning can lead a Green Recovery.
  • Andrew Braddock (Bath & Bristol Trams Group) will present his group’s work promoting light rail initiatives for Bath and Bristol, and how they interchange/integrate with the rail network.
  • Gavin Smith (Transport for Greater Bristol) will outline the comprehensive set of proposals TfGB are developing.

Zoom meeting:

It will be a ZOOM meeting, which will be recorded.  The link to the meeting is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82292308278.    Meeting ID: 822 9230 8278

To ensure that we can start on time, please sign in to the meeting from 7.15 pm - it will give you time to sort out any glitches that you might encounter while trying to dial in.  If you have never used Zoom before and need some help, reply to membership@fosbr.org.uk and you will be passed to our technical support team to guide you through the set-up process in advance of the meeting.  If you have used Zoom on your device before, you should just be able to click on the above link.

Meeting papers: there is some paperwork for this meeting (attached), as follows:

    Agenda for the AGM   
    Minutes of previous AGM (held on 14 February 2020)
    Roundup of FOSBR (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) activity for 2020
    Treasurer's Report for 2020


Election of Officers: the following posts are up for election at the meeting

    Chair  (currently held by Rob Dixon)
    Secretary  (vacant post at present)
    Treasurer/Membership Secretary  (currently held by Tony Lloyd)
    Press Officer   (currently held by Carol Durrant)
    Campaign Secretary  (vacant post at present)

If you wish to be nominated for any of these posts, please can you email your nomination to chairman@fosbr.org.uk by 6pm on Thursday 28th January (the day before the AGM ).   

Proposed Resolution: it is considered that the train service frequency, for which FoSBR is currently campaigning, should be increased from every 30 minutes to every 15 minutes.  The proposed resolution, which will be debated and voted on at the meeting, will be:   

"Although MetroWest is bringing much-needed and long-awaited train frequency improvements, FoSBR seeks a 15-minute frequency train service to all Bristol stations for a true metro-style service".

An on-line AGM is a new experience for FOSBR but there is no reason why it can't be as rewarding as our normal (real world) AGMs.  We have three speakers with some really interesting and thought- provoking ideas for the future of travel in our area; there will also be short presentations from local rail groups in our area - and of course plenty of time for discussion.  Please join us for the AGM and we look forward to seeing you online!   
Logged

Things take longer to happen than you think they will, and then they happen faster than you thought they could.
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40687



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #9 on: January 30, 2021, 11:00:38 »

An excellent meeting ... thank you Rob, Carol, Tim and team. Good to hear from Nick and Andrew - very much looking forward and outward at what has been done elsewhere and where "we" should be headed in Bristol, and from Gavin, Bernard, Nigel, Keith, Ollie, Olga (and I may have missed out one or two) on the last year an more immediate plans.

I will confess to a twinge of jealousy as talk turned to a 30 minute service on "The Beach" from the end of this year and a proposal to move the campaign forward to "turn up and go" which will look for every 15 minutes as the next stage - from a town of 25,000 where there are gaps from 15:39 to 18:03.    But that's in no way "putting Bristol down" - rather casting them and their success thus far, and plans, as an example even though they know there is so much more that they could do.

I am a member of FoSBR» (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways - site) ... my home town of Melksham is within the WECA» (West of England Combined Authority - about) travel-to-work and travel-to-leisure area, and the new local strategy consultation confirms that by placing our part of Wiltshire into a housing zone than looks westward out of the county.  But our area / plans / campaigns needed work alongside not within FoSBR - hence other groups such as the Melksham Rail User Group and West Wilts Rail user Group which look in that direction, and hence my use of "we" in quotes in the first paragraph.  I do appreciate the forward looks and approach - look forward to half hourly Avonmouth to Westbury and connections into and out of Melksham - a more conservative objective - at least once an hour.
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
ellendune
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 4452


View Profile
« Reply #10 on: January 30, 2021, 12:47:23 »

I am a member of FoSBR» (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways - site) ... my home town of Melksham is within the WECA» (West of England Combined Authority - about) travel-to-work and travel-to-leisure area, and the new local strategy consultation confirms that by placing our part of Wiltshire into a housing zone than looks westward out of the county.  But our area / plans / campaigns needed work alongside not within FoSBR - hence other groups such as the Melksham Rail User Group and West Wilts Rail user Group which look in that direction, and hence my use of "we" in quotes in the first paragraph.  I do appreciate the forward looks and approach - look forward to half hourly Avonmouth to Westbury and connections into and out of Melksham - a more conservative objective - at least once an hour.

Swindon is a town that 'looks' in several directions. By this I mean that different people see it as looking different ways.  Many commute to it from the Cotswolds and other surrounding towns in Wiltshire and Berkshire Oxfordshire, Bath, Bristol and beyond.  Many commute from Swindon to Oxford, Reading, Bristol, Bath, Gloucester and London.  So different people look different ways from the town. Poor public transport to the Marlborough and further south and to Wantage has made it more of a car town than other places.  In the 1960's its railway was short-sightedly demoted to an occasional stop on an intercity route from London to Bristol and South Wales with local stations all closed.  It still has very few local services (only the Trans Wilts really and perhaps the Gloucester line though the local stations on that line are all at the Gloucester end of the line) which means that it must rely on intercity services for 'local' journeys.  I know someone who commutes from Backwell and could easily commute by train, but the cost is so much more than the car, he does not. 

Swindon bus station is a most inhospitable place to wait, especially in the evening and local bus services become infrequent very soon after the evening peak. Rail commuters who find themselves needing to travel from the station to the suburbs at those times are therefore not well catered for. So they drive so the services are not used (catch 22).
Logged
Red Squirrel
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 5190


There are some who call me... Tim


View Profile
« Reply #11 on: February 02, 2021, 12:22:51 »

For anyone with time on their hands(!), FoSBR» (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways - site) have put up the AGM (Annual General Meeting) video (in five parts) on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJWnP7u8gUk&list=PLx90ELCt1fM2Ao6RXmtCcfwRnewIg4_OZ

The second and third parts are probably the most interesting:

Nicholas Falk on Planning for Green Recovery is here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNyP2f2P9M4&list=PLx90ELCt1fM2Ao6RXmtCcfwRnewIg4_OZ&index=2

and Andrew Braddock and Gavin Smith on The Case for Trams is here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhZEGDVpPc0&list=PLx90ELCt1fM2Ao6RXmtCcfwRnewIg4_OZ&index=3

Logged

Things take longer to happen than you think they will, and then they happen faster than you thought they could.
Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

 
Pages: [1]
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
This forum is provided by customers of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that the content provided by one of our posters contravenes our posting rules (email link to report). Forum hosted by Well House Consultants

Jump to top of pageJump to Forum Home Page