May Midford Meeting

MIDFORD

FACEBOOK - NEW SOMERSET AND DORSET RAILWAY

The New S&D will be holding a meeting on Saturday 21st May from 2pm to 4pm at the John James Room, Windmill City Farm, Bedminster, Bristol (near to Bedminster station and 75/76 bus routes) - where Midford station and its future will be the main topic! EVERYBODY (members and potential new members) are invited to attend - hopefully by the end of the afternoon we'll have a team ready to restart clearing at the site and planning the rebuilding of this iconic station! Operating trains is still a long way off, but we do own the site so subject to planning can proceed with rebuilding.

If you are interested in coming please email me on leysiner@aol.com so we have some idea of the numbers!

even Britain's least green city is starting to wake up!

Gloucestershire CCC backs campaign to re-open Ashley Hill station by commsofficer

 

MP Stephen Williams, TomRichardson, Gordon Hollins, Cllr Tim Kent

Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is backing a Bristol transport campaign that could result in the reopening of a train station where fans of the “father of cricket” WG Grace would disembark to watch him play in the mid Victorian era.

The Greater Bristol Metro Rail campaign would see the Ashley Hill station create a new link in suburban rail for the city and connect to the city’s major stations Parkway and Temple Meads – something the Club supports in conjunction with its plans to develop their Nevil Road ground only a few minutes’ walk away.

Representatives of the Club visited the old station site in Ashley Down with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) who were in Bristol to discuss progress on the Club’s new planning application.

If the plans get the go-ahead the County Ground would host national and international matches and want to attract more people to use public transport to arrive at the Ground. This would help to minimise parking on local roads as well as support a sustainable transport plan.

Tom Richardson, Chief Executive of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club (GCCC), said: “There are many good reasons for both the Club and local residents to want to have this station reopened and we fully support the Greater Bristol Metro Rail campaign’s efforts.

“Promoting public transport for match travel is an on-going focus for the Club. We benefit from good bus links on the Gloucester Road and make full use of park and ride on match days.

“We recognise that the major matches have an impact on traffic in the local area and as such are committed to looking at all the ways we can reduce this and bring benefits to residents as well.

“The fact that fans would disembark at the station to watch WG Grace is a great piece of local history and so it is fitting that we could also be a part of its future.”

Gordon Hollins, Managing Director Events and County Business at the ECB, said: “The ECB is fully supportive of ensuring a variety of public transport options for travelling to and from matches is available and this is particularly important when large crowds are expected.

“Creating a sustainable infrastructure for sport is of benefit to everyone and in one that has such a significant connection to cricketing history would be a great way for fans to travel to matches in Bristol.”

Stephen Williams MP said: “Bristol’s rail links are incredibly important to the city, and I believe that any decision to reopen Ashley Hill station will assist in supporting a more sustainable public transport system which could help to ease road traffic congestion.

“I am immensely pleased that Gloucestershire County Cricket Club (GCCC) are supporting this proposal, as it will undoubtedly appeal to many cricket fans who could benefit from its location.”

Cllr Tim Kent, executive member for Transport at Bristol City Council, said: “It is great to see GCCC and the ECB supporting this campaign to have more trains running more often in Bristol.

“It is vital that as our city grows and develops, our long-term vision for a greener and more effective way of travelling and our campaign really helps people get involved in this process.”

To find out more about the Greater Bristol Metro Rail campaign log onto http://greaterbristolrail.com/ where there is an e-petition calling for a better deal for Bristol’s railways amongst other ways of getting involved.

Any businesses or organisations willing to support this campaign will need to do so before the closing date of Saturday 31st March.

avoiding project drift

It should sometimes be restated - the New S&D is committed to restoring the WHOLE S&D, not just Bournemouth to Bath but also the branches, plus the Bristol-Pensford-Radstock and Bailey Gate-Wimborne-Ringwood lines, plus the Ringwood to Brockenhurst line if not already restored by the Network when we reach Ringwood.

This doesn't mean that a few hundred mainly railway enthusiasts are going to raise the 1-2 billion pounds needed to restore these routes, rebuild the infrastructure and provide the locos and rolling stock. It doesn't mean that some time in the next five to ten years we will be running trains to all these destinations.

