The money will be spent providing a more regular train service between Bristol Temple Meads and Avonmouth.

The council voted to scrap the subsidy in 2006 after First Great Western (FGW) won the contract and agreed to continue to run an hourly service.

Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways (FOSBR) petitioned the council for a service running every 30 or 40 minutes.

FOSBR members sent 561 postcards to the council in response to a budget consultation.

Cut congestion

The Liberal Democrat-run council will allocate the money for an extra train for a trial period from December 2007 until March 2010.

They will spend £140,000 "for the first quarter" between winter 2007 and spring 2008 and an additional £450,000 has been allocated until the end of the three-year trial.

FOSBR campaigner Julie Boston said: "We're delighted by the decision. It shows the Lib Dems are listening to local people and that they want to use the local rail network to cut congestion.

"Running the more frequent service for a two to three-year trial period is a great idea - it will provide enough time to increase passenger numbers and show the potential of the line."

Council leader Barbara Janke said the money to pay for the extra train has come from a successful crackdown on fraudulent claims for 'lone household' discounts on council tax bills.

See also:

Grant agreed to up frequency of Severn Beach trains

Transport Briefing: 26/01/07

Bristol City Council has agreed to reinstate a £140,000 subsidy to rail services in the region in a move which could double train frequencies on the Severn Beach line.

The announcement was made at the council's cabinet meeting this week and follows a campaign by local train users to improve rail links. Cabinet has now proposed to give £140,000 to train operator First Great Western to support extra services on the line from December 2007 to spring 2008 and a total of £450,000 over the next three years. The investment will come into effect at the end of the year when the new winter rail timetable begins.

Trains along the line from Severn Beach to Bristol Temple Meads via stations including Avonmouth, Clifton Down, Redland and Stapleton Road ran half-hourly until the council scrapped its £136,000 annual subsidy in April 2006.

Julie Boston from Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways said: "At last we see hope. At the moment it is very difficult to use the branch line as a feeder to the main line because of the long times between trains. People have stopped using the service because it often leads to them missing their connections."

Council leader Barbara Janke said First must now come up with a "realistic and affordable" price for delivering improved train frequencies on the Severn Beach line. "It is critical that local authorities and their council taxpayers are not seen as a soft touch who will provide a blank cheque to private companies such as rail and bus operators."

At the cabinet meeting, Cllr Dennis Brown, executive member for transport, said the council would also consider spending money on ticket machines and CCTV.

A spokesman for the council said extra cash to support public transport has become available thanks in part to a successful crackdown by the council on fraudulent claims for 'lone household' discounts on council tax bills.

See also:

Bristol City Council's conditional support for improved rail services

24dash.com: 26/01/2007


Bristol City Council's rail concerns

Bristol City Council's Cabinet last night (Thursday) amended its draft budget to support improved services on the Severn Beach Rail Line and to further increase extra investment planned for street cleaning and care for older people.

However, the cabinet proposed to cap the amount the council will pay towards the improved rail services and is calling on First Great Western to come up with a 'realistic and affordable' price for delivering improved train frequencies on the Severn Beach line.

Council Leader Cllr Barbara Janke, said: "It is critical that local authorities and their council taxpayers are not seen as a soft touch who will provide a blank cheque to private companies such as rail and bus operators. We have a duty to ensure best value for the people of Bristol.

"We will want to ensure that any council subsidy for these rail services is comparable with the level of subsidy we currently provide for supported non-commercial bus services - which meet essential social needs and are often the only way people in some communities have of getting around the city.

"Some of the figures that have been bandied about for the likely cost of support for this improved rail service are simply unaffordable and it would be rash and irresponsible just to include whatever sum First Great Western demanded in our budget proposals.

"It is now up to the company to come forward with a realistic and affordable proposals for the improved service. We wll also want to be assured that they have effective systems in place to collect all the fares due from passengers and can, therefore, maximise their revenue income from the line. If necessary, we are prepared to consider the possibility of some additional capital investment in CCTV systems at stations to assist the rail company to ensure this."

The amendments tabled at last night's meeting, means that the Cabinet include £140,000 in its proposed 2007/08 budget to support additional services on the rail line during the first quarter of operation between Winter 2007and Spring 2008.

The council's three year financial plan will be changed to allow for full year costs of up to £450,000.

The Cabinet also plans to increase the sums already included in their draft budget for round-the-clock street cleaning and older people's services.

A further £200,000 will be added to the extra support planned for street cleaning whilst £48,000 more will help develop new services for older people.

The additional resources have become available thanks in part to a successful crackdown by the council on fraudulent claims for 'lone household' discounts on council tax bills.

The drive uncovered several thousand claimants who were found to be living with a partner or adult family member, despite claiming the 25% discount on their bills.

The council also secured a better than expected deal to buy 100% renewable energy for its street lighting, which has freed up some resources that might not otherwise have been available.

With the amendments, the Cabinet's draft budget will now provide for:

£1.65 million to deliver improved adult community care services, including new intensive packages of care for some 160 older people and adults with severe learning difficulties (previously £1.6m)
£450,000 to permanently fund round-the-clock street cleaning across the city and introduce the latest mechanical sweeping equipment to ensure the highest quality service (previously £200,000);
£190,000 to significantly increase the library materials fund to buy more books, DVDs and other materials and extend library opening times across the city;
£55,000 to support a network of 275 new mini recycling centres at blocks of flats
£35,000 to humanely tackle the problem of the city's rising seagull population;
£820,000 to maintain off-peak bus routes and park and ride services in the face of increasing operators costs - and speed up the legal processes needed to introduce traffic management and bus priority schemes.
£140,000 to support the first quarter's operation of an improved service on the Severn Beach Rail Line (new item)

The 2007/08 budget would deliver the first phase of the three-year Medium Term Financial Plan published earlier this year. The plan aims to invest at least an extra £21 million by the end of of the decade in the council's top priorities.

