£30 million to ‘improve’ A4174: A good investment? South Gloucestershire Council plan to spend £30 to 'improve' a 7km stretch of the A4174. Is this a good investment? Continue reading...
May 2021 Elections – Bristol and WECA The May 2021 elections have changed the political landscape of the Greater Bristol area. What does this mean for sustainable transport? Continue reading...
‘Name the station’ quiz! In a recent newsletter we ran a 'Name the station' quiz. We now realise that the pictures were too small, and the fact that they… Continue reading...
Summer 2021 engineering works – Bristol East Junction and Temple Meads Network Rail are remodelling Bristol East Junction, and fixing the roof at Temple Meads. This means changes to the summer timetable. Continue reading...
How well does your local railway station work as a bus-rail interchange? FoSBR would like your help! Support our 'Better Stations' campaign by telling us how well your local railway station works as a bus-rail interchange. Continue reading...
Improving Regional Rail The National Rail Recovery Conference 2021 looked how improving regional rail can help the country recover from COVID-19. Continue reading...
Rapid and Mass Transit news In the last few days WECA and Bristol City Council have made public more details about transport planning in the area, including a bus-based rapid… Continue reading...
Better links with South East Wales? Peter Hendy's interim report on the Union Connectivity Review was published in early March 2021. It specifically mentions the need for better links between Bristol… Continue reading...
Severnside CRP Progress Report – good news and bad news Severnside CRP's annual report has good news about community initiatives, and bad news about local rail ridership falling during COVID-19 Continue reading...
Bedminster Station Bedminster Station could be a very useful transport hub. New development will create a large number of homes within walking distance, but access needs to… Continue reading...
A train every 15 minutes FoSBR sees MetroWest as the core of an integrated transport network for the Bristol and Bath region. This requires a train every 15 minutes. Continue reading...
Historic Railway Structures at Risk Highways England plan to infill or demolish historic railway bridges and tunnels without properly assessing if these structures could be re-used. Continue reading...
FoSBR AGM 2021: Report Report of the Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways Annual General Meeting, 29th Jan 2021. Continue reading...
Can you help FoSBR? Do you have a skill or talent that could help us? At last it looks like there is light at the end of the COVID… Continue reading...
Electric scooters – last mile solution? The Voi electric scooter hire trial has been expanded to cover a larger area or Bristol. Could electric scooters help solve the 'last mile' problem? Continue reading...
Tina’s 10 years with FoSBR Tina Biggs is stepping down to start a postdoctoral research project. Here she looks back on 10 years of rail campaigning with FoSBR. Continue reading...
FoSBR 2021 Annual General Meeting The FoSBR 2021 Annual General Meeting will take place on Friday 29th January 2021 at 19.30. The AGM will be held online via Zoom. Continue reading...
December 2020 timetable FoSBR were disappointed at the loss of some services in the December 2020 Severn Beach Line timetable due to work on Bristol East Junction. Continue reading...
New stations between Bristol and Cardiff? Six new train stations may open in South-East Wales One new station is planned on the English side. Is this a good balance? Continue reading...
Electrification through Bath Electrification of the Great Western Main Line stopped short of Bath. Was this down to the Bath Preservation Trust, or Chris Grayling? Continue reading...
Station Usage Figures 2019-2020 FoSBR look at the ORR Station usage figures for 2019-2020 to see how passenger numbers have changed in our area. Continue reading...
A walk around Gloucester This 8 km walk around Gloucester takes in friaries, docks, a nature reserve and plenty of transport infrastructure. Continue reading...
WECA Strategic Rail Investment Plan WECA approved their 10 year delivery plan for Strategic Rail Investment at a meeting on 4th December 2020. Continue reading...
FoSBR mailing list Yahoo groups are to close permanently in December 2020. This means that we have had to set up a new FoSBR mailing list. Continue reading...
GRIPping News! The Network Rail project project development process GRIP is being replaced by an improved process called PACE, according to Rail Magazine. Continue reading...
Bristol Temple Meads – 180th birthday murals Bristol Temple Meads is 180 years old. Network Rail commissioned a vivid and interesting history exhibition on the walls of the underpass. Continue reading...