What it does mean is that constitutionally we exist to promote the S&D in its entirety, will encourage and support other groups restoring sections of the route (as at Shillingstone, Midsomer Norton and Gartell), will purchase sections of trackbed etc as they become available to protect them for railway use in perpetuity, and operate sections of the route as they become economocally viable. Full reinstatement may well be by the network, by a consortium of businesses or by emergency government decree. Or we may be so sharp that we manage to do this by ourselves by raising the money on the stock exchange and/or through local and regional share issues.

Whilst discussion about restoring tiny sections for narrow gauge etc are welcome we need to avoid project drift. We need to always state what we are about, and always keep our eyes on the bigger picture.

Whilst I doubt anyone would question the need for and viability of the Midsomer Norton/Shepton to Bath and Blandford-Poole sections we need to remember that the S&D is a network, not two branches, and that we'll have far greater flexibility (and profitability) as a through route with additional connections to the Network wherever we pass by it ie at Templecombe, Bruton etc.

Whilst local passenger and freight traffic will be the lifeblood of the route we also expect that much traffic will originate and/or terminate away from our metals. This is pretty much the same situation as the old S&D but of course the New S&D will, eventually, be far busier than the Old S&D was, even on summer Saturdays in the 1950s.

about time!!

Henbury and Portishead rail lines to re-open within 5 years

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Bristol Evening Post

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TRAINS could be running on the Portishead railway line again within five years.
That is the view of a rail industry insider who says plans to reopen the line from Bristol Temple Meads to the North Somerset town are already at an advanced stage.

1. ​
   A train at the old Portishead railway station, circa 1950
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The expert, who has asked to remain anonymous, believes the reopening of both the Portishead and Henbury Loop lines will be included in the new franchise agreement for the Great Western rail network.

This means the rail operator which takes over the running of the franchise next year will be obliged to run trains on both lines to meet the terms of their contract.

It is understood Portishead's railway station would be built on the site of the former station yard next door to the town's Waitrose supermarket.

The only major stumbling block is Quays Avenue, a road which intersects the line just before it reaches the proposed station. It is understood this could be overcome by either creating a level crossing or building a road bridge.

The terms of the Great Western franchise will be published in April or May.

The railway industry insider said the Department for Transport was responsible for choosing whether or not the reopening of the line should be included as part of the franchise agreement.

He said the Government was keen to see a rail operator bear the cost of reopening the line, rather than see it met by the public purse.

The insider said planning for reopening of the line was carried out years ago – right down to working out a timetable for the Portishead service. But he said a question mark had always remained over who would foot the bill for the project.

He said: "We firmly believe the Portishead and Henbury lines will be returned into the new franchise agreement. It's the Government's intention that the franchisee funds the reopening.

"In April or May, when the main invitation tender document is published, there will be an awful lot more detail.

"I've seen documents about the Portishead line for the last three years, including a full timetable. The problem has always been government departments arguing over who will pay for it.

"There's a lot of work going on behind the scenes trying to get these projects through.

"Reopening the Portishead line is easy to do. It would be a massive success and it would be a bonus for Bristol.

"The tracks are still there and the only issue would be crossing Quays Avenue. From the railway point of view, we don't like having level crossings. The best approach might be a bridge."

As well as the Portishead and Henbury lines, the source said he believed Henbury and Hallen stations would reopen, two extra lines of track would be added at Filton Bank by 2018, and a half-hourly Bristol Metro service would run between Yate and Weston-super- Mare.

He said a shuttle rail service could be set up between Henbury station and the Mall at Cribbs Causeway.

The insider said: "I can see this happening, especially with all the traffic that builds up around Cribbs Causeway at weekends. With the airfield shutting, it will allow some sort of transport link to be built – that would be desirable.

"Saltford has a very good case for reopening – we know people are seriously looking at that, and Ashley Hill as well."

Earlier this month, the Evening Post reported that Bristol City Council had joined forces with local transport groups to campaign to bring a metro rail service to the city.

