The Bristol Railway Archive

just read this in todays evening post http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Pro ... ticle.html

Quite right, we need those extra lines as soon as possible. Filton bank is a massive bottle neck affecting performance of trains countrywide with knock on delays as far reaching as Penzance and Aberdeen.

We don't want some cycle path that'll make putting right the wrongs of eighties difficult in the future. Perhaps the "22.8-million Cycling City programme" could be spent on the railway instead?!

Alex

what really gets me is that some idiot did not have the foresight to realise that reducing Filton bank to two tracks was bound to cause problems. Especially as it is the only way north as well now. The logic of ripping up a double tracked main line north out through Mangotsfield, and putting all the traffic on to route that was at the same time reduced from four to two tracks is beyond comprehension. I know it was the 70's but surely the railway planners were not on the wacky backy as well. To me it is a serious case of failure of forward thinking. The cost of putting those two tracks back must be enormous what with bridge refurbs etc. its no wonder Network rail are short of money they seem to delight in ripping up track to have to replace it years later at 10 times the cost of maintaining what was there in the first place.

horace wrote:The logic of ripping up a double tracked main line north out through Mangotsfield, and putting all the traffic on to route that was at the same time reduced from four to two tracks is beyond comprehension.

Wasn't there about 10 / 15 years between the closure of the Midland line and devastation of Filton Bank? I'd always assumed that management from the seventies were long gone by the time the government dictated reduction of track mileage came about in the eighties.

horace wrote:its no wonder Network rail are short of money they seem to delight in ripping up track to have to replace it years later at 10 times the cost of maintaining what was there in the first place.

Network Rail was founded in 2002, only 6 years ago so I don't think they can be blamed for the irresponsible behaviour of British Rail!

Alex

I was a member of the Bath road" LDC" in which we were consulted by the local management as to the reduction of two tracks from Larwence hill and Filton jct the management told two stories the first being that the bridge on the up & down main at Stapleton rd required heavy repairs as to which there was no money in the budget, the second tale which finally put paid to 4 roads was the track was to be lifted and relaid on the Berks &Hants line in the Pewsey area.The next stage was to carry out the reduction as soon as possible. One must understand that the Tory goverment promised money to the B R board and then cancelled it, the tracks be coming very bad in places in fact in another region there was a temporary speed restrictions from 90mph down to 40,50,30 all in a space of ten miles and lasted for a very long time and was on a very main line on the cross country lines.In fact the track condition's on BR in general during the early 1970"s were pretty poor.

Of course, the other Bristol line that was singled and then had to be re-doubled at huge expense was Hallen Marsh to Stoke Gifford.