I grew up with trains. My dad worked for the Dutch Railway ( NS=Nederlandse Spoorwegen) from pre war till 1961. I went to school daily by train as a child. Love trains. I had a train day yesterday...and now `I am enjoying the visuals being able to place myself as a railway lover in the area you are in. Where would we be without the railways...great way to travel. I wouldn't mind if freight was only transported on rail either, keeping roads more safe and traffic free. Have a great Easter weekend and see you again soon. 🙏 🇳🇱 🙋♀ 🇳🇿
Wow! That's an amazing piece of background information and history there. That must have been great to have gone to school on the train every day. Your childhood train experiences must have rubbed off onto you. Yes, I would like to see more freight go back onto the railways - our roads here in the UK are chocked with traffic. Thanks for watching and commeting, Take care and Happy Easter, Paul.
Yes, and construction about to start on the Portishead branch very soon as well as a brace of station reopenings around Bristol. Good to see! Thanks so much for watching and commenting 👍 it is much appreciated. Paul.
Thanks- I think you have the ability to make any topic interesting! As for HS2 - just pure desecration & they seem to be taking forever to build it.And honestly if it doesn’t deliver passengers into London Central than it’s worthless. Not sure if I mentioned it before somewhere but it is going to have a stop as well at a village called Calvert;except it will become ‘city scale’ eventually. That’s the plan apparently.
Thank you Diana! You're too kind! Yes, hopefully this will take some traffic off of our busy roads, but, as you say I fear that HS2 won't! Although it is well outside of my area, I have heard of Calvert (north of Bicester?) - I think it was originially on the Varsity line from Oxford to Cambridge. That's a real shame as that is, I think (or was) a deeply rural area. Happy Easter to you and your family. Paul.
Sorry forgot to answer your question- yes you are correct Calvert is near Bicester - I think it was a brickworks area but I may be wrong so not rural in that sense but I think it has been earmarked for a new town- very close to HS2 so the 2 rail lines cross nearby. Therefore ideal for a station but I have since seen that Bucks C.C.may now change their minds re the station! It’s probably a done deal though.
@@dianarolph1770 Ironically, my most viewed video is from Bicester! It is out of my area, but it was by popular request - I looked at the Bicester Military Railway. I do know some of that area - I was in digs for over a year in that area when I was store manager of Woolworths in Bicester in the late 1990s. I commuted back to Cornwall, where my family were, every weekend.
You would never guess that Bicester barracks would attract such interest! Oh that was hard for you doing that commute ( having said that I worked with a lady who commuted to Penzance from Milton Keynes most weekends). I’m so glad you didn’t continue with that journey and were able to get back to your family- that’s so important. Coming off topic I do miss Woolworths😕
@@dianarolph1770 Yes, it was 265 miles in each direction, 530 miles every weekend. It wasn't my choice; I was posted there from St. Ives store by the powers that be! Yes, it is so sad that Woolworths has gone. Long story, but it went under because it bought a single hardware shop (true!). That shop (in Southampton) was called (Richard) Block & (David) Quayle - it morphed into B&Q, which later became bigger than Woolworths itself. The managers of Kingfisher (which also owned Comet and Superdrug, as well as Woolworths and B&Q) wanted to expand B&Q shops into China, but they needed capital funds to do it. To get the funds, they sold all of Woolworths freeholds (including 'my' own store of St. Ives in Cornwall). Woolworths stores then had to pay commercial rents, which went up exponentially. Unfortunately, the sales didn't! If only it hadn't bought that single little hardware shop, it may still be here today!
I've lived in Bristol all my life and I've only ever used Bristol Temple Meads and walked past my local heritage line, good to have a peak at the other local stations!
