Better Transport

• Julie Boston send them a message
• Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways website

Traffic is a big problem in Bristol. We all suffer delay, pollution, noise, accidents and road rage. We all pay for expensive attempts to prevent all this. Yet Bristol fails to exploit an asset that would reduce traffic: our branch railways, neglected and disused, and our main line stations, obscure and dismantled, still make up a ready-to-use system other cities would envy, which might eventually be converted to light rail.

Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways (FOSBR) campaigns to:

• Defend services on the Severn Beach Railway
• Restore passenger services to Portishead, Pill, and Ashton, Chittening, Hallen and Henbury, Horfield and Ashley Down
• Increase services to Pilning, Patchway, Stapleton Road Lawrence Hill, Keynsham, Parson Street and Bedminster
• Improve connections with other railway lines and other forms of Public Transport

The group meets four times a year.

Next Meeting Date: Please contact the group for details.

Latest News :

September 2009: Date for your diary: Saturday 10th October. All are welcome to join us at the Village Hall, Ableton Lane, Severn Beach for a transport evening.  (PDF 225K)

The fun will start at 7 pm with a slide show "Around Bristol by Tram" presented by Peter Davey.  Not only are we in for a treat with Peter's talk which always attracts large audiences, the event will help the past inspire the present. The 45-minute presentation will be followed by a tea break and then, fortified, Peter Gould will lead a discussion on Severn Beach rail options to which we hope South Gloucestershire politicians and public will contribute

June 2009: FOSBR has drafted the following resolution, seconded by a rail worker, on “The Rail Industry During the Recession” to be considered at RMT's July meeting.

Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways support the RMT campaign to defend rail jobs and services and call on the Government to ensure that rail investment provides the green stimulus for the economy. Rail is the low-carbon alternative to cars and lorries and must be promoted to meet climate change commitments.

Watch a video made by local campaigner, Julie Boston

 

April 2009: First Bus have announced the closure in April 2009 of the Travel Shop in Colston Avenue and its replacement by an outlet in the Marlborough Street bus station, which is used mainly for sub-regional and national bus and coach services. You may wish to sign a petition to request Bristol City Council to retain this valuable and highly visible resource for the travelling public in Bristol rather than its replacement by an outlet in the Marlborough Street 'bus station' which provides few Bristol City services and is not considered by many residents to be Bristol's bus station.

 

March 2009: Last month the South West Regional Assembly decided to fund rural road schemes ahead of new public transport schemes. But it's not too late to email Ben Bradshaw, Minister for the South West (bradshaw@parliament.uk), as well as your MP and the Council Cabinet member responsible for Transport in your Authority saying that the Regional Assembly has got its priorities wrong. Rail around Bristol, not rural bypasses, meet the Government's economic and environmental criteria.

And please support these events:

On Tuesday 31 March, from 5:30pm to 6pm, meet at the entrance to Council House. Tony Lloyd will make a statement about an extra train between Temple Meads and Avonmouth. We'll be there with Half Hour Train Campaign placards and singalong train songs.

On Monday 4 May, FOSBR will have a stall at the Redland May Day Fair.

On Sunday 17 May, meet at Shirehampton Station at 3pm to celebrate the first anniversary of the 50% improved service with a spectacular train cake!

23 February 2009: In a press release (PDF, 22K), Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways and Transport for Greater Bristol Alliance have expressed anger at the decision by the South West Regional Assembly members to fund rural road schemes ahead of new public transport schemes in the towns and cities.

February 2009: Over 1,200 people have now sent postcards to the West of England Partnership to support the reopening of the rail line to Portishead and the freight line between Avonmouth and Bristol Parkway.

21 November 2008: The group held a successful rally in support of a Portishead and North Bristol passenger rail service. They sent over 800 postcards to the West of England Partnership (see photo above), asking them to include the Portishead line and Henbury loop in its list for the Regional Funding Allocation.

19 May 2008: The Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways celebrated an improved rail service on the Severn Beach Line. Due to a £900,000 investment by the Bristol City Council the service will run more frequently on weekdays and will run on Sundays.

Tuesday 15 January 2008: FOSBR made a submission to 'State of the City' debate organised by Bristol City Council. See our website for details.