The ambition of Bristol Metro 2013 is to run trains to local stations – including reopened ones – from Temple Meads every 30 minutes.

Those behind the campaign want whichever company that takes over the running of the Great Western rail network next year to include the improvements to local services.

Until March, the government is carrying out consultations on what the new 15-year franchise should include.

Campaigners want to convince transport companies that are likely to go for the franchise to include the Bristol Metro in their bid, and to convince the government that local improvements should be included in their list of requirements for the successful bidder.

First Great Western has already announced its intention to re-bid for the franchise, despite calling time on the existing contract early last year. In the process it avoided having to pay £800 million to the government thanks to a get-out clause included in their original 10-year deal.

There are dozens of other rail operators across the country that could potentially bid for the franchise but the list of bidders is not due to be revealed until May.

Last month North Somerset MP Liam Fox said he believed work on the Portishead passenger rail link could begin by 2015.

His optimism stemmed from a meeting he attended alongside North Somerset Council leader Nigel Ashton with Transport Minister Norman Baker at Westminster.

Passenger services from Portishead to Bristol were cut in 1964, although the line to Portbury Dock reopened in 2002 for freight trains only.

steam journeys from bristol

Also added to our ecoomerce site - can be ordered here.

railways of bristol

Just added to our ecommerce site and available here.

steam around bristol

Available at tomorrow's AGM or on line here.

hs2 and sd2

So that's it, HS2 will happen. It all seemed so easy.

Of course in the real world what we need is massive investment in new railways and tramways in the UK, bringing a sustainable and modern transport system into every corner of the UK, far surpassing the rather sparse network bequeathed by the Victorians and dimished even further by the misguided idiot Beeching.

But we have to work in the world we have, not the one we want, so we're stuck with this expensive if essential piece of infrastructure, the cost of which would have rebuilt sixteen S&Ds - and brought modern transport to people that needed it, not those that already have it!

As for SD2 as it's now becoming known? Well the fact that governments are now seeing rail as the default future transport system can only be a good thing. In truth of course this has been a process that's been happening for some time, from the building of the Channel Tunnel. The 'road lobby' is now a distant memory, and HS2 will also do its bit to bring the early end of air travel, despite the rather daft idea that HS2 will link to Heathrow - as if it will still be operating in 2026, when HS2 is due to begin services.

And what about its effect on SD2? I suspect that once HS2 is finished other parts of the UK will be clamouring for a high speed link and I suspect a priority will be London to Bristol to Cardiff/Plymouth, which suggests an SD2 link at Bristol (via the Radstock-Pensford-Bristol line, part of our remit). Imagine - Shepton to Paris in 3 and a half hours! Of course the Bath line will be no less important - at least 95% of travellers on SD2 will be local passengers.

So HS2 is going to cause a lot of controversy. You can't blame residents for fighting it if they can't actually use the trains. Perhaps bundling it with a package of conventional rail reopenings, particularly in the area through which it will run, will sweeten the pill somewhat?

It's clear that our economy will be a purely rail-based one within a few decades. HS2 is a step in that process. But it needs to be presented as a small part in a  much bigger plan, the roll back of Beeching, the building of thousands of miles of new railways and tramways, the linking of industries, farms etc to the network, the creation of super-efficient, fully sustainable locomotives and, most of all, the complete reorientating of our industry and commerce to not merely be sustainable but to continue to develop into the post oil age.

slap

I rather underestimated the jetlag, the pile of work waiting for me and the sheer amount of time a new kitten requires, so sorry for the lack of posts. Hopefully I'll be able to get on with them tomorrow!

There's plenty on modern transport, Bristol's upcoming fake trams and great news from Spetisbury to come!

2012 AGM

Bedminster station is just a five minute walk from the farm  - if coming from Weston the trains are direct. Otherwise it's an easy change at Temple Meads, or if you're feeling fit  you can walk all the way to Bedminster from Temple Meads - it's under a mile.

Some bucolic shots of the farm!

The New Somerset and Dorset Annual General Meeting for 2012 will take place at the Windmill Hill City Farm, Philip Street, Bedminster, BRISTOL, BS3 4EA.