Yes, St. Andrews Road in Avonmouth is certainly a bit of an oddity! Be good to see the stations at Filton North and Hanbury reopened again, as well as the Portishead line. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Paul 🙂👍
It might be used by people working at the huge distribution warehouses nearby. I walked from Severn Beach a few years ago, never again, although I did hear that there were plans to make a path or at least make the route a little more pedestrian - friendly. Good video, many thanks
Very! I didn't want to hang around there too long! The new station at Portway P&R will save a lot in parking and ULEZ fees though - it is free to park there. Also convenient for people who live in Portishead, Clevedon and Thornbury who want to make longer journeys from Bristol Temple Meads - surprised it was not built earlier! Another station in Bristol is currently being built, and a couple more are on the way very soon. Thanks for watching! Cheers, Paul.
Great video. The timetable on the Severn Beach line was only enhanced in the last year to provide a 30 min frequency with every other train going to/or coming from Weston-s-Mare, prior to that all journeys terminated at Temple Meads. Bizarrely the only train going through to Exeter is the one you mentioned on Sundays, but the current timetable also shows one train continuing to Salisbury on Monday to Fridays! Unfortunately, I understand that the West of England Combined Authority are not planning to progress with the Henbury Loop project, the trains to Henbury will terminate at that station and operate back to Temple Meads instead of continuing on to Avonmouth.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the video. Yes, I understand that the Henbury Loop won't be a Loop for passengers, sadly. Seems a shame and a unnecessary restriction to operate it as an effectual siding. Thanks so much, Cheers! Paul
Enjoyed seeing this blog Paul. Your railway knowledge is bar none. Through train to Exeter is very good indeed. Partway park & Ride will be useful to see Bristol attractions. Thank you for sharing this with us. 👍🏻🚶🏻♂️🚶🏼♀️
Cheers Watto. I am not really much of a railway buff; I just have a passing interest in railway lines and routes, and I am always interested in new stations to help to get cars off our over busy roads, and help reduce climate change. I know nothing about locos! Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Paul
Yes, only a couple more weeks to go, I think. It isn't quite in the Parkend (Dean Forest Rly) or St. Pancras league of stations though for asthetic beauty, but as long as it fulfills a function and takes cars off the road, that can only be a good thing. Thanks Ron! Cheers, Paul
The silos at St Andrews Road were installed in the early 1990s when the Bristol Port Company invested £120million to develop a modern and efficient coal handling and distribution facility. The new coal terminal had the capacity to handle some 12 million tonnes of coal per year, this was thanks to the state-of-the-art equipment which included Europe’s longest coal conveyor belt which took coal from ships in Royal Portbury Dock across the River Avon to the two 2,500ton rapid loading bunkers capable of loading 1,750ton onto awaiting trains in under 36 minutes. But as the UK turned to renewable energy sources the demand for coal imports dramatically reduced with net imports down 91% from its 2013 peak, in 2018 the Bristol Port Company completely stopped all imports of coal.
Thank you for the additional background information. I wonder what will be the fate of these large silos? It was quite an impressive set up here. Cheers, Paul
Thank you Louise! Yes, I hope to visit the new one in Exeter shortly after it opens, and combine it with a walk by the River Exe - maybe Starcross or Dawlish Warren too! Take care, Paul 🙂👍
Hi Roy! Yes, it will be good for commuters and visitors to Bristol, coming from the M5 direction, and for those living west of the city centre. Free car parking at the park and ride. It should open very soon - as soon as the surfacing on the car park extension has been completed. Several new stations will be opening in and around Bristol. There will also be some new stations on the Camp Hill Line going into Birmingham New Street too from the Longbridge direction. Cheers, Paul.
