Suburban railway services in Bristol are often overlooked or forgotten by the commuting public. For those near a station, which may be more than you'd expect, existing train services offer an alternative to buses that is usually both cheaper and quicker.
As the name suggests, the Severn Beach line runs from Severn Beach (near the M4 bridge across the Severn) down to Avonmouth, then eastward stopping at Shirehampton, Sea Mills, Clifton, Redland, Montpelier, Stapleton Road, Laurence Hill and Bristol Temple Meads.
There is a north south connection too, starting from Patchway or Bristol Parkway coming down through Filton Abbey Wood, Stapleton Road, Laurence Hill, Bristol Temple Meads, Bedminster and Parson Street. These services are ones that are running through Bristol from further away (like the Cardif to Taunton service) so not all services stop at all the stations on the list just given.
Comparing bus and rail
Trip times can be slightly or greatly shorter than comparable bus routes. Here are some time comparrisons which take worst case train and best case bus times and do not take into account possible traffic delays on the buses.
37 minutes - Severn Beach to Temple Meads by Train
60 minutes - bus route 624
22 minutes - Avonmouth to Laurence Hill by Train
50 minutes - bus route 41
17 minutes - Clifton Down to Temple Meads by Train
22 minutes - bus route 1, 54
30 minutes - bus route 8, 9
10 minutes - Montpelier to Temple Meads by Train
25 minutes - bus route U1
10 minutes - Yate to Bristol Parkway by Train
22 minutes - bus route 581
15 minutes - Yate to Filton Abbey Wood by Train
30 minutes - bus route 581
18 minutes - Temple Meads to Bath by Train
43 minutes - bus route X39
8 minutes - Temple Meads to Keynsham by Train
19 minutes - bus route 349
5 minutes - Temple Meads to Bedminster by Train
13 minutes - bus route 52
8 minutes - Temple Meads to Parson Street by Train
20 minutes - bus route 52
22 minutes - Bristol to Weston by Train
50 minutes - bus route X1
105 minutes - bus route 351
A Station within Reach
The average person walks at about three miles per hour (4.8 km per hour) and that is just ambling speed. A brisk march and you can reach four miles an hour without breaking sweat on a cool day.
You can tick the "Walking Distances" option in the rail layer sidebar to see green coloured circles showing how far you can walk from each station in twelve minutes (just over half a mile). The yellow band outside this shows how far you can walk in twenty minutes (one mile).
Cycling is even quicker at ten miles an hour and it would take four minutes in the green circles and six in the yellow circles. Or you could be a full two miles away from a station and still cycle to it in 12 minutes.
There are a number of stations that used to exist on the lines around Bristol and the purple and blue circles have been added to show how much more area would be easily served by trains if these were reopened. See below for more details about the proposed stations.
Enhancing the Network
We often hear in the news about "Bus Rapid Transit" routes or new bendy bus schemes which are going to cost tens of millions of pounds. But part of the solution to the problem of road congestion already exists in the rail network which is not being used to its full potential.
In the 1960s the "Beeching Axe" closed lots of stations and railway lines as the government thought it could save money and people would be using cars instead. Now that the roads are full up, it is time to look as reopening many of these stations.
On the north south line, the Horfield and Ashley Hill stations could be reopened to make the rail travel to the centre or to the two big stations much easier and more inviting to people from Eastville to Horfield.
Opening the St Annes Park station would make it much easier for people to reach the centre as the bus services are limited, and the Saltford station would help reduce the number of cars coming in to the city. The same with the Winterbourne station. There are a few stations further out to the north and south which could also be reopened.
The above are all stations on in use passenger train lines, so it is only a question of renovating the stations and platforms.
There are also a number of stations on lines which are currently only used for freight. Stations at Hallem, Henbury and North Filton (on the A38 just south of Filton Airfield) could all be brought into service and the "Henbury loop" would have to be upgraded for passenger train use.
There is also an existing freight line that runs from Bristol Temple Meads south of the river and goes to the Portbury Docks. A station could be opened at Ashton Gate and the old spur line rebuilt from Pill to Portishead, stopping at Portbury in between. Of all the options here, this would take the most resources, but would also give one of the largest benefits and take a huge amount of road traffic off the western routes into the city.
Thanks to FOSBR
FOSBR (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) is a dedicated organisation which is campaigning hard to get the railway services in and around Bristol improved in terms of coverage, frequency and reliability. They have already had many successes including getting the Sunday service on the Severn Beach line.
