Severn Beach railway station

Severn Beach
Location
Place	Severn Beach
Local authority	South Gloucestershire
Coordinates	51°33′35″N 2°39′51″W / 51.5598°N 2.6642°WCoordinates: 51°33′35″N 2°39′51″W / 51.5598°N 2.6642°W
Grid reference	ST540847
Operations
Station code	SVB
Managed by	Great Western Railway
Number of platforms	1
DfT category	F1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2002/03	36,074
2004/05	29,295
2005/06	37,088
2006/07	38,202
2007/08	54,034
2008/09	74,712
2009/10	88,504
2010/11	0.113 million
2011/12	0.142 million
2012/13	0.167 million
2013/14	0.196 million
History
Original company	Great Western Railway
5 June 1922	Opened (as excursion platform)[1]
26 May 1924	Fully opened[1]
9 July 1928	Passenger services extended to Pilning[1]
10 September 1963	Closed to goods traffic[1]
November 1964	Line to Pilning closed to passengers[1][2]
July 1968	Line to Pilning closed completely[1]
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Severn Beach from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Bristol Area Railway Map
Legend
Cross Country Route Thornbury Branch Line Yate South Wales Main Line New Passage Pier Westerleigh Junction New Passage Halt Cross Hands Halt South Wales Main Line Pilning Severn Beach Coalpit Heath Severn View Industrial Park Winterbourne Chittening Industrial Estate Bristol Parkway Patchway Smoke Lane Industrial Estate Ram Hill Colliery Chittening Platform Hallen Halt Avonmouth Docks Henbury St Andrews Road Charlton Halt Avonmouth (BPRP) North Filton Platform Filton Triangle Depot Avonmouth (Royal Edward) Westerleigh Goods Depot Avonmouth Docks Avonmouth Filton Junction Avonmouth Light Railway Filton Avonmouth Docks Filton Abbey Wood Shirehampton Horfield Sea Mills Ashley Hill Clifton Down Tunnel Mangotsfield (1845–1869) Clifton Down Mangotsfield (1869–1966) Redland Staple Hill Montpelier Fishponds Hotwells Halt Hotwells Narroways Hill Junction Stapleton Road sidings Grey line represents Stapleton Road boundary of Bristol Warmley unitary authority area Lawrence Hill Waste depot Oldland Common Bristol St Philip's Barton Hill Depot St Mary Redcliffe tunnel Bristol Temple Meads Bristol Temple Meads Bristol Harbour Railway St Philips Marsh T&RSMD Bedminster Parson Street Bristol Docks (North) Bristol Docks (South) South Liberty Lane Depot East Depot Bitton Ashton Gate St Anne's Park Clifton Bridge Brislington Nightingale Valley Halt Long Ashton Ham Green Halt Avon Riverside Pill Keynsham Portbury shipyard Whitchurch Halt Royal Portbury Dock Kelston Portbury Shipyard Saltford Portbury Mangotsfield Branch Line (1954–1964) Portishead Great Western Main Line Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway Bristol & North Somerset Rly (1879–1954) Portishead Bristol to Exeter Line Portishead Pier

Severn Beach railway station serves the village of Severn Beach, England. This is the terminus of the Severn Beach Line.

This station is 13.5 miles (21.7 km) north west from Bristol Temple Meads on the Severn Beach Line. The station is managed by Great Western Railway, who are also the sole provider of trains serving the station.

History

The railway reached Severn Beach in 1900, but was at first used only for goods traffic to Pilning. A platform was built beside the line at Severn Beach by the Great Western Railway in 1922, and a bay platform added to the west for excursion traffic, with terminating passenger services from Bristol starting on 26 May 1924, subsequently extended to Pilning in a loop back to Bristol via Patchway from 9 July 1928.^[1] By 1924 a brick concourse had been built perpendicular to the bay platform, providing a ticket office, the station master's office, toilets and a ladies' waiting room. The station master and keeper of the level crossing were also provided with houses, while to the east of the platform were sidings, primarily for stabling of excursion trains.

In November 1964 through services to Pilning ceased,^[2] with the line north closed completely in July 1968, although goods traffic at Severn Beach had already ended in 1963.^[1]

More recently, services to Severn Beach have been cut back further, with only one in three trains to Avonmouth now continuing on to Severn Beach. The concourse and other station buildings have been demolished, replaced with a small metal and glass shelter, while the eastern rails have been pulled up, leaving just the bay platform remaining. Half of the 240 yards (220 m) is cordoned off, and that which remains dwarfs the two-car diesel multiple units which use it. To the east, the land once used for sidings has become overgrown and a dumping ground for litter and general detritus.