Thank you 👍 thanks for watching and commenting. Take care, Paul 🙂 PS thank you too for being one of my very first subscribers a couple of years ago and sticking with the channel - it is very much appreciated 👍
Yes, it certainly was a bit different, but I try to avoid any sort of formula with my channel's style. Thank you for watching and commenting it is very much appreciated. Take care, Paul 👍
St Andrews Road was also featured in Paul Merton's Channel 4 series 'Secret Stations' (based on the excellent book by Dixe Wills) Incidentally Holesmouth Junction Signal Box (which controlled the sidings leading into Avonmouth's Royal Edward Dock) as well as signal's from nearby Hallen Marsh were relocated in 1988 to Vintage Trains Tyseley depot in Birmingham where they will be available to view on open days this May
Tyseley preservation centre is an oddity. I remember going around it in the 1970s, but when I visited fairy recently it looked to have closed with no locos and barbed wire around the site looking very dilapidated. Has it recently reopened? I don't watch TV, so I didn't see that. Thank you so much for the additional information Stephen. Cheers, Paul.
@@westcountrywanderings Yes Tyseley Works is only accessible on Open Days nowadays with a big '4 castle' event coming up in June Btw back in Bristol there is still a large surviving Signal Box in situ of the same vintage (1910) controlling St Andrews Rd crossing to the south of the station
Ah, thank you! I didn't notice that. I may do an explore of the former Portishead branch prior to reopening work taking place as a future video. Cheers, Paul.
I won't film it on the opening day, with all the press there and too many people around. I hope to combine a visit there after it opens with a riverside walk. It is amazing how many more stations Exeter will have compared to Plymouth, when the latter is over twice the size. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Paul 👍🙂
@Westcountry Wanderings yes but Plymouth closed all theirs years ago and has been undergoing deforrestation lately, soon it'll be a proper concrete jungle. I went to the Double Locks (up the canal rather than river) for lunch today, recommended.
Hi Paul, Great to see some new investment on the railways coming to fruition, by the looks of things they will be well placed to ease congestion ..... that said the carpark extension is clearly for the anticipated arrival of hundreds of UA-camrs😂😂😂 Shame there was no broad gauge track being used for the railings😉😉. Great subject for your videos, does the HST2 cross your patch? Good luck from Spain!!
Thank you David. Yes, I thought I'd get this video in before Paul & Rebecca Whitewick, Geoff Marshall and Henry's Adventures, and all the others arrive. I'd hate to be there on opening day. Thankfully, the mass environmental destruction that is HS2 is well away from the South West Region. I feel sorry for those that live near it. It will also offer zero benefits to this region too. It is great news though that the Portishead Branch is to be reopened - it should never have closed and is was still well used up until it's demise. Thanks again and thank you for your support too. It means a lot. Take care, Paul 👍🙂
@@westcountrywanderings Hi Paul, I suppose whatever we might think it's not going to get cancelled now, I really hope it's not a blot on the landscape (Tom Sharpe - do you remember that book and BBC series?). Spain is still building HST lines and gradually a whole new network on standard gauge is taking place. It makes sense here because of the long distances and sparsely populated countryside. All the best
I don't know what it is about how the HS2 project is being handled David, but all of the environmental factors (cutting down ancient woods, which was simply unnecessary) are dealt with in a very heavy handed way - added to which there are already two very fast lines between Birmingham and London. The costs are way, way over what they need to be, and I get the impression that management consultants and property developers are milking the public accounts for all they are worth. The latest, according to 'Rail' magazine, is that the London end of HS2 won't even get to London now - Old Oak Common instead, which has no onward public transport to the city centre. I can't see business people paying a premium to go to Old Oak Common at high speed! I can see the point of High Speed Lines as a concept (I had a railway holiday a few years ago from Cornwall to Nice in France on the High Speed Lines - it was fantastic), and our HS1 is fantastic too. I just think that 1/10th of the cost in this instance could have been used to reopen 100s of miles of previous closed track and stations in areas where there is massive road over crowding, which would benefit potentially many more people, as well as take more traffic off the roads. A lot of people who have had homes compulsory purchased are still in temporary accommodation and waiting for the costs of their property to be repaid. It is such a badly handled mess, and the developers of HS2 have no hope of recouping their CapEx costs in this new sensible working from home era we are in now. I'm not even convinced that this particular HS project will ever be completed. It is such a wasted opportunity, I feel, and many rail managers seem to hold the same view, according to the railway press. It is such a huge loss of public funds, when there are so many other areas, like the NHS and social care and education which really are desperate right now.