To find out more and to join their membership or support them with donations visit their web site:
http://fosbr.org.uk/
As the name suggests, the Severn Beach line runs from Severn Beach (near the M4 bridge across the Severn) down to Avonmouth, then eastward stopping at Shirehampton, Sea Mills, Clifton, Redland, Montpelier, Stapleton Road, Laurence Hill and Bristol Temple Meads.
There is a north south connection too, starting from Patchway or Bristol Parkway coming down through Filton Abbey Wood, Stapleton Road, Laurence Hill, Bristol Temple Meads, Bedminster and Parson Street. These services are ones that are running through Bristol from further away (like the Cardif to Taunton service) so not all services stop at all the stations on the list just given.
Comparing bus and rail
Trip times can be slightly or greatly shorter than comparable bus routes. Here are some time comparrisons which take worst case train and best case bus times and do not take into account possible traffic delays on the buses.
37 minutes - Severn Beach to Temple Meads by Train
60 minutes - bus route 624
22 minutes - Avonmouth to Laurence Hill by Train
50 minutes - bus route 41
17 minutes - Clifton Down to Temple Meads by Train
22 minutes - bus route 1, 54
30 minutes - bus route 8, 9
10 minutes - Montpelier to Temple Meads by Train
25 minutes - bus route U1
10 minutes - Yate to Bristol Parkway by Train
22 minutes - bus route 581
15 minutes - Yate to Filton Abbey Wood by Train
30 minutes - bus route 581
18 minutes - Temple Meads to Bath by Train
43 minutes - bus route X39
8 minutes - Temple Meads to Keynsham by Train
19 minutes - bus route 349
5 minutes - Temple Meads to Bedminster by Train
13 minutes - bus route 52
8 minutes - Temple Meads to Parson Street by Train
20 minutes - bus route 52
22 minutes - Bristol to Weston by Train
50 minutes - bus route X1
105 minutes - bus route 351
A Station within Reach
The average person walks at about three miles per hour (4.8 km per hour) and that is just ambling speed. A brisk march and you can reach four miles an hour without breaking sweat on a cool day.
You can tick the "Walking Distances" option in the rail layer sidebar to see green coloured circles showing how far you can walk from each station in twelve minutes (just over half a mile). The yellow band outside this shows how far you can walk in twenty minutes (one mile).
Cycling is even quicker at ten miles an hour and it would take four minutes in the green circles and six in the yellow circles. Or you could be a full two miles away from a station and still cycle to it in 12 minutes.
There are a number of stations that used to exist on the lines around Bristol and the purple and blue circles have been added to show how much more area would be easily served by trains if these were reopened. See below for more details about the proposed stations.
Enhancing the Network
We often hear in the news about "Bus Rapid Transit" routes or new bendy bus schemes which are going to cost tens of millions of pounds. But part of the solution to the problem of road congestion already exists in the rail network which is not being used to its full potential.
In the 1960s the "Beeching Axe" closed lots of stations and railway lines as the government thought it could save money and people would be using cars instead. Now that the roads are full up, it is time to look as reopening many of these stations.
On the north south line, the Horfield and Ashley Hill stations could be reopened to make the rail travel to the centre or to the two big stations much easier and more inviting to people from Eastville to Horfield.
Opening the St Annes Park station would make it much easier for people to reach the centre as the bus services are limited, and the Saltford station would help reduce the number of cars coming in to the city. The same with the Winterbourne station. There are a few stations further out to the north and south which could also be reopened.
The above are all stations on in use passenger train lines, so it is only a question of renovating the stations and platforms.
There are also a number of stations on lines which are currently only used for freight. Stations at Hallem, Henbury and North Filton (on the A38 just south of Filton Airfield) could all be brought into service and the "Henbury loop" would have to be upgraded for passenger train use.
There is also an existing freight line that runs from Bristol Temple Meads south of the river and goes to the Portbury Docks. A station could be opened at Ashton Gate and the old spur line rebuilt from Pill to Portishead, stopping at Portbury in between. Of all the options here, this would take the most resources, but would also give one of the largest benefits and take a huge amount of road traffic off the western routes into the city.
Thanks to FOSBR
FOSBR (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) is a dedicated organisation which is campaigning hard to get the railway services in and around Bristol improved in terms of coverage, frequency and reliability. They have already had many successes including getting the Sunday service on the Severn Beach line.
To find out more and to join their membership or support them with donations visit their web site:
http://fosbr.org.uk/