Service

First Great Western 143621 departs Severn Beach with a service to Bristol Temple Meads.

Services at Severn Beach are all terminating services from Bristol Temple Meads, operated by Great Western Railway using mainly Class 150 Sprinter units. Monday to Friday, three trains every two hours run from Temple Meads to Avonmouth, with one extended to St Andrew's Road and Severn Beach, giving a service roughly every two hours, the first arriving around 6am and the last departing Severn Beach about 11pm. On Saturdays more trains continue, with either a replacement bus service or train each hour, with more trains in the evening.

Sunday sees an hourly service in the summer months (May to mid-September), but just two departures in the winter (most services terminating at Avonmouth)^[3]

Future

Four bidders pre-qualified for the 2013– Greater Western passenger franchise: clockwise from top left, Arriva, FirstGroup, Stagecoach Group and National Express

Great Western Railway declined a contractual option to continue the Greater Western passenger franchise (of which services at Severn Beach are a part) beyond 2013, citing a desire for a longer-term contract due to the impending upgrade to the Great Western Main Line.^[4] The franchise was put out to tender,^[5][6][7] but the process was halted and later scrapped due to the fallout from the collapse of the InterCity West Coast franchise competition.^[8] A two-year franchise extension until September 2015 was agreed in October 2013,^[9][10] and subsequently extended until March 2019.^[11][12][13]

With the coming upgrade to the Great Western Main Line, the main line from London to Bristol is due to be electrified by 2016.^[14] However, the electrification will not extend beyond the main lines, so Severn Beach will continue to be served by diesel trains.^[15] Stephen Williams, MP for Bristol West, questioned whether electrification could continue to Clifton Down. Then-Secretary of State for Transport Philip Hammond replied that it would have to be looked at in the future.^[16] The group Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways supports the electrification of the entire Severn Beach Line.^[17]

Improved services at Severn Beach are called for as part of the Greater Bristol Metro scheme, a rail transport plan which aims to enhance transport capacity in the Bristol area.^[18][19] There is an aspiration for half-hourly services, however due to the large sections of the Severn Beach Line which are single-track and to the congested main line from Temple Meads, such frequency is not currently feasible.^[20][21] The scheme was given the go-ahead in July 2012 as part of the City Deal, whereby local councils would be given greater control over money by the government.^[22]

References

1. Oakley, Mike (2003). Gloucestershire Railway Stations. The Dovecote Press. pp. 118–120. ISBN 1-904349-24-2.
2. History of the Severn Beach Line
3. GB National Rail Timetable 2013, Table 133 - 20 May to 6 December 2013Network Rail; retrieved 2013-09-27
4. "First Great Western bids for longer rail franchise deal". BBC News. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
5. Haigh, Philip (18 April 2012). "First leads a field of seven bidding for rail franchises". RAIL magazine. Peterborough: Bauer Media (694): 8–9.
6. "Great Western franchise to be extended". Railnews. 19 July 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
7. "New Great Western franchise to deliver new express trains" (Press release). Department for Transport. 27 July 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
8. "Great Western London to south Wales rail contest scrapped". BBC News. BBC. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
9. "First celebrates last-minute Great Western deal". Railnews. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
10. "First Great Western retains Wales and west rail franchise". BBC News. BBC. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
11. "First Great Western offered new franchise deal". BBC News. BBC. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
12. "FirstGroup wins Great Western contract extension". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
13. "Updated franchise schedule signals GW extension". Railnews. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
14. "Modernising the Great Western" (PDF). Network Rail. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
15. "Bristol to London line to be electrified". This is Bristol. Northcliffe Media. 23 July 2009. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
16. "Benefits of Bristol to London high-speed rail link 'must go beyond just mainline'". This Is Bristol. Northcliffe Media. 3 March 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
17. "FoSBR Newsletter" (PDF). Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways. Autumn 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
18. White, James (13 March 2009). "Item 04: Greater Bristol Metro" (PDF). West of England Partnership. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
19. "Campaign for trains from Bristol Temple Meads every half hour". This is Bristol. Northcliffe Media. 17 January 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
20. "Transport Minister hears calls for better Bristol train service". This is Bristol. Northcliffe Media. 17 October 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
21. "Our Case". Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
22. Ribbeck, Michael (6 July 2012). "£100 million Bristol Metro train network by 2016". The Post, Bristol. Northcliffe Media. Retrieved 6 July 2012.