@@westcountrywanderings That is a sad state of affairs, it really is. I totally agree with all you say. In this digital day and age there is no real benefit. The loss of ancient woodland is criminal. I, along with you, despair!!
Thank you. I saw the old power station at Didcot where the coal went to. Looks like there is another (non-coal) power station there now - perhaps linked to the incinerator? Looks odd now that the cooling towers have gone!
This beyond sad. This is the best the city gets. Were a joke. This isn't the city at it's peak. The little people have waited to long and have stuck to cars for decades.
My take on it, is that this is a long time coming, but there needs to be a P&R for the North of the City, and they need to get on with reopening the Portishead Branch and reverting the Henbury loop for passengers too. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Paul.
I grew up with trains. My dad worked for the Dutch Railway ( NS=Nederlandse Spoorwegen) from pre war till 1961. I went to school daily by train as a child. Love trains. I had a train day yesterday...and now `I am enjoying the visuals being able to place myself as a railway lover in the area you are in. Where would we be without the railways...great way to travel. I wouldn't mind if freight was only transported on rail either, keeping roads more safe and traffic free. Have a great Easter weekend and see you again soon. 🙏 🇳🇱 🙋♀ 🇳🇿
Wow! That's an amazing piece of background information and history there. That must have been great to have gone to school on the train every day. Your childhood train experiences must have rubbed off onto you. Yes, I would like to see more freight go back onto the railways - our roads here in the UK are chocked with traffic. Thanks for watching and commeting, Take care and Happy Easter, Paul.
کمال ویڈیو زبردست بہت خوب
تمھارا بہت شکريہ! خوشی ہے کہ آپ نے اس سے لطف اٹھایا. دیکھنے اور تبصرہ کرنے کے لئے شکریہ. دیکھ بھال کرو، پال
"Please wait".. just about sums up British railways ☺
🤣hah, yes! Often, these information machines don't work. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Paul 👍
Good to see new openings and increased/through services on this line - very much a Cinderalla line when I visited many years ago. Thank you!
Yes, and construction about to start on the Portishead branch very soon as well as a brace of station reopenings around Bristol. Good to see! Thanks so much for watching and commenting 👍 it is much appreciated. Paul.
Thanks- I think you have the ability to make any topic interesting! As for HS2 - just pure desecration & they seem to be taking forever to build it.And honestly if it doesn’t deliver passengers into London Central than it’s worthless. Not sure if I mentioned it before somewhere but it is going to have a stop as well at a village called Calvert;except it will become ‘city scale’ eventually. That’s the plan apparently.
Thank you Diana! You're too kind! Yes, hopefully this will take some traffic off of our busy roads, but, as you say I fear that HS2 won't! Although it is well outside of my area, I have heard of Calvert (north of Bicester?) - I think it was originially on the Varsity line from Oxford to Cambridge. That's a real shame as that is, I think (or was) a deeply rural area. Happy Easter to you and your family. Paul.
Sorry forgot to answer your question- yes you are correct Calvert is near Bicester - I think it was a brickworks area but I may be wrong so not rural in that sense but I think it has been earmarked for a new town- very close to HS2 so the 2 rail lines cross nearby. Therefore ideal for a station but I have since seen that Bucks C.C.may now change their minds re the station! It’s probably a done deal though.
@@dianarolph1770 Ironically, my most viewed video is from Bicester! It is out of my area, but it was by popular request - I looked at the Bicester Military Railway. I do know some of that area - I was in digs for over a year in that area when I was store manager of Woolworths in Bicester in the late 1990s. I commuted back to Cornwall, where my family were, every weekend.
