Shirehampton railway station

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shirehampton National Rail
First Great Western 143617 arrives with a service to Bristol.
Location
Place Shirehampton
Local authority Bristol
Coordinates 51°29′04″N 2°40′45″W / 51.4844°N 2.6792°W / 51.4844; -2.6792Coordinates: 51°29′04″N 2°40′45″W / 51.4844°N 2.6792°W / 51.4844; -2.6792
Grid reference ST529763
Operations
Station code SHH
Managed by First Great Western
Number of platforms 1
Live arrivals/departures and station information
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2002/03  37,563
2004/05 Decrease 29,645
2005/06 Increase 31,539
2006/07 Increase 38,493
2007/08 Decrease 30,893
2008/09 Increase 34,292
2009/10 Increase 35,758
2010/11 Increase 42,566
2011/12 Increase 43,482
History
Original company Bristol Port Railway and Pier
Pre-grouping Great Western Railway
Post-grouping Great Western Railway
6 March 1865 Opened[1]
1903 Track doubled and station remodelled[1]
29 November 1965 Closed to goods traffic[1]
17 July 1967 Station unstaffed[1]
October 1970 Track singled[1]
1990s Buildings destroyed by fire[1]
National Rail – UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Shirehampton from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
Portal icon UK Railways portal

Shirehampton railway station serves the village of Shirehampton near to the town of Avonmouth, England. This station is 7.25 miles (12 km) north-west from Bristol Temple Meads on the Severn Beach Line. All trains serving it are operated and the station is managed by First Great Western.

History

Shirehampton saw the first sod turned for the construction of the Bristol Port Railway and Pier on 19 February 1863, the ceremony performed by the Mayoress of Bristol Mrs S V Hare.[1] The station opened on 6 March 1865[2] as a single south-facing platform on the Hotwells to Avonmouth line, with . The station was the original headquarters of the BPRP, and the original building contained a booking office, line superintendent's office and a porter's room. Originally there were six trains per day each direction on weekdays and four on Sundays, although the Sunday service did not stop at Shirehampton until a month later due to protestaions by the local church.[1]

The BPRP was eventually taken over by the Great Western Railway, who in 1893 lengthened the platform and built a station master's house. An engine shed was sited at the east end of the station from 1875 to 1900 when it burnt down, to be replaced by a depot at Avonmouth. The line through the station was doubled in 1903, with the first service using it on 16 May,[3] and the station was remodelled at the same time - the main station building had a waiting room added, and a new southern (down) platform was built with a small shelter and a footbridge to link the two. A goods yard was added, and subsequently extended in 1921 to help construction of the A4 Portway. A signal box was also sited on the down platform.[1]

By 1920, Shirehampton station employed a station master, three clerks and four porters; with staff levels increased to 10 by the 1930s. However, the station lost its goods traffic in November 1965, although an oil depot next to the station saw some occasional use up to the 1980s, and was unstaffed from 17 July 1967. The line was singled in October 1970 as an economy measure,[3] and the southern platform and signal box abandoned. The buildings on the northern platform remained until being destroyed by fire in the 1990s, replaced by a small brick shelter. The goods yard has been redeveloped as an industrial unit, and the station master's house is now a private dwelling. A small car park has been built near the A4.[1]

During the late 2000s, train operator First Great Western did some improvements, adding CCTV, an information point and increasing visibility on the access path.[4]

Services

Services at Shirehampton are all operated by First Great Western, using mainly Class 150 Sprinter units. Monday to Friday, three trains every two hours run from Bristol Temple Meads to Avonmouth, with one extended to St Andrew's Road and Severn Beach, giving a service at Shirehampton of one train in each direction every 40 minutes. On Saturdays there is a similar level of service, but more trains continue to Severn Beach. Sunday sees a roughly hourly service to and from Bristol, with only two services extending to Severn Beach, except from the May timetable change until September, when all services are extended.[5][6]

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Avonmouth   First Great Western
Severn Beach Line		   Sea Mills
Historical railways
Avonmouth Docks
Line and station closed		   Great Western Railway
Bristol Port Railway and Pier		   Sea Mills
Line and station open
Avonmouth Dock (Joint)
Line and station open		   Great Western Railway
Clifton Extension Railway		   Sea Mills
Line and station open
  Midland Railway
Clifton Extension Railway		  

Future

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

First Great Western declined an option to continue the Greater Western passenger franchise (of which services at Shirehampton are a part) beyond 2013, citing a desire for a longer-term contract due to the impending upgrade to the Great Western Main Line.[7] The franchise was put out to tender,[8][9][10] but the process was halted and later scrapped due to the fallout from the collapse of the InterCity West Coast franchise competition.[11] A two-year franchise extension until September 2015 was agreed in October 2013, following negotiations between First Great Western and Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin MP.[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 Shirehampton 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 Shirehampton 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] The metro plan also calls for the reopening of the Henbury Loop Line, which could allow a direct service from Shirehampton to Bristol Parkway, via Avonmouth.[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]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Mike Oakley (2006). Bristol Railway Stations 1840-2005. Redcliffe. pp. 103–106. ISBN 1-904537-54-5. 
  2. ↑ History of the Severn Beach Line
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Maggs, Colin G (2008) [1981]. Rail Centres: Bristol. Rail Centres 21 (3rd ed.). Nottingham: Booklaw Publications. pp. 15–16, 40. ISBN 1-901945-30-8. 
  4. ↑ First Great Western improvement plans
  5. ↑ "First Great Western timetable #29: Bristol Temple Meads to Severn Beach (December 2010)". First Great Western. 2010-12-12. Retrieved 2011-02-07. 
  6. ↑ "First Great Western timetable #29: Bristol Temple Meads to Severn Beach (May 2011)". First Great Western. 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2011-05-17. 
  7. ↑ "First Great Western bids for longer rail franchise deal". BBC News. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2012. 
  8. ↑ Haigh, Philip (18 April 2012). "First leads a field of seven bidding for rail franchises". RAIL magazine (Peterborough: Bauer Media) (694): 8–9. 
  9. ↑ "Great Western franchise to be extended". Railnews. 19 July 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2012. 
  10. ↑ "New Great Western franchise to deliver new express trains" (Press release). Department for Transport. 27 July 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2012. 
  11. ↑ "Great Western London to south Wales rail contest scrapped". BBC News (BBC). 31 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013. 
  12. ↑ "First celebrates last-minute Great Western deal". Railnews. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2013. 
  13. ↑ "First Great Western retains Wales and west rail franchise". BBC News (BBC). 3 October 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2013. 
  14. ↑ "Modernising the Great Western". 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" (78). Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways. Autumn 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2012. 
  18. ↑ White, James (13 March 2009). "Item 04: Greater Bristol Metro". 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. 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shirehampton railway station.
Railway stations served by Bristol area commuter services
Taunton to Bristol
and Cardiff
Westbury and
Bristol to Cheltenham
Severn Beach Line
Road
Motorways
European Routes
A roads
Bus
Cycling
Rail
Railway lines
Stations
Open
Proposed
Other
Air
Water
Public transport
Bridges
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.