Entry to the farm is free but donations are welcomed! There is an excellent cafe on site which does hot and cold food. This is a great place for the kids too.

The meeting will run from 14.00 to 15.00 on Saturday, 21 January 2012. The meeting will take place in the John James Room. We have the room from 13.30 to 15.30 so there will be time to talk before and after the meeting.

All members are encouraged to attend - this will be our first AGM.

The last big meeting of the New S&D was in Bournemouth and all previous meetings took place in Blandford. We felt it was important to have the AGM near a working railway station but attempts to find somewhere at Templecombe proved a dead end. So we chose Bristol this time to make it easier for members at the northern end of the route to get to. Unfortunately with a line almost 100 miles long at least some meetings will be quite a distant from where members live! The farm is an excellent sustainable initiative so it's great to be able to support them. We'll ensure that the 2013 AGM takes place in the Bournemouth/Poole area. Hopefully as time passes there will be more places on the route reconnected to the network so we have a wider range of options!

Please do try to attend. The energy crisis is now becoming apparent to everybody (apart from our local and national politicians!) so we feel that we are all going to have to work harder in the coming years - so if you have the time and/or skills to get actively involved we have plenty for you to do!

I'll set up a Facebook group shortly so you can set up car shares etc = I'll announce on this blog when done.

bristol starts to stir

As many of you know I live in the tramway and railway desert of south Bristol. We were supposed to be the terminus of one of Bristol's tram routes but this scheme was sunk (for a while) by Dawn Primorolo, who thankfully is stepping down as an MP at the next election.

Bristol is at last about to get an electrified route to London, and the commuter network in waiting (including the Bristol to Radstock route which will form part of the New S&D and WILL serve parts of south Bristol) is beginning to stir. The following report is basically good news but where's the Portishead route, and where are our trams?? It's a start, but only that ...

Bristol Rail Commuters Put On Fast Track

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Tuesday, November 15th 2011 12:00

Longer platforms, faster journey times and more services promised as Network Rail sets up new Bristol and WestCountry unit.

Network Rail has today announced a new unit to control improvements across Bristol and the WestCountry.

It says "Network Rail Western", has been created as part it's drive to give local management the power to make independent funding decisions - to reduce costs and raise value for money, so that the savings could be reinvested in the area.

NRW has cited Bristol as one of THE highest forecast growth in rail passenger demand in the UK, at around 44% by the end of the decade - up from a previous 41% after taking into consideration the future electrification to London - cutting journey times from Bristol to the Capital by around 22minutes.

Part of the plan sees potential redevelopment of land around Temple Meads for more platforms, better car parking and an integrated transport hub. There's also plans to enhance the railway to and from Temple Meads and Filton Abbey Wood to improving journey times.

By the end of 2014, Network Rail Western also sets to achieve at least 93% in punctuality, by tackling cable thefts and implement a robust 7-day railway strategy to minimise disruption during major improvement work.

Network Rail Western will be spending around £400m by 2013 to operate, renew and enhance the 995miles of railway in the new Western region.

Priority schemes over the next two years include:

* £300m to modernise life-expired signalling equipment including those around Bristol so that the infrastructure is compatible with an electrified railway to London.

* £55m to build and design a unique factory train to install electrify the railway.

* £8m to improve journey time between Bristol and Birmingham

* Improvements to journey times between Bristol and Bridgwater, and potentially Plymouth, by enhancing line speeds

* Reducing congestion at Bristol Temple Meads, where around 8.9m passengers enter and exit per year

* Boosting capacity between Dr Days to Filton Abbey Wood by providing a four track railway

* An extra down line platform and passenger area to enable additional fast trains per hour to operate between Bristol and Paddington and also to Parkway after electrification

* The West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has recently announced their new Enterprise Zone, known as Temple Quarter, which includes the area of land alongside the former Royal Mail post office site and the large area of disused land leading down to the former Bath Road diesel depot.

The area covers 70 hectares of land with initial estimates suggesting the potential to accommodate over 250 businesses and 17,000 new jobs over a 25-year period. The focus is on creative and digital industries with retail opportunities as part of a wider mixed use development.

