St Andrews Road railway station

St Andrews Road National Rail
Location
Place Avonmouth
Local authority Bristol
Coordinates 51°30′48″N 2°41′46″W / 51.5132°N 2.6962°WCoordinates: 51°30′48″N 2°41′46″W / 51.5132°N 2.6962°W
Grid reference ST517795
Operations
Station code SAR
Managed by First Great Western
Number of platforms 1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2002/03  3,021
2004/05 Increase 4,969
2005/06 Increase 8,008
2006/07 Decrease 5,518
2007/08 Decrease 3,183
2008/09 Increase 3,582
2009/10 Increase 3,942
2010/11 Increase 4,328
2011/12 Increase 6,072
2012/13 Increase 9,910
2013/14 Increase 13,376
History
1917 Opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at St Andrews Road from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

St Andrews Road railway station is located near to St Andrews Road and serves a large industrial area near to Avonmouth, England. This station and all trains serving it are operated by First Great Western.

This station is 10 miles (16 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. EWS (energy division) also operate coal trains to Didcot from the adjacent lines.

History

The station was opened in March 1917.[1]

Service

St Andrews Road is a request stop, and, with most of the industry, such as the smelting works, in the area being closed, there is little demand for a service at the station. This is reflected in the passenger number figures which are the lowest of any station on the line. Currently, an improved service is offered on the line.[2] Trains start earlier in the morning and finish later in the evening, with three trains in every 2-hour cycle during the daytime.

This has had the unfortunate side-effect of services from St Andrews Road being reduced overall, with only one train each way every two hours Mondays to Fridays, as opposed to the bus service which ran every hour connecting with every train. The bus continues to run on Saturdays and alternates with the train to provide an hourly service overall. There will be an hourly Sunday service from St. Andrews Road station on Sundays, from May - September 2010, with two services retained through the Winter.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Severn Beach   First Great Western
Severn Beach Line		   Avonmouth
Disused railways
Avonmouth   Great Western Railway
Henbury Loop Line		   Chittening Platform
Line open, station closed.

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 St Andrews Road are a part) beyond 2013, citing a desire for a longer-term contract due to the impending upgrade to the Great Western Main Line.[3] The franchise was put out to tender,[4][5][6] but the process was halted and later scrapped due to the fallout from the collapse of the InterCity West Coast franchise competition.[7] A two-year franchise extension until September 2015 was agreed in October 2013,[8][9] and subsequently extended until March 2019.[10][11][12]

With the coming upgrade to the Great Western Main Line, the main line from London to Bristol is due to be electrified by 2016.[13] However, the electrification will not extend beyond the main lines, so St Andrews Road will continue to be served by diesel trains.[14] 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.[15] The group Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways supports the electrification of the entire Severn Beach Line.[16]

Improved services at St Andrews Road 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.[17][18] 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.[19][20] 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.[21]

See also

References

  1. ↑ History of the Severn Beach Line
  2. ↑ http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Documents/Custom/DC%20MAY%202008%20TIMETABLE/Bristol%20Temple%20Meads%20to%20Severn%20Beach.pdf New timetable from First Great Western
  3. ↑ "First Great Western bids for longer rail franchise deal". BBC News. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  4. ↑ Haigh, Philip (18 April 2012). "First leads a field of seven bidding for rail franchises". RAIL magazine (Peterborough: Bauer Media) (694): 8–9.
  5. ↑ "Great Western franchise to be extended". Railnews. 19 July 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
  6. ↑ "New Great Western franchise to deliver new express trains" (Press release). Department for Transport. 27 July 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  7. ↑ "Great Western London to south Wales rail contest scrapped". BBC News (BBC). 31 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  8. ↑ "First celebrates last-minute Great Western deal". Railnews. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  9. ↑ "First Great Western retains Wales and west rail franchise". BBC News (BBC). 3 October 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  10. ↑ "First Great Western offered new franchise deal". BBC News (BBC). 10 October 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  11. ↑ "FirstGroup wins Great Western contract extension". The Guardian (Guardian Media Group). 10 October 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  12. ↑ "Updated franchise schedule signals GW extension". Railnews. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  13. ↑ "Modernising the Great Western" (PDF). Network Rail. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  14. ↑ "Bristol to London line to be electrified". This Is Bristol (Northcliffe Media). 23 July 2009. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  15. ↑ "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.
  16. ↑ "FoSBR Newsletter" (PDF) (78). Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways. Autumn 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  17. ↑ White, James (13 March 2009). "Item 04: Greater Bristol Metro" (PDF). West of England Partnership. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  18. ↑ "Campaign for trains from Bristol Temple Meads every half hour". This is Bristol (Northcliffe Media). 17 January 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  19. ↑ "Transport Minister hears calls for better Bristol train service". This is Bristol. Northcliffe Media. 17 October 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  20. ↑ "Our Case". Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
  21. ↑ Ribbeck, Michael (6 July 2012). "£100 million Bristol Metro train network by 2016". The Post, Bristol (Northcliffe Media). Retrieved 6 July 2012.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to St Andrews Road railway station.