You would never guess that Bicester barracks would attract such interest! Oh that was hard for you doing that commute ( having said that I worked with a lady who commuted to Penzance from Milton Keynes most weekends). I’m so glad you didn’t continue with that journey and were able to get back to your family- that’s so important. Coming off topic I do miss Woolworths😕
@@dianarolph1770 Yes, it was 265 miles in each direction, 530 miles every weekend. It wasn't my choice; I was posted there from St. Ives store by the powers that be! Yes, it is so sad that Woolworths has gone. Long story, but it went under because it bought a single hardware shop (true!). That shop (in Southampton) was called (Richard) Block & (David) Quayle - it morphed into B&Q, which later became bigger than Woolworths itself. The managers of Kingfisher (which also owned Comet and Superdrug, as well as Woolworths and B&Q) wanted to expand B&Q shops into China, but they needed capital funds to do it. To get the funds, they sold all of Woolworths freeholds (including 'my' own store of St. Ives in Cornwall). Woolworths stores then had to pay commercial rents, which went up exponentially. Unfortunately, the sales didn't! If only it hadn't bought that single little hardware shop, it may still be here today!
I've lived in Bristol all my life and I've only ever used Bristol Temple Meads and walked past my local heritage line, good to have a peak at the other local stations!
Yes, St. Andrews Road in Avonmouth is certainly a bit of an oddity! Be good to see the stations at Filton North and Hanbury reopened again, as well as the Portishead line. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Paul 🙂👍
I appreciate what you did THANKS
Thank you 👍
St Andrew's Road is bleak! Welcome to Bristol
It might be used by people working at the huge distribution warehouses nearby. I walked from Severn Beach a few years ago, never again, although I did hear that there were plans to make a path or at least make the route a little more pedestrian - friendly. Good video, many thanks
Very! I didn't want to hang around there too long! The new station at Portway P&R will save a lot in parking and ULEZ fees though - it is free to park there. Also convenient for people who live in Portishead, Clevedon and Thornbury who want to make longer journeys from Bristol Temple Meads - surprised it was not built earlier! Another station in Bristol is currently being built, and a couple more are on the way very soon. Thanks for watching! Cheers, Paul.
Something different Paul but still a very interesting watch. Thank you for sharing.
Hopefully, I won't be back in an urban area for some considerable time. Thank you for watching and commenting 👍 Cheers, Paul 🙂
Great video. The timetable on the Severn Beach line was only enhanced in the last year to provide a 30 min frequency with every other train going to/or coming from Weston-s-Mare, prior to that all journeys terminated at Temple Meads. Bizarrely the only train going through to Exeter is the one you mentioned on Sundays, but the current timetable also shows one train continuing to Salisbury on Monday to Fridays! Unfortunately, I understand that the West of England Combined Authority are not planning to progress with the Henbury Loop project, the trains to Henbury will terminate at that station and operate back to Temple Meads instead of continuing on to Avonmouth.
Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed the video.
Yes, I understand that the Henbury Loop won't be a Loop for passengers, sadly. Seems a shame and a unnecessary restriction to operate it as an effectual siding.
Thanks so much,
Cheers!
Paul
Enjoyed seeing this blog Paul. Your railway knowledge is bar none. Through train to Exeter is very good indeed. Partway park & Ride will be useful to see Bristol attractions. Thank you for sharing this with us. 👍🏻🚶🏻♂️🚶🏼♀️
Cheers Watto. I am not really much of a railway buff; I just have a passing interest in railway lines and routes, and I am always interested in new stations to help to get cars off our over busy roads, and help reduce climate change. I know nothing about locos! Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Paul
Hi Paul, I have been hearing rumors about the opening of Portway station for years, good to see it is nearly there. Ron
Yes, only a couple more weeks to go, I think. It isn't quite in the Parkend (Dean Forest Rly) or St. Pancras league of stations though for asthetic beauty, but as long as it fulfills a function and takes cars off the road, that can only be a good thing. Thanks Ron! Cheers, Paul
The silos at St Andrews Road were installed in the early 1990s when the Bristol Port Company invested £120million to develop a modern and efficient coal handling and distribution facility. The new coal terminal had the capacity to handle some 12 million tonnes of coal per year, this was thanks to the state-of-the-art equipment which included Europe’s longest coal conveyor belt which took coal from ships in Royal Portbury Dock across the River Avon to the two 2,500ton rapid loading bunkers capable of loading 1,750ton onto awaiting trains in under 36 minutes. But as the UK turned to renewable energy sources the demand for coal imports dramatically reduced with net imports down 91% from its 2013 peak, in 2018 the Bristol Port Company completely stopped all imports of coal.