Gipsy Patch Lane railway bridge replacement Gipsy Patch Lane railway bridge is being replaced to accommodate MetroBus services between Bristol Parkway The Mall, Cribbs Causeway. Continue reading...
Walks from the Severn Beach Line John Beales, a walk leader with Bristol Amblers and friend of FoSBR, has compiled a selection of walks from the Severn Beach Line. Continue reading...
Ashley Down station tour FoSBR were given a tour of Ashley Down train station by Bristol City Council's Transport Engagement Team. These pictures show what's planned! Continue reading...
Walk from Avonmouth Station to Shirehampton On Saturday 10th October, four FOSBR supporters alighted at Avonmouth station at 11:03 for a walk from Avonmouth to the Lamplighters Inn in Shirehampton. Walk… Continue reading...
TfGB submits plans to speed up zero carbon transition Transport for Greater Bristol (TfGB), an alliance of transport, environmental and community groups, has written to Transport Minister Grant Shapps with comprehensive proposals to speed… Continue reading...
The Severn Beach Line – A Poem 1st October was National Poetry Day. What better excuse do we need to remind you of David C Johnson’s poem “The Severn Beach Line”, narrated… Continue reading...
Ashley Down Station Bristol City Council would like to hear people's views about the proposed access arrangements for Ashley Down train station. This station is due to be… Continue reading...
FoSBR 25th anniversary – socially-distanced celebrations Last weekend was the 25th anniversary of FoSBR’s formation. COVID-19 prevented us from holding any large celebration, but small groups (less than six) of FoSBR… Continue reading...
How the Severn Beach Line was saved For decades campaigners have fought off threats to the Severn Beach Line's survival, and argued that it should be developed as an important part of… Continue reading...
Decarbonisation Network Rail have published their Interim Programme Business Case for the Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy (TDNS). The title may appear dull, but the implications are… Continue reading...
FoSBR support campaign for Stroudwater station Carol Kambites of Stonehouse Town Council contacted FoSBR in July to ask us to support the Stroudwater Station campaign. The proposed station is at Bristol… Continue reading...
GWR: Welcome back! Train services on GWR are gradually returning to their pre-COVID-19 levels. With service frequencies getting back to normal, passengers are now welcome to come back… Continue reading...
Getting back on the train It is difficult to overstate the impact that measures to control Covid-19 have had on rail, bus and coach travel. Government orders led passenger numbers… Continue reading...
Bristol Bridge closure Bristol City Council have announced that Bristol Bridge will be closed to private cars from 2nd Angust 2020. Why does FoSBR think the closure of… Continue reading...
Rail Campaigning and Covid-19 How should FoSBR position itself in these unprecedented times? FoSBR Chair Rob Dixon expresses the frustrations and opportunities faced by those involved in Rail Campaigning… Continue reading...
Fixing the roof at Temple Meads Work to repair the roof of Grade 1 listed Temple Meads train station will start this summer. Network Rail announced on 26th June that that… Continue reading...
MetroWest plans extended to Gloucester and Westbury The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) has announced plans to extend the scope of MetroWest. In the north, trains will terminate at Gloucester instead… Continue reading...
Coronavirus: What future for sustainable transport? Updated 26 June 2020 to reflect changes in social distancing rules. How can we reconcile investment in sustainable transport with the steps we need to… Continue reading...
Reducing car use in the West of England – can rail do the job? FoSBR’s Tina Biggs wrote an article for Rail Professional magazine's May edition titled “Reducing car use in the West of England – can rail do… Continue reading...
Mike Baker 1961-2020 Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways were saddened to hear of the death of Mike Baker on 12th March 2020, at the age of just 58,… Continue reading...
Bristol buses – what next? From April 2020 WECA will take over responsibility for overseeing bus services across Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES) and South Gloucestershire. This includes… Continue reading...
Rail across the Severn – then & now This walk was researched before the Covid-19 lockdown & is published in anticipation of freer movement in the months ahead. This is a circular walk… Continue reading...
Thornbury: Luke Hall responds In February 2020, FoSBR member and Thornbury resident Chris P wrote to local MP Luke Hall. Chris wanted to know what Luke was doing to… Continue reading...