The Temple Quarter site is seen as a major gateway that has huge potential to generate jobs and investment for the area that is highly attractive to businesses looking to relocate, demand for transport services from Bristol Temple Meads will significantly increase.

portishead - bristol continues it's bid for least green city in briatin award!

The Portishead branch possibly has the best case for any line reopening in Britain. Yet still we have to wait, having to endure an average car journey time of 1 hour for the eight or nine miles (sometimes up to three!) against the 17 minutes on the train.

What is the problem? Is it that the government and local authorities don't want to be seen to be giving the green light to what will be the first of hundreds or even thousands of rail reopenings in the UK?

Most of the line is in situ. It already carries heavy freight trains, yet there are plenty of paths for passenger trains. Portishead is a large town with no modern transport link. Everyone wants the railway back. It even has space for a station at Ashton Gate, allowing football fans to come to the matches at Bristol City without using their cars. It would also be easy to build a second route into Bristol alongside the Create Centre and terminating at the M Shed, or even continuing tram style into the centre, giving huge flexibility. Portishead could have two trains an hour and trams in between! It would push house prices up, bring new businesses in and just make life a lot easier for everyone.

Bristol is probably Britain's least Green city - it doesn't even seem to understand what it means! Or why it's needed. We still don't have trams!!!! The city is an embarrassment to be honest. So let's start with the Portishead line, then a revival of the Weston route from Portishead, then a proper tram network throughout the city with interurban routes into the suburbs, then full support for the Bristol to Radstock line as part of the S&D revival, followed by restoration of the old Midland route from Bristol into Bath. We could become a showpiece city for a green future, rather than a running joke.

Back in cloud cuckoo land here is today's report about the lack of funding for the tiny Portishead revival.

PLANS to reopen Portishead’s desperately needed rail link have received a major blow – after a bid for £43 million of government funding for the project was turned down.
North Somerset Council learned this week that its multi-million-pound bid to the government’s Regional Growth Fund for cash to open the defunct rail link had been refused.
It had been hoped – if the bid was successful – to get passenger trains running out of Portishead from as early as 2015.
Council leaders have said that, although the news the bid had been unsuccessful was a blow, it in no way meant the end of the road for the railway reopening project.
And they said they still plan to bid for cash for the scheme from future Major Transport Programmes or any replacement programmes promoted by the government.
The authority will continue to work with Network Rail on its Guide to Rail Investment Project (GRIP) studies on the feasibility of reopening the railway and look at other possible funding streams. North Somerset Council deputy leader Councillor Elfan Ap Rees said: “Admittedly this is a blow to our plans to reopen the rail link. But it is a setback and it is certainly not the end of the road.
“We knew it was only an outside chance of us getting the funding from the growth fund. If we had been successful it would have meant we could have got rail services running out of Portishead more quickly.
“However we will be continuing to work with Network Rail to look at alternative funding streams.
“The local transport fund is currently fully subscribed and we will be looking to make a bid for funding at the next round of allocations, which will probably take place next year with the money possibly coming available around 2014.
“As a council we are still very much committed to reopening the Portishead rail link.”
It is estimated that the total cost of reopening the rail link would be around £50 million.
A further £4.8 million needed for the project would be funded from council resources and planning agreement money earmarked from developments in Portishead.
Studies have revealed that if the line was to open, trains could travel between Portishead and Temple Meads in Bristol in 17 minutes – slashing the current journey time by car.
Members of the Gordano Councils Transport Group, which was set up to campaign for the reopening of the railway, said they were ‘deeply disappointed’ at the news.
Group founder and Portishead councillor David Pasley said: “I am deeply disappointed this bid for funding has been turned down.
“Portishead has grown massively over the years and is due to grow by a further 40 per cent by 2015.
“Good transport in and out of the town are essential and should have been put in place before all the new developments were allowed.
“It is now important that all other funding streams are explored for this project.
“There is strong public and commercial support for the reopening of the rail link out of Portishead.”
The work to reopen the railway would include re-laying the three miles of redundant track between Portishead and Portbury and building a new station.
A new road bridge would be built over the railway at Quays Avenue in Portishead and a station would have to be built on land already earmarked at Harbour Road.
Money would also have to be spent on upgrading the six-mile section of the track between Portbury Dock as currently it is not of a good enough standard to run passenger services.
The track is currently only used by freight trains which carry coal and cars from Royal Portbury Dock to locations around the country.
The track, which was reopened in the 1990s, is capable of taking trains at speeds of up to 30mph, while passenger trains operate at speeds of up to 60mph.
The existing track could be used, but major realignment work would be needed and some new lines would have to be laid.
Further work is also needed at Pill tunnel to improve the drainage and lines to allow passenger trains through there safely.
The reopening of the railway would mean an end to the gridlock often seen on the Portbury Hundred – the main route out of Portishead.
Brunel first proposed the line in 1839 but it was actually built by the Bristol and Portishead Pier and Railway Company and opened on April 18 1867.
It was laid as a single line broad gauge branch running from Bristol to Portishead.
The line was closed to passenger traffic in September 1964 and freight in 1981 and lay unused apart from the occasional steam specials.
Among the funding options for further exploration are the re-letting of the Great Western franchise from 2013 and the proposed recently announced Local Transport Consortiums. The council will make the case for the scheme with the Department for Transport to identify a funding package to take the scheme forward.
The next major milestones for the scheme are to compile a detailed scheme business case, to commence GRIP stage 4 with Network Rail and to pursue planning consents to build and operate the rail line. 