Thank you for the additional background information.
I wonder what will be the fate of these large silos?
It was quite an impressive set up here.
Cheers,
Paul
Like 31 Great videomentary Paul 🫶🫶🫶 So interesting to see this train station and hear you describing the route 👏👏👏 All aboard 🫡🫡🫡
Thank you Don! Glad you enjoyed the video. It is so heartening to see new stations opening and old lines reopening too. Take care, Paul 🙂 👍
That was really interesting Paul! I had not heard about the new Marsh Barton station either.
Thank you Louise! Yes, I hope to visit the new one in Exeter shortly after it opens, and combine it with a walk by the River Exe - maybe Starcross or Dawlish Warren too! Take care, Paul 🙂👍
Thank you, I enjoyed this. Warm wishes from Millionaire Paul :)
Thank you Paul! Glad you liked it! Take care, Paul.
hi Paul nice video,looks a nice station👌
Hi Roy! Yes, it will be good for commuters and visitors to Bristol, coming from the M5 direction, and for those living west of the city centre. Free car parking at the park and ride. It should open very soon - as soon as the surfacing on the car park extension has been completed. Several new stations will be opening in and around Bristol. There will also be some new stations on the Camp Hill Line going into Birmingham New Street too from the Longbridge direction. Cheers, Paul.
Nice images of the railway station!
Thank you 👍 thanks for watching and commenting. Take care, Paul 🙂 PS thank you too for being one of my very first subscribers a couple of years ago and sticking with the channel - it is very much appreciated 👍
Thankyou for that paul. A bit different to your usual videos. Ive shared rhis with a friend who lives in Bristol
Yes, it certainly was a bit different, but I try to avoid any sort of formula with my channel's style. Thank you for watching and commenting it is very much appreciated. Take care, Paul 👍
Is the station at the mouth of this Avon, that Avon or the other Avon ?? (Referencing your Salisbury video) I'm so glad you include maps.
Thank you Faith. Take care, Paul 👍🙂
St Andrews Road was also featured in Paul Merton's Channel 4 series 'Secret Stations'
(based on the excellent book by Dixe Wills)
Incidentally Holesmouth Junction Signal Box (which controlled the sidings leading into Avonmouth's Royal Edward Dock) as well as signal's from nearby Hallen Marsh were
relocated in 1988 to Vintage Trains Tyseley
depot in Birmingham where they will be
available to view on open days this May
Tyseley preservation centre is an oddity. I remember going around it in the 1970s, but when I visited fairy recently it looked to have closed with no locos and barbed wire around the site looking very dilapidated. Has it recently reopened? I don't watch TV, so I didn't see that. Thank you so much for the additional information Stephen. Cheers, Paul.
@@westcountrywanderings
Yes Tyseley Works is only accessible on
Open Days nowadays with a big '4 castle'
event coming up in June
Btw back in Bristol there is still a large
surviving Signal Box in situ of the same
vintage (1910) controlling St Andrews Rd
crossing to the south of the station
Ah, thank you! I didn't notice that. I may do an explore of the former Portishead branch prior to reopening work taking place as a future video. Cheers, Paul.
Latest info is that Marsh Barton will open in "spring" no firm date as yet.
