Campaign to re-open Saltford station (between Bristol and Bath)

[whole diary]

[ChrisB]

For those unable to get to this, but might want to read more - there is a pdf of a talk given by the same person as advertised above, back in June 2017 on the website linked to by Granam above. I suspect the talk will be very much based around that previous talk.

http://www.saltfordenvironmentgroup.org.uk/resources/170612-the-history-of-railways-at-saltford-by-chris-warren.pdf

[grahame]

May give it a go - surprisingly good connections by bus (almost bound to be a bus where it's a rail station campaign, Stonehouse excepted!) but the usual issue of a two-hourly service giving me a long time in Salford ahead.  Guess there's a pub or two there - but will they just be doing Sunday dinners?

[froome]

Saltford has some lovely pubs. We went to the Jolly Sailor on Christmas Day. It is on the riverside, by the weir (at the end of Avon Lane), so a bit of a walk from the village itself. The river was in full spate and looking very dramatic.

If I can throw off the heavy cold I'm currently suffering, I may go to the meeting myself.

[grahame]

Heading out - first D3 bus at 09:48 to Bath .. perhaps see some of you in Saltford.

[grahame]

Report on lecture in Saltford at 2 p.m. on 5th January 2020



A local lecture - primarily on the history of railways through Saltford, followed by a lecture on the campaign so far. Just a very few minutes looking forward. But then this was a local lecture for interested residents, and a full room confirmed that it correctly pulled in its audience. And indeed it was fascinating to hear of the history of the railways at Saltford, and the stations at Saltford and Kelston - with pictures and reminisces much enjoyed by the audience.  And I can sympathise and identify with much of the history of reports and reports following reports and looking to the future with "yes, it's a good case" but little progress on the steps from a good case (with identified issues ironed out) to an implemented case.

From a recent history viewpoint, fascinating to pick up the Saltford Campaign's 2012 glossy 4-pager making their case. The presenter commented that it's an interesting piece of history - indeed it is;  the advocates could do themselves so much good by refreshing the document, or providing a 2019 / 2020 update.  A handout of any sort less than 7 years old in addition to the history would have confirmed life in the campaign; the words were said, but paper to back it up was lacking.

Gasps of horror from the audience at the price tag of £14 million up, and at the current strategy of ensuring the station is in the 2019-2036 development plan. All the right things being said in terms of catchment, BCR^▸ (Benefit Cost Ratio), sorting out what will stop there and how the line capacity will cope, working with Network Rail (who are making passive provision), BaNES, WECA^» (West of England Combined Authority - about), WoE, etc. Also looking at the GRIP^▸ (Guide to Railway Investment Projects) process, the need for *someone* to champion it, etc... and perhaps to have gone further down this route / discussion would have left the target audience cold.

Saltford is certainly a plausible case, but then so are many others.  With a strong community push and energy, with the community engaging with other community groups and networks, its chances should be nothing but strengthen - and much more increased local activism could perhaps be their game changer.  Names were mentioned above (and they mentioned RailFuture from an award a few years back) but no Severnside CRP^▸ (Community Rail Partnership), Heart of Wessex, FoSBR^» (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways - site), TravelWatch "proud to work with"s.  And, yes,I suspect a regular poster or two on the forum and on other social media might do wonders - both in gaining visibility, and gaining links with further expertise.

P.S. On the forum... a search for Saltford. Matched 108 posts in 49 threads. But most of the campaign stuff is old threads.  Anyone from Saltford reading? We would love a public update.

[grahame]

On the forum... a search for Saltford. Matched 108 posts in 49 threads. But most of the campaign stuff is old threads.

I have merged the newer thread with the main old one for future campaign / archive clarity.  I suspect we'll hear more from Saltford in the not-too-distant (in rail terms) future.

[grahame]

For those unable to get to this, but might want to read more - there is a pdf of a talk given by the same person as advertised above, back in June 2017 on the website linked to by Granam above. I suspect the talk will be very much based around that previous talk.

http://www.saltfordenvironmentgroup.org.uk/resources/170612-the-history-of-railways-at-saltford-by-chris-warren.pdf

Thanks for that link, ChrisB.  You suspected correctly.  However, very much going along as the pictures shown to accompany the talk were interesting; the link supplied is "just" the soundtrack text.

[grahame]

A further writeup - Saltford, history and case rather than just yesterday's meeting ...

Saltford lies in the (Bristol) Avon valley between Bath and Bristol, with the older part on a rocky promontory that sticks out into that valley. The natural travel route to Bristol is along the valley - the old A4 (Great West Road) and River Avon both going that way.

The rocky promontory was a (minor) challenge to the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) engineers lead by Isambard Kingdom Brunel who planned a cutting, but was opposed by the owner of Saltford House... hence the tunnel under the corner of the High Street.  Saltford House and Tunnel House stand atop the tunnel to this day.



The station at Saltford was opened with the railway in 1840, and closed (5th January 1970) as projected by the Beeching Report.   The station has been swept away; a Network Rail yard remains on the South side; on the north side, the embankment falls away directly from the tracks.  Just towards Bristol, the transformation from embankment to cutting is rapid; historically the cuttings to the tunnel (especially at the far end) have slipped – they're pretty steep.


