RHODRI CLARK REPORTS ON THE FOUR-TRACKING SCHEME NORTH OF BRISTOL TEMPLE MEADS
Has Bristol had a raw deal? The scrapping of electrification to Temple Meads in 2016 (p22, December 2016 issue) led some to think so. There is some compensation though: the infrastructure works that are now proceeding apace north of Temple Meads provide visual reassurance that Bristol passengers have not been forgotten.
Before Control Period 5 (2014-19), Network Rail judged that the two-track railway along ‘Filton Bank’, between Filton Abbey Wood and Dr Day’s Junction, would be insufficient for planned increases in passenger services. This includes a commitment to increase the frequency of off-peak services between Bristol Temple Meads and London Paddington via Bristol Parkway to two trains per hour (tph), and proposals for new and additional suburban services.
The gradual introduction of Inter-city Express Trains (IETs), based near Bristol Parkway, has brought additional traffic to Filton Bank, in the form of empty coaching stock (ECS) workings between the depot and Temple Meads. The IETs are ousting HSTs that are not significant users of Filton Bank for ECS moves because they are based at St Philip’s Marsh, east of Temple Meads.