bath green park

(Photo courtesy Jim Type, copyright R E Toop)

The S&D was lucky in having a terminus at each end, though Bath Green Park was always a little cramped! As well as the S&D it also served the Mangotsfield line and points beyond via the east to west curve there.

This other route did an excellent job of taking pressure off the Bath to Bristol GWR main line, as well as serving places that the GW never reached. Part of this route is preserved as the Avon Valley Railway, which is hoping to extend closer in towards Bath. The original intention of the group that became the Avon Valley Railway was to operate a commuter route with a heritage aspect. This idea was probably about thirty years' ahead of its time, but the rest of the world has now just about caught up with those early visionaries!

As the S&D pushes up from Midford we intend to restore right into Bath, with connections to the network at both Limpley Stoke and in Bath itself - each single track carrying traffic in one direction only.

But of course Bath Green Park really needs to become the ultimate destination. This will increase capacity and flexibility, and form an excellent headquarters for both the S&D and a booming AVR. Of course parts of this roiute have been encroached on slightly, and there is even now possible future development near the route, but none of this will be a problem in an energy-poor future. On the other side of the equation the station and its roof have been wonderfully preserved - the platform area is currently a car park, so only has a limited lifespan in that capacity.

We also intend to restore the Bristol to Radstock via Pensford route, to give even greater capacity and flexibility at the northern end of our line.

shapwick

(Photos courtesy Jim Type, copyright C L Caddy Collection)

On the branch today, two excellent shots of Shapwick, both late 50s/early 60s.

The branch is something of a dilemma to us. Whilst clearly Wells andf Glastonbury both need to be connected to the network ASAP, as does Burnham, it's not clear that a long branch connecting at Evercreech and Highbridge is the best way to serve these places in the future. Glastonbury and Wells would probably benefit more from a logical route across the Mendips to a junction somewhere in the Masbury area, giving this sizeable town and city a direct connection to Bristol and Bath. But perhaps a change at Highbridge or Evercreech is not such a bad option from the economic point of view. There's also the Cheddar Valley route that shadows this line somewhat to the north, which could perhaps be used instead, linking Wells and Glastonbury to Yatton. There's also the flooding problem on the original branch, which will only get worse with time.

The only definite re the branch is that clearly both Wells and Glastonbury will need rail connection in the not too distant future!

britain's booming seaside ...

Three shots from Bournemouth at the weekend. Whilst the Air Show was on, this still shows the pure pulling power of the place! A hot August in Bournemouth would normally pull out visitors in their thousands.

