Bristol Parkway MasterplanSouth Gloucestershire Council and partners are preparing a masterplan to transform Bristol Parkway from a park and ride into a modern transport hub. Continue reading...
Brabazon developmentYTL, developers of the new Arena in North Filton, have big plans for the Brabazon development. A new train station will play a critical role. Continue reading...
Cross-city trainsSince December 2021 Bristol has had a cross-city train service, with regular trains linking Severn Beach, Bristol Temple Meads and Weston-super-Mare. Graham Ellis recently joined… Continue reading...
Window Seater audio travel guidesStart-up tech company Window Seater launched a new series of immersive audio travel guides on 17th February 2022 to connect rail passengers with the world… Continue reading...
WECA mobility hub surveyWECA are doing a mobility survey on how people travel in North Bristol and South Gloucestershire. Please help us by responding by 6th March 2022! Continue reading...
FoSBR AGM 2022: ReportThe Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways (FoSBR) Annual General Meeting was held via Zoom on 28th Jan 2022. This is a brief report. Continue reading...
SevernNet Transport CharterSevernNet is a not-for-profit enterprise that represents businesses and the community across the Royal Portbury Dock, Avonmouth, Severnside and Western Approach area (PAS). The PAS… Continue reading...
FoSBR AGM 2022Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways (FoSBR) will be holding our Annual General Meeting on Friday, 28th January 2022. Because of the continuing uncertainties around Covid-19,… Continue reading...
A ‘living’ station for Yate?The Yate Town Improvement Masterplan was published in December 2021. This plan sets out how the town's train station could be transformed into a 'living'… Continue reading...
Rails to ClevedonClevedon, 18km to the west of Bristol on the Bristol Channel coast, has a similar population to Portishead. Portishead should soon, finally, be reconnected to… Continue reading...
GWR Stakeholder Conference 2021GWR held their annual stakeholder conference in Cardiff on 18th October 2021. This was a hybrid meeting, with some people attending in person and many… Continue reading...
A station for Lockleaze?Lockleaze residents have joined with FoSBR to campaign for a new train station at Constable Road. Join us on 31st July to show your support! Continue reading...
Trip to Severn BeachFoSBR members rode the train to Severn Beach on Saturday 3rd July. This seemed a good date for a trip as the Bristol Rail Regeneration… Continue reading...
Montpelier stationCarol Durrant and Tim Weekes of FoSBR met Councillor Tim Wye of Ashley Ward at Montpelier station in June. This was part of our outreach… Continue reading...
How FoSBR uses mediaFoSBR communicates with different groups of people, for different reasons and in different ways. How do we use our website, Facebook, twitter and other media… Continue reading...
Bedminster station accessFoSBR's Carol Durrant and Tim Weekes met Cllr Lisa Stone at Bedminster station to discuss nearby development, station access and future rail developments. Continue reading...
St Annes Park StationSt Annes Park station, 2.5 km east of Bristol Temple Meads, has funding for its business case. FoSBR met Councillor Tim Rippington there. 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...
Rapid and Mass Transit newsIn 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...
Bedminster StationBedminster 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 minutesFoSBR 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...
December 2020 timetableFoSBR 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...
FoSBR mailing listYahoo 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...
Ashley Down station tourFoSBR 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...
Ashley Down StationBristol 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...
DecarbonisationNetwork 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...
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 trainIt 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 closureBristol 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-19How 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...
Mike Baker 1961-2020Friends 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...
Greta Thunberg in BristolGreta 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 BristolIn 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...
Cardiff MetroCardiff 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...
FoSBR AGM 2020Friends 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...
HS2HS2 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 ConferenceFoSBR 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...
Portway Parkway: costs riseDevelopment 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 updatedWe 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...
OvercrowdedTrain 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...
Hawk hired at Bristol Temple MeadsA 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 mobilityWECA, 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 JunctionNamed 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...
Clean Air PlanHopefully 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...
Stapleton Road FootbridgeThe 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 StationBecause 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 improvementsAvonmouth 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...
Bristol Clean Air DayFoSBRites 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...
JLTP4 – our responseFoSBR 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...
Filton Bank reopensOn 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...
JLTP4WECA, 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...
Henbury station locationIn 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...