Avon Valley Railway 9.2.2016

BITTON

(All 9.2.2016 copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing)

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Probably the closest heritage railway to me (other than the Bristol Harbour Railway) is the Avon Valley Railway. It's a strange set up with the trains running out from Bitton towards Oldland Common firstly, followed by a return to Bitton, then a 15 minute wait for the trip out to Riverside. There are about ten minute waits at each end. Basically it means that one train can provide the service. We were lucky to get - again - the DMU on Tuesday. A real test of a heritage line is whether kids like it, and we had a five year old and a seven year old to keep entertained. They oved it and particularly liked the opportunity to go 'free range' throughout the two carriages, plus of course get the view through the front window. They were quickly told NOT to distract the driver!

AVR tickets are rover tickets so you can do as many trips as you want. We did four or five! There's also excellent catering facilities at Bitton and the food was good value, good quality and decent helpings! We made a second trip to the catering coach for tea and cakes later in the day.

The shop is pretty good, mainly because they have an excellent selection of secondhand railway books at VERY reasonable prices and not just the usual generic thoughtless Christmas present dross!

There were a few steam locos at the end of Bitton platform, one actually seemed to be in steam but wasn't being used. I don't think I've ever actually travelled behind steam on the AVR, but that's not a big deal for me anyway!

The only real issue I have with the AVR is its apparent lack of ambition. Bath lies just a mile or two beyond the current eastern terminus at Riverside - a run into the city would attract many extra visitors, mainly from Bath towards Bitton. The original plans for the reopened line were probably 50 years ahead of their time, a commuter service between Bath and Bristol was proposed, with some heritage  services at weekends. Perhaps it's now time to look towards the future and realise that the original plans were simply way ahead of their time. Having travelled between Bath and Bristol lately, on a Sunday evening, on a train that was packed to standing, perhaps it's time to address the capacity issue by offering an alternative. Bath Green Park station is still there ... and the line can be reinstated without too much difficulty ... and eventually the S&D will be returning to Bath. The best days for the AVR lie ahead in the future, but for now it is a very pleasant way to spend a few hours on a winter's day!

The Big Issue

(33 044 Salisbury 14.4.1986 copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing)

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Back in 1986 we had wonderful Portsmouth to Cardiff trains, with a class 33 at the head of 5 coaches. There were always plenty of seats on the train and it was rare that you couldn't find a whole compartment to yourself. The journey was a pleasure, you could sit back in your deep pile seat, open a picnic lunch and watch the world go by. It was what made railways great, and what attracted a lot of people to the hobby of rail enthusiasm.

Thirty years on you would think that we would have added to the experience, being constantly told that the world is now a far better place, that the country is booming and that railways are the coming thing.

Today we decided to take the train to Bath. It was a Sunday, always a quiet day on the railways. Well, that once was the case! I've noticed railways getting busier and busier over the last few years, but today was a real eyeopener.

Below is the crowd waiting for the 13.10 to Bath and onwards to Portsmouth.

(31.1.2016 Bristol TM copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing)

We struggled to find a seat on the already packed train, but eventually got one each, but only by asking a couple who'd spread out over four seats to free up some space for us, which they grumpily did. (They were an older pair, not your traditional sullen teenagers!)

After four hours in Bath we returned to Spa station. I was expecting it to be practically deserted on a cold and wet Sunday evening. It wasn't.

Our three coach train came in and it was a nightmare! It was already packed when it pulled into the station, few people seemed to get off, but loads poured on. The end result was not only every seat taken but the entire aisle of the coach was packed - we couldn't even get in there! So NINE of us were stuck in the entrance - and were thrown about all the way to Temple Meads, the only relief was when we stopped at the two intermediate stations and a couple of people got off on to the platform - not to alight but to let other passengers get off the train! Below is an actual picture of this journey!

(A quiet Sunday evening on a cross country route - 31.1.2016 copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing)

It's great that the railways are so busy, but disastrous that people are expected to travel like this. Why isn't the train at least six carriages? Why isn't the alternative route via Bitton open and taking some of this traffic? Why was the line so busy on an ordinary Sunday?

Railways will only get busier as the oil vanishes. The railways will have to take more (and eventually ALL freight), trains will get busier as ridership increases. Why aren't we opening hundreds of miles of railways and tramways each year to cope with something that's no longer a forecast or projection but something that's happening, on the ground, now???