Letters from FOSBR and related rail coverage in the Evening Post
Date: September 2010Several letters from FOSBR were published in the Evening Post in August and September.
Not everyone pays: Letter from FOSBR (18 August 2010)
“We were pleased to see your report of the 17 per cent increase in passenger numbers on the Severn Beach line this year (August 13).
“It is the number of tickets sold on the line that has increased by 17 per cent. But not all passengers buy a ticket, because there is not enough time for the guard to come round between stations.
“An alternative measure of the line’s use is the twice-yearly passenger count conducted by the Severnside Community Rail Partnership. The most recent count shows that over 500 more journeys are being made on the line each day. 2,818 journeys were made on June 17 2010, compared with 2,252 journeys on June 25 2009 – 25 per cent more.
“It is clear the improved service introduced by Bristol City Council in 2008 is attracting more passengers. We welcome Councillor Gary Hopkins’s commitment to maintain the same level of service after the current contract ends in May 2011, and to consider improvements (‘Council wants new details on subsidised ferries and trains’, August 11).
“We hope the new contract improves the line's evening service. A train is needed between the 20.34 and 22.16 departures from Temple Meads, especially for passengers returning from destinations beyond Bristol. And we need a later last train, so that people can use the line for an evening out in the city.
“The Severn Beach line is a success. Let’s make the most of it."
Council wants new deals on subsidised ferries and trains (11 August 2010)
This article about Bristol City Council’s contracts for buses and ferries quotes Gary Hopkins, Bristol City Council’s Executive Member for Strategic Transport, Waste and Targeted Improvement, as follows:
“With the Severn Beach line the contract is with First Great Western so it has to be them. There are rules about competition and subsidy, but if the fares collected go up, to maintain the same level of service they should need less subsidy. But we will maintain at least the same level of service, including Sundays, and potentially look to improve it again.”
100,000 extra journeys made on the Severn Beach railway in last year (13 August 2010)
This article highlights the 17% increase in ticket sales on the Severn Beach Line from 2008–9 to 2009–10. David Redgewell is quoted:
“This increase has happened as a result of funding from Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire Council. If that funding is no longer forthcoming, these figures won’t continue to rise.”
Dave Wood’s ‘On Track’ column (24 August 2010)
Crediting Julie Boston for her part in the Severn Beach Line’s revival, Dave Wood mentions its scenic quality and suggests that a service from Severn Beach to Portishead, running along both sides of the Avon Gorge, would be attractive:
“The Severn Beach line is a shining example of what can be achieved with good adequate investment. Let’s hope this investment is there for years to come.”
Your correspondent speaks plenty of sense: Letter from the West of England Partnership (25 August 2010)
The four Executive Members of the West of England Partnership Joint Transport Executive wrote to the Post supporting Dave Wood’s call for investment in rail and claiming that the railways are a priority for the four West of England councils.
Among the Partnership’s recent work, they mention the memorandum of understanding with the rail industry, the improvements proposed in Network Rail’s Great Western Route Utilisation Strategy, preliminary work on reopening the Portishead railway to passengers, and the Bristol Metro:
“Our Greater Bristol Metro major transport proposal aims to enhance the local rail network with half-hourly cross-Bristol train services. It is a key element of our programme of transport schemes.”
Need for investment: Letter from Roger English, Portishead Railway Group (7 September 2010)
The Portishead Railway Group wrote to the Post supporting the WEP’s call for investment, but questioning the high prices for new track and stations mentioned in the WEP’s letter:
“The real figure for relaying track, which relates to local Bristol area lines, is well below £1m a mile; compared to £11m, quoted in the [WEP’s] letter, which is a figure for new lines with civil engineering works such as bridges and embankments. Almost all the land for local Bristol rail improvements, including the trackbed into Portishead, is already in public ownership so there would be very limited land acquisition costs. You can get a lot of station for £5m and that is not relevant to local Bristol railways."
