Portishead Railway
| Portishead Railway | |
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 The 1954 Portishead railway station, in 1960 |
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| Dates of operation | 1867–1981, Restarted in 2002 |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge), 7 ft 0 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm) |
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The Portishead Railway was a branch line railway running from Portishead in Somerset to the Great Western Main Line in Bristol, England.[1] It was constructed in the 1860s by the Bristol & Portishead Pier and Railway, which was incorporated to build a pier and a 10 miles (16 km) 7 ft 0 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm) broad gauge link to the Bristol and Exeter Railway at Bedminster Down.[1] The line closed to passenger traffic in 1964 and freight in 1981. The line was rebuilt and reopened in 2002 for freight trains only from the junction with the Bristol to Taunton Line at Parson Street to the Royal Portbury Docks, via a new spur built in 2000/2.
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[edit] History
The line opened on 12 July 1867 and was extended to the docks on 5 July 1879.[1] In 1876 Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Great Western Railway (GWR) took over the Bristol and Exeter Railway and operated the Bristol & Portishead Pier & Railway for 40 percent of the receipts.[1]
On 1 July 1885 the GWR bought the Portishead Railway and it became a branch line of the GWR to serve the pier and dock at Portishead, from which Brunel's steamships sailed to North America. In 1880 it was converted from the GWR's broad gauge to standard gauge. Passenger services were discontinued in 1964 as part of the Beeching Axe, and freight was discontinued in 1981, but the railway was not dismantled.
In 1985 a series of steam excursions ran along the line as part of the "GW150" celebrations. This is thought to be the last commercial use before the line was rebuilt.
[edit] The route
The railway branches from the mainline at Parson Street Station in south Bristol and runs north along the south west bank of the River Avon. Ashton junction is where a former line across the river and into Bristol Harbour curved off. (On the opposite bank is CREATE Centre platform served by the Bristol Harbour Railway, with the former rail bridge now a walk way.) On the North The first station was Ashton Gate, opened 1906, followed by Clifton Bridge, half a mile south of the Clifton Suspension Bridge, near the Cumberland Basin and modern Brunel Way road. In the Avon Gorge the railway runs through a short tunnel where the Clifton Suspension Bridge runs overhead. In 1928 a halt was opened at Nightingale Valley, a footpath which leads up to the Leigh Woods suburb of Bristol, but this was closed four years later. The railway then crosses the flood plains south of the Avon estuary on an embankment, passes through another short tunnel and across a viaduct at Pill. Ham Green Halt, serving a now demolished hospital just east of Pill, opened in 1926. There were then stations at Pill, and Portbury. From there the line then runs west to Portishead.
In the 1920s a second Portishead Station was built to serve a planned shipyard, though this was never built and the station soon closed. In 1954 the original Portishead station was demolished, to provide space for the second Portishead power station, and a new station constructed in a new location, lasting only a decade before the line stopped carrying passengers.
A new junction has been created from which the line to the Royal Portbury Dock leads off.
[edit] Reopening of the line
During 2000 and 2001 the railway was rebuilt as far as Pill, and a short spur constructed to the Royal Portbury Dock to transport freight, at a cost of £21 million. The guests for the official opening ceremony were taken from Parson Street railway station to Portbury on a train hauled by Bristol Industrial Museum's Portbury locomotive on 21 December.[2]
Local politicians and organisations have been campaigning to have the remaining 3.3 miles (5.3 km) repaired and a new station constructed at Portishead. A campaign group [3] is aimed at reopening the station and the short stretch of unopened line. The coastal town largely serves as a dormitory town for Bristol workers, and the main route into the city, a single carriageway, the A369, is often unable to cope with the volume of commuter traffic. When current construction work is completed Portishead will be the largest settlement in the country without a link to the rail network.[4] The Department for Transport currently does not support the proposals, estimating the costs to be too high at £17 million, and because of scheduling complications due to its use by freight trains. The 2006-2011 Joint Local Transport Plan reserves £1 million for the project. In January 2009, it was announced that Network Rail is to carry out a feasibility study on re-opening the line.[5]
It was announced in June 2011 that First Great Western would run a test train on the line in September 2011.[6] During the Rail Priority Conference organised by the West of England Partnership in November 2011, delegates travelled on the line, using sections of track not currently used for passenger traffic.[7][8] In December 2011, North Somerset MP Liam Fox backed reopening the line for passenger traffic and, following a meeting with Transport Minister Norman Baker, expressed hopes that work could commence by 2015.[9]
[edit] Current operations
The route is currently served by both DB Schenker and Freightliner services. The major freight flows along the line are bulk coal and newly delivered vehicles. All services are operated by class 66 locomotives.
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d Awdry, Page 19
- ^ "Avonside along the Avonside". Avon Valley Railway. http://semaphore.avonvalleyrailway.org/html/avonside.html. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
- ^ "Campaign to Reopen the Railway". Portishead Railway Group. http://www.portisheadrailwaygroup.org/. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
- ^ "Portishead Rail Line Study Final Report" (pdf). North Somerset Council. http://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/4C5E709A-5D12-4B02-81E4-A8FCAFD06C81/0/report_200808_NSCPortisheadRailLineStudyFinalReport.pdf. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
- ^ "BBC NEWS - England - Bristol - Town may get new railway station". news.bbc.co.uk. 28 January 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/7855254.stm. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
- ^ "Bristol bus and ferry service subsidies go in council cuts". BBC. 9 June 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-13719922. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
- ^ "Rail Priority Conference 2011". travelplus.org.uk. 2011. http://www.travelplus.org.uk/news/rail-priority-conference-2011. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
- ^ Pierce, Ellie; Terretta, Hayley (21 November 2011). "Proposed revival for Bristol Metro scheme". Epigram (University of Bristol Student Union). http://www.epigram.org.uk/2011/11/proposed-revival-for-bristol-metro-scheme/. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
- ^ "Portishead rail link signals are encouraging, says North Somerset MP Liam Fox". Western Daily Press (Northcliffe Media). 19 December 2011. http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/Portishead-rail-link-signals-encouraging-says/story-14180692-detail/story.html. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
[edit] Sources
- Awdry, Christopher, (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. London: Guild Publishing.
- Portishead Railway Group, 2006. "History of the Portishead Railway." Accessed 2006-04-15.
- Transcript of House of Commons debate on reopening the railway, 24 January 2005
- Local Transport Plan (Ch 3, P 51)]
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Portishead Railway |
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