Saltford station site, from the bridge over the cutting


Looking back into the cutting from near the old station site


The cutting at the Bristol end of the tunnel

Sharing the valley and below the GWR, the Midland railway's Bath branch was opened in 1869.  Although there was no station in Saltford, there was one just across the river in Kelston with a walkway over the river bridge alongside the railway as it crossed - "Kelston for Saltford".   The Bath branch of the Midland became a main line with the opening from Bath to Bournemouth of the Somerset and Dorset in 1874 ... which closed again (with many calls of "foul" in March 1966. Final freight into Bath through Kelston ceased in 1971 though Kelston station had closed decades earlier.  There days, the Bath to Mangotsfield trackbed is the busy Bath to Bristol footpath and cycleway.


From the walkway bridge over the river, looking to Kelston station site


The river bridge - former Midland line, now the Bristol to Bath path

There is a campaign to have the station at Saltford re-opened. Dating back around a decade (and I am writing this in 2020), the campaign looks to bolster the current population of around 5,000 to around the 10,000 catchment mark by adding in Bath Spa University's Campus to which it would be the closest station, and unencumbered by the congested drive into Bath itself from that University too.  Lots of correct political work and networking done locally and regionally, though a change of political leadership in BaNES caused something of a hiatus.  The pendulum has swung again and the transport lead from BaNES spoke positively at the presentation in Saltford on 5th January. Support by the WECA^» (West of England Combined Authority - about) mayor for the station, and indeed for wider West of England Rail projects, remains less firm than many would like.  Benefit to cost ratio quoted of 2.0 at the talk, and it's clear than many of the technical issues and mechanisms are on the radar.


A network of footpaths still connects old Saltford to the station site


The main road passed right beside the site of the old station (yard is to the right of the wall)

Will Saltford transform from a case for a re-opened station to an actual re-opened station?  The path from case to implementation is a long and complex one these day – let's see what coming years brings.

All pictures - GE, 5.1.2020.

[Bmblbzzz]

Kelston station: Just near the bridge in the photo above, on the old Midland Line, is a board with some local history. Apparently the owner of the land there, who sold it for the railway, and his descendants, had the right to stop any train at Kelston station for their personal use with 24 hours notice.

[johnneyw]

The notion that Salford station was the closest to the university campus raised an eyebrow for a few moments as I thought it surely must be Bath Spa Station by some considerable distance. Then the penny dropped. Bath Spa University, as opposed to it's better known cousin, the University of Bath, has it's campus near Newton St Loe which makes it roughly equidistant between the current Oldfield Park Station in Bath and Saltford.
The University of Bath campus is on Claverton Down, served by Bath Spa Station and arguably, Freshford too.

[grahame]

Text of Sunday's talk on "how have we got here and where now" now online at
http://www.saltfordenvironmentgroup.org.uk/resources/200105-station-campaign-talk-duncan-hounsell.pdf
... ad that provides a very useful current situation update online, which has been missing.

Additiionally, our own Red Squirrel has added a timeline to the FoSBR^» (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways - site) site at
https://fosbr.org.uk/timelines/saltford-station/
which provides an excellent summary right up to date

I'm thinking that the Saltford campaign may be starting to move forward after a period of just treading water.

[froome]

Many thanks Graham for all the info about the talk, which I couldn't get to as I'm still quite poorly.

I suspect that some of the new impetus for the campaign will have come from changes in the parish council, which I believe is now much more solidly behind the campaign.

Interesting to read that there was a walkway beside the railway on the river bridge just down from Kelston station, which I wasn't aware of. There was another direct link between Saltford and Kelston, which was the foot ferry, which crossed the river from close to the brass works in Saltford to meet a path which led directly to Kelston station. It is shown on maps until the 1920s.

[grahame]

From Bristol World

Today, the growing community of Saltford has no station and its population of around 4,500 use cars or bus services, including the X39, to get to Bristol or Bath. It’s why there is a strong, if not stuttering, campaign to ‘get our station back’.

Launched over a decade ago, the villagers want a new station at the old site off the Bath Road, now used as a storage yard by Network Rail, with a half-hourly service to Bristol and Bath. They say the station would have two platforms, a footbridge and a car park for more than 144 vehicles.

But there has been a problem. While support has been voiced from Bath and North East Somerset Council and West of England Combined Authority (WECA^» (West of England Combined Authority - about)), and backed by politicans such as North East Somerset MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) Jacob Rees-Mogg, the scheme has gone quiet, while work on other stations in the Bristol area have taken the headlines.

Saltford Parish Chairman Chris Warren is ‘station campaign leader’. Speaking to Bristol World, he’s clearly passionate about the cause and despite slow progress, he is still confident the station will be built. He reminds us that it is listed on WECA’s 10-year rail delivery plan and he explains there was strong support when BANES commissioned an assessment nine years ago.

“It’s scandulous we’ve been waiting this long when you consider all the benefits and the inadequate transport options we already have here,

Article continues and in more depth.