Will Bristol Temple Meads now get wired?

[anthony263]

It was the same announcement. Bristol is one of the few things announced that may well get done, on the basis that most of the difficult work was already completed.

mods note - split from this thread

Is Bristol TM getting wired then ?

 

[Krokodil]

Is Bristol TM getting wired then ?

So the government says...

 

[Trainbike46]

Is Bristol TM getting wired then ?

So the government says...

It's probably one of the rail projects on the list more likely to be completed, but even that doesn't mean a certainty by any stretch

 

[zwk500]

Is Bristol TM getting wired then ?

So the government says...

It's probably one of the rail projects on the list more likely to be completed, but even that doesn't mean a certainty by any stretch

There is no commitment to Bristol electrification in the current version of the PDF: https://assets.publishing.service.g...work-north-transforming-british-transport.pdf

74.We will boost funding to the West of England Combined Authority by £100 million.50 The funding could be used for an extension of MetroWest to the south – covering Weston-super-Mare, Taunton/Exeter, and Worle/Weston-super-Mare Parkway. The authority could also start Temple Meads passenger and capacity enhancements, step-free access across the network and complete electrification between Temple Meads, Bristol Parkway and Chippenham.

'The authority could' is completely different to 'the government will'.

 

[Irascible]

No mention of Portishead either, which hasn't been fully funded yet has it? despite being about as ready to go as anything is.

£100m to wire all the way through Bath and also up to Parkway does not sound plausible.

 

[Energy]

£100m to wire all the way through Bath and also up to Parkway does not sound plausible.

All the civils got done (and the feeder for Bristol is being installed) so shouldn't be too expensive.

No thanking Rishi for this, Bristol was an easy target for electrification and its cancellation is down to earlier Tory failure. If Rishi did care about rail enhancements (and not loose promises in marginal constituencies) Windermere electrification would be right up there.

 

[anthony263]

All the civils got done (and the feeder for Bristol is being installed) so shouldn't be too expensive.

No thanking Rishi for this, Bristol was an easy target for electrification and its cancellation is down to earlier Tory failure. If Rishi did care about rail enhancements (and not loose promises in marginal constituencies) Windermere electrification would be right up there.

Let's hope it actually happens. GWR want to use battery fitted EMUs on the Cardiff to Portsmouth hbr service.

Could allow the Cardiff to Taunton service to be split at Bristol with EMUs used between Cardiff and Bristol TM

 

[Dr Day]

As this is in the speculative ideas section, if you were WECA and had an extra £100m gifted to you, would heavy rail electrification necessarily be your highest priority?

Aside from the environmental benefits the journey time savings probably aren’t game-changing in terms of local impact. Would investing instead in something lighter eg trams or bus priority be something a combined locally focused authority would be more inclined to do, noting the £100m would still need to be combined with other funds to produce something significant? Plus it is only one off capital and funders aren’t going to take too kindly to schemes which will need additional ongoing subsidy.

 

[Trainbike46]

As this is in the speculative ideas section, if you were WECA and had an extra £100m gifted to you, would heavy rail electrification necessarily be your highest priority?

Aside from the environmental benefits the journey time savings probably aren’t game-changing in terms of local impact. Would investing instead in something lighter eg trams or bus priority be something a combined locally focused authority would be more inclined to do, noting the £100m would still need to be combined with other funds to produce something significant? Plus it is only one off capital and funders aren’t going to take too kindly to schemes which will need additional ongoing subsidy.

If you can't do any scheme that would require ongoing subsidy railway electrification is a really good way to spend a one-off capital budget, as it generally reduces operational cost, and even in the worst case scenario, won't increase it

Bus priority works would also be a good candidate though, for the same reason

Has WECA got any responsibility for the railway at all?

 

[Energy]

Has WECA got any responsibility for the railway at all?

It isn't devolved, though they could probably pay NR to finish electrification.

It's ~40 miles of electrification with major civil completed so should be done for a reasonable price. WECA will want the money for other improvements, like bike lanes, as well.

We are of course assuming that this £100m actually turns up...