I won't film it on the opening day, with all the press there and too many people around. I hope to combine a visit there after it opens with a riverside walk. It is amazing how many more stations Exeter will have compared to Plymouth, when the latter is over twice the size. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Paul 👍🙂
@Westcountry Wanderings yes but Plymouth closed all theirs years ago and has been undergoing deforrestation lately, soon it'll be a proper concrete jungle.
I went to the Double Locks (up the canal rather than river) for lunch today, recommended.
Hi Paul, Great to see some new investment on the railways coming to fruition, by the looks of things they will be well placed to ease congestion ..... that said the carpark extension is clearly for the anticipated arrival of hundreds of UA-camrs😂😂😂
Shame there was no broad gauge track being used for the railings😉😉.
Great subject for your videos, does the HST2 cross your patch?
Good luck from Spain!!
Thank you David. Yes, I thought I'd get this video in before Paul & Rebecca Whitewick, Geoff Marshall and Henry's Adventures, and all the others arrive. I'd hate to be there on opening day. Thankfully, the mass environmental destruction that is HS2 is well away from the South West Region. I feel sorry for those that live near it. It will also offer zero benefits to this region too. It is great news though that the Portishead Branch is to be reopened - it should never have closed and is was still well used up until it's demise. Thanks again and thank you for your support too. It means a lot. Take care, Paul 👍🙂
@@westcountrywanderings Hi Paul, I suppose whatever we might think it's not going to get cancelled now, I really hope it's not a blot on the landscape (Tom Sharpe - do you remember that book and BBC series?).
Spain is still building HST lines and gradually a whole new network on standard gauge is taking place. It makes sense here because of the long distances and sparsely populated countryside.
All the best
I don't know what it is about how the HS2 project is being handled David, but all of the environmental factors (cutting down ancient woods, which was simply unnecessary) are dealt with in a very heavy handed way - added to which there are already two very fast lines between Birmingham and London. The costs are way, way over what they need to be, and I get the impression that management consultants and property developers are milking the public accounts for all they are worth. The latest, according to 'Rail' magazine, is that the London end of HS2 won't even get to London now - Old Oak Common instead, which has no onward public transport to the city centre. I can't see business people paying a premium to go to Old Oak Common at high speed! I can see the point of High Speed Lines as a concept (I had a railway holiday a few years ago from Cornwall to Nice in France on the High Speed Lines - it was fantastic), and our HS1 is fantastic too. I just think that 1/10th of the cost in this instance could have been used to reopen 100s of miles of previous closed track and stations in areas where there is massive road over crowding, which would benefit potentially many more people, as well as take more traffic off the roads. A lot of people who have had homes compulsory purchased are still in temporary accommodation and waiting for the costs of their property to be repaid. It is such a badly handled mess, and the developers of HS2 have no hope of recouping their CapEx costs in this new sensible working from home era we are in now. I'm not even convinced that this particular HS project will ever be completed. It is such a wasted opportunity, I feel, and many rail managers seem to hold the same view, according to the railway press. It is such a huge loss of public funds, when there are so many other areas, like the NHS and social care and education which really are desperate right now.
@@westcountrywanderings That is a sad state of affairs, it really is. I totally agree with all you say.
In this digital day and age there is no real benefit. The loss of ancient woodland is criminal.
I, along with you, despair!!
Yes, it really is! Take care David.
Silos were used for unloading imported coal tht got shipped in
Thank you. I saw the old power station at Didcot where the coal went to. Looks like there is another (non-coal) power station there now - perhaps linked to the incinerator? Looks odd now that the cooling towers have gone!
This beyond sad. This is the best the city gets. Were a joke. This isn't the city at it's peak. The little people have waited to long and have stuck to cars for decades.
My take on it, is that this is a long time coming, but there needs to be a P&R for the North of the City, and they need to get on with reopening the Portishead Branch and reverting the Henbury loop for passengers too. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Paul.