Is there support for Coalpit Heath station? FoSBR have long advocated an additional station to the north-east of Bristol. The most promising locations are Winterbourne or Coalpit Heath, both of which had… Continue reading...
FoSBR AGM 2020: A brief report This is a brief report of the FoSBR AGM, on 14th Feb 2020. Chair Rob Dixon summarised another busy year. FoSBR has had much to… Continue reading...
Greta Thunberg in Bristol Greta Thunberg spoke at the Bristol Youth Strike for Climate gathering on 28th February 2020. Graham Ellis, FoSBR member and administrator of the Great Western… Continue reading...
Decarbonising rail in Bristol In 2016 the electrification of the Great Western Mail Line (GWML) from Bath to Bristol and from Bristol Parkway to Bristol Temple Meads was deferred… Continue reading...
Thornbury: Questions for MP Luke Hall FoSBR supporter Chris P has written an excellent letter to local MP Luke Hall, which neatly summarises current transport issues in Thornbury. These are issues… Continue reading...
Cardiff Metro Cardiff is lucky. Much of its local railway network consists of the Valley Lines, which survived Beeching and continued into the 1980s because they served… Continue reading...
Latest JLTP4 – what does it mean for rail? At the end of January WECA released the latest iteration of the Joint Local Transport Plan (JLTP4 2020-2036 January 2020). This document steers transport policy… Continue reading...
FoSBR AGM 2020 Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways (FoSBR) will be holding our Annual General Meeting on Friday, 14th February 2020. We apologise for the fact that the… Continue reading...
Severn Beach line tops 1.4 million passengers Figures from GWR published by Severnside Community Rail Partnership show that usage of the Severn Beach line reached a new high of 1,407,102 journeys during… Continue reading...
HS2 HS2 is controversial, and it’s not on our patch. The easy option would be for FoSBR to stay neutral. But HS2 matters to everyone, especially… Continue reading...
ZeroWest Winter Conference FoSBR is a member of ZeroWest, an alliance of local organisations working towards a zero carbon West of England. Transport is a key policy area… Continue reading...
MetroBus: a waste of money? James Freeman, MD of First West of England, has stated in an open letter that MetroBus may have been a waste of money because traffic… Continue reading...
Rail passenger numbers: a mixed picture The latest official rail passenger numbers from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) of show a mixed picture in the Bristol area, after a… Continue reading...
Western Gateway Rail Strategy Consultation FoSBR have submitted a response to the Western Gateway Rail Strategy Consultation. We call on them to increase rail investment, and to halt their £440… Continue reading...
Fewer trains from Lawrence Hill and Stapleton Road to Bristol Parkway – UPDATE From 15th December 2019 the GWR timetable has changed. The frequency and journey times of the GWR Bristol to London services has improved, but changes… Continue reading...
Portway Parkway: costs rise Development work by Network Rail has seen the overall cost of the new station at Portway Park & Ride/Parkway rise to between £3.4 million and… Continue reading...
FoSBR Website updated We have updated the FoSBR website! Our old website was developed back in the days when most people surfed the web on desktop computers. It… Continue reading...
Temple Meads masterplan: November 2019 update On 27 November, FoSBR representatives attended a 'workshop' event at Mott MacDonald's office in Bristol to review the masterplan for upgrading Temple Meads station. Temple… Continue reading...
Brabazon Arena – planning application submitted YTL has revealed details of the ambitious plans for YTL Arena Bristol in a planning application to transform the Brabazon hangars at Filton into a… Continue reading...
December 2019 Timetable – Now Available The December 2019 GWR Timetable is now available. Almost all GWR services are affected by this change. Some trains no longer stop at all the… Continue reading...
Severn Beach – improved Sunday service from December The December 2019 timetable enhancements are largely about the inter-city trains to London but there are some improvements to the service on the Severn Beach… Continue reading...
Overcrowded Train users in our area will have noticed that many services are currently being operated by trains that are older and have fewer cars than… Continue reading...