Platforms are falling apart and are overgrown (14 September 2010)
Dave Wood also questioned the prices for new track and stations suggested by the WEP:
“The figure quoted by the West of England Partnership councillors of £11 million per kilometre is for a new railway line which includes bridges, and railway embankments and everything new has to start from scratch. If we take the Portishead line, which has the railway line and the infrastructure already in place, we are probably looking at spending in the region of £500,000 per kilometre. As for building a new railway station, consideration depends on the size required. Also, the groundwork needs to be taken into consideration and finally if a terminus is needed. Somewhere in the region of £1 million is about right. We are not looking at building a new Parkway station etc.”
Rail and bus links (14 September 2010)
In a letter to the Post, Martin Garrett of the Transport for Greater Bristol Alliance questioned the WEP’s cost for new stations, and urged investment for an integrated local transport system:
“Reopening platforms could go hand in hand with the proposed quadrupling of track on the lines between Parson Street, Temple Meads and Parkway to create an effective Bristol Metro. Only two short platforms on the local line are required to reopen some of Bristol’s lost stations.”
Join us for city trip (23 September 2010)
Julie Boston wrote to the Post to invite the members of the West of England Partnership to join FOSBR on a cross-city rail journey:
“ ‘Your correspondent, Dave Wood, is correct with his calls for investment in rail,’ wrote the four Executive Members of the West of England Partnership Joint Transport Executive, Councillor Charles Gerrish, Bath and North East Somerset, Councillor Gary Hopkins, Bristol City Council, Councillor Elfan Ap Rees, North Somerset, Councillor Brian Allinson, South Gloucestershire in a letter to the Evening Post (August 25).
“The councillors’ statement is a tribute to the Evening Post for providing an outlet for local people; to Dave Wood's tireless campaigning in the letters page; to Bristol RMT and to the councillors who now recognise that growing rail passenger numbers in the Greater Bristol area needs increased investment in rail. What is especially encouraging is that the councillors are speaking for the whole Partnership area – not just their patch.
“However, one half-hourly cross Bristol train service is in the ‘rail vision’ West of England Joint Local Transport plan 2005–2011. And surely the frustrated taxpayers of WEP land are entitled to see their money spent on the agreed WEP policy.
“This is an invitation to the four executive members to join us on a cross-city rail journey. A Sunday train journey between Weston-super-Mare and Avonmouth – without changing at Temple Meads – is on the timetable. Just name the date and station of departure and FOSBR will do our best to participate, publicise and celebrate.”
Let train take strain (28 September 2010)
Rob Dixon of FOSBR wrote to the Post in response to an earlier letter from Mr M. Langley (not available online):
“I was interested to read the letter from Mr Langley of Fishponds (Evening Post, September 17) in which he talked of trains being ‘slow’ and inflexible. Clearly he has not been on a train for some years, particularly to get across Bristol. The train is by far the quickest way to get around.
“Councillors have talked about the ‘bendy bus’ as Rapid Transit. Local rail is the real rapid transit – Filton Abbey Wood to Temple Meads in eight minutes, Parson Street in Bedminster to Stapleton Road in Easton in 12 minutes, and Avonmouth to Clifton in 13 minutes. You certainly can’t get there that quickly in a bus or car!
“While buses can be more flexible, they are much slower. Trains do not get stuck on congested roads and people see trains or light rail as a more attractive alternative to the car than buses. We need a variety of ways to get around. Buses are important, but trains (and light rail) are a fast and effective part of the picture too.
“Unfortunately, while investment in local rail has produced a 60 per cent increase in ticket sales in two years, the same cannot be said of the Showcase bus routes. If the West of England Partnership is serious about getting people out of their cars, they should invest in new train stations and light rail.
“In response to Mr Langley’s comments about Post correspondent Dave Wood, Mr Wood is an effective and enthusiastic promoter of rail. I agree with the headline given to a recent letter by the West of England Partnership which responded to his column – ‘Your correspondent speaks plenty of sense’ (Evening Post, August 25).”