Paul Smith has backed the campaign to open rail lines to Portishead and henbury.  Speaking at the rally in Bristol Paul said, "Re-opening the rail routes using the existing infastructure is a no brainer.  Railway workers should be seen as the 'Green collar' workers that will be part of the growth in our economy. The route to Portishead should be accepted by the West of England Partnership as a priority".  The campaign organised by FOSBR has all party support.

FOSBR news release

PORTISHEAD AND NORTH BRISTOL RAIL CAMPAIGN CLAIMS

ITS FIRST SUCCESS:

Transport campaigners are celebrating the progress of the Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways’ (FOSBR) campaign for the reopening of the railway to Portishead and the line from Avonmouth to Bristol Parkway via Henbury (1).

The West of England Partnership (which coordinates transport policy for the ex-Avon authorities) has told FOSBR that, as well as improvements to the service between Yate and Weston-Super-Mare, it plans to include the Portishead line as “an expression of interest” for inclusion in the South West region’s transport funding bid to the government.

As a result of the public response to the campaign, the reopening of the Portishead and Henbury lines will now be on the agenda at the West of England meetings on December 12^th and December 18^th. However the West of England Partnership are still not convinced of the merits of the Henbury line and will not recommend it to the region.

Rob Dixon, a member of the FOSBR campaign team said, “the Henbury line runs close to major employers such as Airbus and Rolls Royce and next to a proposed housing development. There have been huge increases in passenger numbers in the area but our local councils still seem to lack the political will when it comes to taking this easy step towards tackling the dreadful congestion problems around the region. There is widespread public support for the reopening of the Henbury line and we believe it could be opened now if councils wanted to do it” (2).

On Thursday (27^th November) the South West Regional Assembly Transport Committee meets to discuss transport in the region (3). Peter Gould, FOSBR representative who is timetabled to speak, will say “as a result of this campaign I will be able to argue the case for these railway lines knowing that we have the backing of the public. We urge people to continue to press our elected representatives for these schemes”.

At a rally last Friday outside the West of England Partnership’s offices in Bristol, James White, the group leader for transport policy, showed the campaigners the collection of over 800 cards received so far by supporters from around the west. Besides counting the cards, staff at the Partnership will note where senders live and the comments they make. The FOSBR campaign team told Mr White that he should expect many more cards in the next few months, as FOSBR will continue to campaign until the region submits its bids for government funds in February.

As well as representatives from the RMT and ASLEF rail unions, politicians from Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative parties also attended and stated their support. Charlie Bolton, Green councillor on Bristol City Council, has also given his backing to the campaign. Besides statements of support, politicians agreed to speak to their colleagues on other councils in the region to let them know the strength of support for including these railway lines in the bid for funding. Julie Boston, Secretary of FOSBR, said that this showed the cross-party nature of the campaign.

All speakers noted that, as well as being popular with the public, the reopening of these railways would significantly reduce traffic congestion and provide public transport alternatives to large employers such as Rolls Royce and Airbus.

Message ends.

Notes for Editors:

1) FOSBR campaigns for a half-hourly service to local stations and the reopening of the railway to Portishead and from Avonmouth to Bristol Parkway via Henbury.

The line to Portishead is open to goods traffic as far as Portbury docks. The remaining 3 miles needs to be reinstated. The track bed and site for Portishead station are owned by North Somerset council. It is estimated that it will cost £8 -15 million. This compares very well with road schemes.

The line from Avonmouth to Bristol Parkway is fully open to goods traffic and therefore requires minimal extra expenditure to reopen it to passengers. It passes next to Airbus and close to Rolls Royce, Royal Mail and Filton College.

2) In the ten years from 1995 to 2005 the number of passengers at stations in the Greater Bristol area doubled. In the two years from 2005 to 2007 there have been further huge increases of (for example) 91% at Patchway, 26% at Worle, 41.5% at Avonmouth and 165% at Parson Street. The greatest increases in passenger numbers have occurred at local and suburban rather than major stations. Since a more regular service was introduced on the Severn Beach line in May 2008 passenger numbers have increased by further 30% in only a few months. FOSBR believes the demand is there for increasing local services.

3) The South-West Regional Assembly is made up of representatives from councils and other organisations throughout the south west region. The region reaches from Bristol to Devon and Cornwall. Local members include Helen Holland (Labour) (Deputy Chair) and Steve Comer (Lib Dem) from Bristol, and Pat Hockey (Lib Dem) from South Gloucestershire. The Assembly bids for and allocates funding from the government.

The Transport Committee of the regional Assembly decides transport priorities and then prepares bids for funding. In order to be included for consideration, any scheme in our area must be approved and submitted by the West of England Partnership.

Funding from the government will become available in the new year, via the “Regional Funding Allocation”.