Filton Abbey Wood – are the December 2019 timetable changes a problem for commuters? FOSBR are trying to ascertain if the changes to services between Filton Abbey Wood and Bristol Parkway will detrimentally affect commuters. Is anyone a regular… Continue reading...
Pilning Station users up in arms at latest snub by GWR What is the point of equipping new electric trains with selective door opening if you don’t use it at stations it’s designed for? Electrification of… Continue reading...
Hawk hired at Bristol Temple Meads A hawk has been hired by Bristol Temple Meads railway station to scare away aggressive seagulls. The six-month-old Harris hawk, called Artemis, has started making… Continue reading...
The future of mobility WECA, the West of England Combined Authority, has submitted an application for the Department for Transport to fund a £28 million 'Future Mobility Living Lab'… Continue reading...
Westerleigh Junction Named after the nearby village, Westerleigh Junction is where the Cross Country Route from York to Bristol Temple Meads meets the South Wales Main Line… Continue reading...
Clifton Down Access Improvements Those of you using Clifton Down station, via the car entrance to the car-park from Whiteladies Road, may have noticed that, on the left-hand side,… Continue reading...
Parson Street – the stop for Ashton Gate Stadium New signage appeared at Parson Street in November 2019 to illustrate the route from Parson Street to Ashton Gate Stadium for football and rugby fans.… Continue reading...
“Nationally significant” rail scheme on track for Portishead Getting the train to Bristol is another step closer for people in Portishead. The application for a Development Consent Order for the £116m MetroWest phase… Continue reading...
Clean Air Plan Hopefully many of you will have heard of the government directive to cities to come up with Clean Air plans. Is there any implication for… Continue reading...
GWR Timetable Changes – December 2019 From December 15th there will be changes to timetables to improve the GWR Bristol-London service. When the new timetable is introduced, the fastest journey times… Continue reading...
Stapleton Road Footbridge The successful completion of the four-tracking of Filton Bank last December doubled the number of lines between Filton Abbey Wood and Bristol Temple Meads from… Continue reading...
New lifts at Patchway Station Because of electrification of the Paddington to South Wales main line, the passenger footbridge at Patchway station had to be raised or replaced - to… Continue reading...
Avonmouth – station improvements Avonmouth station has experienced ups and downs over the last few years, but recently benefitted from some TLC. First some background: in late 2014, Network Rail… Continue reading...
Intercity train sets new record On 24th September, Great Western Railway (GWR) laid on a special, non-stop train from Temple Meads to Paddington - to celebrate the release of the… Continue reading...
Bristol Clean Air Day FoSBRites might have been inspired by the Bristol Clean Air Day at Castle Park on Thursday 20th June 2019 organised by the Bristol Clean Air… Continue reading...
Clifton Rocks Railway – a new beginning! In April of this year, it was announced that the Clifton Rocks Railway had been bought by Ian Johnson, the businessman who also owns the… Continue reading...
JLTP4 – our response FoSBR has made a detailed response to the Draft Joint Local transport Plan 4 (JLTP4). We are pleased to support the objectives at Section 3… Continue reading...
Cable Car system for Bristol? We await with interest details of a scheme by The Clifton Cable Company. They plan to build a gondola lift (or 'cable car') system in… Continue reading...
FoSBR celebrate success of Filton Bank Four-tracking On Friday 22nd February 2019, FoSBR held a “party” on the platform at Filton Abbey Wood railway station to celebrate the success of the four-tracking… Continue reading...
Filton Bank reopens On the morning of Monday 3 December Network Rail successfully completed the installation of two new railway lines between Filton Abbey Wood and Bristol Temple… Continue reading... JLTP4 WECA, the West of England Combined Authority, have issued their draft Joint Local Transport Plan Version 4 (JLTP4). This has been prepared by WECA and… Continue reading...
Bristol Area Signalling Renewals and Enhancements (BASRE) In April 2018 Network Rail completed the Bristol Area Signalling Renewals and Enhancements (BASRE) project, an upgrade of signalling in and around Bristol Temple Meads.… Continue reading...
Henbury station location In September 2015 the WECA Joint Transport Board confirmed the decision to progress with the Henbury Spur as part of MetroWest Phase 2 - but… Continue reading...