British seaside resorts are booming. A lot of people who used to fly abroad are choosing to stay in the UK - no waiting at airports, language problems etc. And to think how much easier it will be in the future when all these visitors will all be coming in by train. No more vile car parks, busy roads etc, just a pleasant built environment, pollution free and safe.

A million fewer drivers on the road, a million extra cyclists in the last year. The pattern's clear, our car culture is now dying, right at the start of the beginning of the end of cheap oil. I doubt it has much power to survive the real oil price shocks that are coming. All investment will now be going to railways, tramways and cycleways. The S&D should be right at the top of the queue for that investment. It's a total no-brainer. Whilst Bournemouth does still have a rail link it is orientated towards Southampton and London. But visitors like us come from Bristol - difficult to do reasonably by rail, cost and time-wise. And of course from much further - the Midlands and Northern England. They need a direct link with through trains, from places like Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham etc. Capacity restraints will very soon kick in on Bournemouth's only remaining line that can carry this traffic. And bear in mind that freight traffic will explode over the next couple of decades.

And of course people living in the huge Bournemouth-Poole conurbation will need to go in the other direction. The S&D will also allow them to access Exeter, Devon and Cornwall by changing at Templecombe - bringing extra traffic to the Salisbury-Exeter route, once notoriously singled but which I can see needing long stretches of quadruple track in the not-too-distant future. Who knows, the LSWR's one time plan to build a line westwards from Dorchester to Exeter tapping into the many seaside resorts between will finally be built! All this upgrading and new build should help to ease capacity restraints in this part of the world, assuming demand doesn't go too high ...

worth it

The usual suspects are already whinging about rising rail fares, yet they are only being set at 3% above PRI over the next three years. This is a genuine rise of around 10%. Is it such a big deal?

So what will we be getting? 2300 new carriages for a start. Completion of Cross Rail. Electrification from Bristol to London. And an awful lot more. The railways are absolutely buzzing at the moment with ridership at almost an historical high. Success tends to come at a cost. Does anyone seriously believe that motoring costs will only rise 10% over the next three years? And air fares? I'd be surprised if they keep under 50%! It's all relative. Simply giving up and selling your car releases huge amounts of cash, buy a bike and generally travel less (by train of course) and you'll save thousands every year. You could even afford to go first class - we do most of the time!

Apparently a million people have given up driving over the last year, citing the 'high' cost of fuel!! The roads certainly seem quieter. The reduced number of drivers will lead to inevitabe tax and duty rises to cover the income shortfall (only slightly offset by reduced wear and tear), setting up a virtuous circle of less car and lorry use and more use of rail. And 19% less youngsters are taking driving lessons, a brilliant fact!

Forget the 1970s attitudes. Rail, like gold and the Swiss Franc, are on a high. And success costs that little bit more. It's a price well worth paying!

bournemouth meeting facebook page ... and two more meetings

I've just set up a Facebook page for the Bournemouth meeting which is now only three weeks away! There hasn't been a New S&D meeting for a while as there were more immediate things to get done, but there are now three pencilled in for 2011. After the Bournemouth meeting we'll be holding one at my house in south Bristol, always legendary as our extensive wine stock is available free of charge, plus food etc! This will give a chance for members at the northern end of the line, plus the Midford workers, to get to know each other and hopefully knock out a progress plan for Midford - and perhaps a nothern Somerset end location in the not too distant future. Then there will be our AGM in November, in Templecombe, nice and central on the route and available to access by rail. All meetings will get Facebook groups as we get closer but for now only the Bournemouth meeting has one, which can be accessed by clicking here.

more rails close to the New S&D

This is the Hunters Rest Miniature Railway near Pensford. It may well be the only pub miniature railway in the UK! It's a mile or two from Pensford, which had (and will of course have again) a station on the Radstock to Bristol line. The line runs for about a third of a mile through woods and alongside the pub car park.

We went to the pub today but only photographed the line - I think my riding days of lines this small are over! It has combined track for both 7 1/4" and 5" guage trains. There are a couple of steam locos used on this line but today they were using this Hymek-style freelance diesel, pulling a single carriage.

