The Bristol Railway Archive

Rail Service to Thornbury

According to the plan set out in the Evening Post recently, a passenger rail link to Thornbury is again shown on the wish-list.

How realistic is this proposal?

Has feasibility study been done on this particular new stretch of the urban rail network - likely costs, patronage, availability? The Severn Beach line, though well patronised, only survives with a subsidy.

Admittedly, the Thornbury catchment area,, including Alveston and the Marlwood school area stretching up to Berkley and Wootton-Under Edge, and across to Iron Acton and Chipping Sodbury, is probably a lot larger than the Severn Beach area. But a large car parking area would be required at the terminus. And it would be competing for funding with the proposed Portishead line. But perhaps the local preserved steam railway society could provide services outside of peak rush hours.

Finally, such a service would still suffers from the commuter disadvantage of ending at Temple Meads away from the CBD. And services will have to be fitted in with quarry train schedules (mostly infrequent). Where do most of the Severn Line commuters get off the train? Unless timely and cost effective for commuters is there any chance the proposal will ever fly.

Ron Wells
New Zealand

I first remember getting excited about an Evening Post story that told us that trams and a Metro system for Bristol was just around the corner.

I believe that was in 1969

When it comes to proposals for railway works in the Brisol area, the Evening Post is better for wrapping your chips in.

Lets have a look at the practicalities. In railway terms, Thornbury is not a very big place, and by no means do all of its commuters want to go to Bristol. By no means does all of its leisure and shopping traffic either, a good proportion of which will no doubt be heading for Cribbs Causeway, where there is no station or any likelihood of there ever being one.

In railway terms, its catchment area is Thornbury and the immediate vicinity only. Berkeley and Wootton under Edge traffic, if they wanted to use the railway at all, would be heading for Cam & Dursley (northbound) or Yate (southbound), if not Parkway, Stroud or Gloucester for main line services.

Tytherington and Iron Acton are villages about as significant in railway terms as Blake Hall and North Weald stations were on the former Central Line Epping to Ongar service (and you know what happened to that ). I can hardly see anybody from Chipping Sodbury getting into their car to drive to Thornbury to catch a train, when a) they'd drive past Yate station to get there, then come back through it, or b) could get to Parkway just as quicky with a greater selection of destinations.

Then we come to the physical practicalities. The railway effectively goes through Grovesend Quarry. There is a tunnel that would need opening back up again. Much of the railway formation that still survives from the A38 into the town is now a cycle track/ footpath (cue Sustrans getting out their standard letters of objection as we speak), and the former railway station and yard is now a Trading estate. There is of course room next to it on the south side for a huge car park - on a green field site, of course, so the tree huggers will be up in arms if the matter is even pondered over.

But leaving all that lot to one side, less than 10 miles away you already have a railhead (Parkway), and around 5 miles away you have the Almondsbury M4/M5 interchange, giving road acces to most parts of the country.

As you have probably gleaned by now, I won't be holding my breath