The new investment would be delivered while keeping council tax rises within government target levels - with a rise of no more than 4.44% on Band D council tax bills in 2007/08. (Please note this is marginally lower than the 4.5% originally proposed)

The annual revenue investment would be in addition to the council's multi-million pound capital building programme that will deliver:

* a new-look Colston Hall by 2008;
* a new Museum of Bristol by 2009;
* the Building Schools for the Future programme to transform most secondary schools by 2010;
* the Healthplex at Hengrove, providing a new leisure centre integrated with local health services by 2010;
* further improvements to library buildings, including some new libraries;
* initial design and development costs for refurbishment and improvement of South Bristol Pool;
* further improvements to disabled access at council buildings, including a lift to provide access to all floors at the City Museum.

Cllr Janke added: "The council's finances are in much better shape than they were a couple of years ago. This has been recognised by the Audit Commissin who recently gave us an improved rating for the way we manage our resources.

"As a result, we are in a position to provide further support for public transport, deliver new and better ways of caring for vulnerable people and make unprecedented levels of investment in library services and street cleaning. These are the issues that come up time and time again in our consultations, surveys and discussions with residents - so it is right that we make them our spending priorities.

"This budget alone won't meet all our challenges overnight but it represents a real step forward and is good news for the people of Bristol."

Cabinet's proposals and any amendments will be considered at the council meeting on February 27 when the budget and council tax levels for 2007/08 will be set.

See also:

RAIL BRANCH LINE WILL GET £140,000

Bristol Evening Post: 26 January 2007

Half-hourly services on the Severn Beach rail line may return after the city council pledged to reinstate its subsidy.

The surprise announcement came at the council's cabinet meeting last night where executive members discussed next year's council tax and budget.

The cabinet proposed to give £140,000 to First Great Western to support extra services on the line from December 2007 to spring 2008 and a total of £450,000 over the next three years.

The popular service, which runs from Severn Beach to Temple Meads via stations including Avonmouth, Clifton Down, Redland and Stapleton Road, ran half-hourly until the council scrapped its £136,000 annual subsidy last April. Campaigners who fought bitterly to have the trains reinstated said the council U-turn was a victory.

Julie Boston, of the Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways, said: "At last we see hope. We are really delighted and are going to celebrate. This will mean there will be two trains an hour.

"At the moment it is very difficult to use the branch line as a feeder to the main line because of the long times between trains. People have stopped using the service because it often leads to them missing their connections."

The investment will not come into effect until the end of the year, tying in with the next planned change of timetable.

The cabinet also said the council's three-year financial plan will be changed to allow for full-year costs of up to £450,000.

But council leader Barbara Janke said First was not to take the investment lightly and had to come up with a 'realistic and affordable' price for delivering improved train frequencies on the Severn Beach line.

She said: "It is critical that local authorities and their council taxpayers are not seen as a soft touch who will provide a blank cheque to private companies such as rail and bus operators."

At the meeting, Councillor Dennis Brown, executive member for transport, said the council would consider investing money in ticket machines and CCTV. He said: "The stations need refreshment. We are to consider on station ticketing. The risk to the machines will mean CCTV will be next."

First Great Western spokesman Andrew Griffiths said: "We welcome the announcement and look forward to working in partnership with the council."

The cabinet said the cash has become available thanks in part to a successful crackdown by the council on fraudulent claims for 'lone household' discounts on council tax bills.

Also approved last night was a plan to make 24-hour street cleaning throughout Bristol a permanent service. The street 'cleansing' service has traditionally worked between 6am and 4pm.

See also:

WE WANT TRAINS BACK

Bristol Evening Post: 24 January 2007

Rail protesters demonstrated outside Bristol's Council House and called on the city council to ensure a half-hourly train service from Avonmouth to Temple Meads is reinstated.Members of the Friends Of Suburban Bristol Railways (FOSBR) protested against last year's withdrawal of a subsidy for the service, which left passengers with a less convenient hourly service.

The pressure group would like to see the council put money back into the service when it announces its budget for 2007/08.

They would like to see one train added to the line to provide a half-hourly service, to increase passenger demand and reduce congestion.

After meeting Andrew Griffiths, regional manager of First Great Western, they say this would cost around £450,000. The council has previously said it would cost between £700,000 and £1 million to provide such a service.

In a statement to yesterday's council meeting, campaigner Cat Hobbs said: "The impression I get is that many councillors believe that increasing the frequency of trains from Temple Meads to Avonmouth is the right thing to do.

"They recognise the economic, social and environmental benefits that this would bring. They realise it would cut congestion, increase demand for rail travel and reduce carbon emissions.

"The cost of what we are asking for is a reasonable one. It would require an investment of approximately £500,000 per year to provide an extra one-coach train for running additional services on the Severn Beach line."

Your Views
The C2C line over here in Essex tried the same move before Christmas, cutting back on services under the disguise of improvements. But a sustained campaign made them revert back to the old timetable that worked. Inundate them with e-mails and letters,insist on a proper reply and keep up the pressure. You are getting good publicity and they are not so keep at it. Passenger pressure can work. Disrupt the services by blocking ticket offices and platforms but DON'T pull communication cords. Its the poor underpaid driver who has to sort that one out and the rail line can claim costs back from the government.
alan goff, Central London

I wish the campaigners all the best. A half-hourly service on the Severn Beach line would make better use of an underutilised resource. However, we have a council of fools that seems to think demonstration bus projects are the way forward in a city already being choked to death by road traffic.
Steve Woods, Easton