The Bristol to Radstock route (which of course continues to Frome) closed in 1968 after damage to the magnificent (and still extant) Pensford viaduct in the massive July 1968 flood. The New S&D plans to reopen this route to ease capacity limits on the Radstock to Bath section of the S&D. Part of this route is now a cycleway between Radstock and Midsomer Norton, there is also the (moribund?) Clutton station revival with (at least a few years ago) a mark one standard gauge coach and a narrow gauge diesel alongside but unconnected to the Clutton scheme, plus this tiny line about a mile from the route between Pensford and Clutton. All worth a visit of course!

investment

I try not to put dry economic articles on here as I know they leave a lot of you cold - and people who know me are always a little surprised that underneath my no nonsense exterior there is a very overeducated academic trying to get out!

But I do think that this is not a bad place to put a few musings on the way economics will direct all future land transport policy towards various forms of rail.

One of the upward pressures on the oil price is the lack of refining facilities. This is one of the first signs of the looming shortages. Oil company managers, for all their outward appearance of being out-of-touch clowns, are aware of the finite nature of their industry. There does come a time when it's simply not worth setting up new refinieries because the cost of setting them up and maintaining them will never be met by the profits from refining future dwindling oil supplies. And they can't be used for anything else. I think this realisation was passed a few years ago, and hopes for any new refining capacity are simply dreams rooted in the past.

Rising oil prices, particularly at a time of stagnant or falling economic growth - now almost certainly the new paradigm - will inevitably reduce the use of roads. A lot of road travel is discretionary so can be dropped, or substituted, when times are hard. This reduces the tax take and consequently the amount of money available for maintaining the road network. A decline in standards, the consequent increase in congestion, even whilst roads are emptying, will set up a virtuous circle of decreasing road use.

The ability to transfer freight by road will actually decrease as it becomes more and more difficult for haulage companies to economically move freight - especially against a resurgent rail network increasingly favoured by government. There may be a brief spell when roads have a final golden fling, as the wealthy few that can still afford to run cars drive on almost empty roads.

Meanwhile the more intelligent and proactive oil companies will be switching to rail construction and operation, and the car manufacturers will switch to the production of locomotives, rolling stock and trams. Once this process starts nothing, short of total climate breakdown or societal breakdown will stop it. That process is about to begin.

And where will the S&D fit into all of this? Well, by starting early and building our contacts and skills now, we'll have a head start over most other communities that suddenly see the need to get their trains back. We will localise more as the transport costs of goods continue to rise (even where moved by rail), small businesses will sprout up along our route and will need their products moved to their market places. Passengers will flock to the trains, mainly to get to Bath, Bristol and Bournemouth to buy goods, but also to link with the main line network at those places and Templecombe. The whole agenda for rail will be one of reasonable and sustained growth and innovation, as the rails reach out to more and more places.

And the road network? Hopefully small sections in towns may continue to be served by some electric vehicles, perhaps even electric buses and taxis. But the intercity and intertown links will disappear back to nature except for those sections that are converted to cycleways, which will inevitably have to relocate from the formerly abandoned rail trackbeds that, for a few decades, were not used properly!

on our doorstep

A real gem locally is the very under publicised Bristol Harbour Railway, which runs from the SS Great Britain on Bristol's harbourside to the Create Centre. In 2011 it should re-extend to the newly refurbished Industrial Museum. This line has previously hosted a Parry People Mover. It's not open every weekend but the 2010 timetable is here.

This line could also become a very valuable transport link in the future. It could re-extend southwards to join the Portishead line - it's less than half a mile to rejoin the network over a bridge that saw trains (and heavy, steam-hauled ones at that!) as recently as 1996. It could also extend into the centre of Bristol tramway style, connecting with the new Bristol tramway system. This would then give a surely soon-to-be-reopened Portishead branch TWO traffic flows, one to Bristol Temple Meads for longer-distance travellers and freight and one to the city centre via the new developments on the Harbourside south, serving commuter flows. Tram-trains, Parry People Movers, conventional electric multiple units and, of course, steam hauled heritage trains could all operate the routes from Portishead to Bristol, complementing the current heavy freight use of this very important route.