Clifton Down railway station
General information | |
---|---|
Location | Clifton, Bristol England |
Coordinates | 51°27′53″N 2°36′39″W / 51.4646°N 2.6109°W |
Grid reference | ST576741 |
Managed by | Great Western Railway |
Platforms | 2 |
Other information | |
Station code | CFN |
Classification | DfT category F2 |
Key dates | |
1 October 1874 | Opened |
5 July 1965 | Closed to goods traffic |
Passengers | |
2018/19 | 0.629 million |
2019/20 | 0.728 million |
2020/21 | 0.168 million |
2021/22 | 0.401 million |
2022/23 | 0.609 million |
Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
Clifton Down railway station is on the Severn Beach line and serves the district of Clifton in Bristol, England. It is 3.9 miles (6.3 km) from Bristol Temple Meads. Its three letter station code is CFN. The station has two platforms, each serving trains in one direction only. As of 2015[update] it is managed by Great Western Railway, which is the third franchise to be responsible for the station since privatisation in 1997. They provide all train services at the station, mainly a train every 30 minutes in each direction.
The station was opened in 1874 by the
The Severn Beach Line declined over the latter half of the twentieth century, with passenger numbers falling significantly. Goods services at Clifton Down ended in 1965, and all staff were withdrawn in 1967. The line was largely reduced to single track in 1970, leaving Clifton Down as one of the few passing places. Services had decreased to ten per day each direction by 2005, but have since increased to a train every 30 minutes in each direction.
History
Joint railway era
The Clifton Extension Railway was opened from Narroways Hill Junction to Clifton Down as a joint venture between the Great Western Railway and Midland Railway to connect their main lines to the Bristol Port Railway and Pier in the Avon Gorge.[1] Clifton Down railway station opened on 1 October 1874, when passenger services began, and was for a while the terminal station. It was the second station along the line from Narroways Hill Junction where the Extension Railway left the Bristol and South Wales Union Railway's main line to Wales. It remained the second station until Redland was opened in 1897.[1] The line was built at 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge.[2]
The station was built by Messrs Baker & Son of
The initial service provided at Clifton Down by the Midland Railway was to
Clifton Down had large numbers of
The line had initially been managed by the Clifton Extension Railway Joint Committee, but in 1894 the line's management was passed to the Great Western & Midland Railways Joint Committee.
In 1923,
British Rail and privatisation
When the railways were
... the line the railway wished was not there. It was the line that got bus substitution whenever they were short of trains or queues, when a rugby match in Cardiff needed a special. It has a problem in that the route is slow and not very direct; for years it was invisible, short of marketing and lacking a regular interval timetable.[4]
When the railway was
Passenger numbers at Clifton Down were further boosted by a marketing campaign by the Severnside Community Rail Partnership to attract more people, especially students, to use the station. The work won a Department for Transport Community Rail Marketing Award in 2007.[20] The Severnside CRP also formed a support group for the station, and improved the provision of timetabling information through the use of simplified departure timetable posters.[20] In 2009, they painted a large station sign on the road bridge over the line,[21] and in 2010 they collaborated with Redland Green School to decorate the bricked-up windows and doors of the station building with animal artwork to brighten up the station and promote Bristol Zoo.[22] The work won a Community Rail Award.[23] Customer help points with next train information screens were installed during 2008/09, paid for by money from the Department for Transport's "Access for All" fund and local councils.[21] Ticket machines were installed in early 2011,[24] following complaints that passengers were unable to pay their fares.[25] The station building was again renamed in 2016, and is now the Steam Bristol beer hall and rotisserie.[26]
Preceding station | Historical railways | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Sea Mills | Severn Beach Line (1948–1982) |
Redland | ||
Severn Beach Line (1982–1997) |
||||
Severn Beach Line (1997–2001) |
||||
Severn Beach Line (2001–2006) |
Description
Clifton Down railway station is on the
Facilities at the station are minimal – shelters, benches and timetable information are provided. Customer help points give live train information. There is no ticket office but there is one ticket machine which can be used to buy or collect tickets.[30] The station car park is to the north of the platforms, with 40 spaces. There is step-free access to the northern platform from the car park, and a set of steps from the footbridge. There is also stepped access to the footbridge from the south, and a ramp down to the southern platform. There is no taxi rank, but there are bus stops on Whiteladies Road. Cycle storage is available on the platform.[30]
The disused station building's bricked-up windows and doors feature artwork of animals created by students at
Services
All services at Clifton Down are operated by Great Western Railway using Class 166 Turbo DMUs.[32][33][4]
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[34]
- 2 tph to Bristol Temple Meads of which 1 continues to Weston-super-Mare
- 2 tph to Avonmouth of which 1 continues to Severn Beach
On Sundays, there is an hourly service between Bristol Temple Meads and Severn Beach with one train per day to and from Weston-super-Mare.
Services previously ran every 40 minutes in each direction but were increased to half-hourly in the December 2021 timetable change.
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Severn Beach Line |
Preceding station | Historical railways | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Terminus | Midland Railway Clifton Extension Railway (1874-1897) |
Montpelier | ||
Midland Railway Clifton Extension Railway (1897-1917, 1919-1922) |
Redland | |||
London, Midland and Scottish Railway Clifton Extension Railway (1922-1941) |
||||
Terminus | Great Western Railway Clifton Extension Railway (1874-1885) |
Montpelier | ||
Sea Mills | Great Western Railway Clifton Extension Railway (1885-1897) |
|||
Great Western Railway Clifton Extension Railway (1897-1948) |
Redland |
Future
First Great Western declined a contractual option to continue the Greater Western passenger franchise (of which services at Clifton Down are a part) beyond 2013, citing a desire for a longer-term contract due to the
With the coming upgrade to the Great Western Main Line, the main line from London to Bristol is due to be electrified by 2016.
Improved services at Clifton Down are called for as part of the
See also
- Rail services in Bristol
Notes
- ^ Railways in the United Kingdom are, for historical reasons, measured in miles and chains. There are 80 chains to the mile.
References
- ^ ISBN 1-904537-54-5.
- ^ Maggs, Colin(1975). The Bristol Port Railway and Pier. The Oakwood Press.
- ^ ISBN 1-901945-30-8.
- ^ a b c d e f Salveson, Paul (June 2012). Abell, Paul (ed.). "Severn Beach: Not your typical branch line!". Today's Railways UK (126). Sheffield: Platform 5: 42–47.
- ^ "Clifton Down Shopping Centre". Completely Retail. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-319-22914-9.
- ^ a b "Clifton Down Station, Steam Tavern Public House and attached screen walls". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2007.
- ^ a b "Roo Bar". Original Pub Company. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways making rail difference". This is Bristol. Northcliffe Media. 25 September 2010. Archived from the original on 13 September 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
- ^ Deaves, Phil (5 May 2015). "UK railway franchises". Retrieved 6 May 2015.
- ^ "Wales and West". Wales & West. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
- ^ "Lobby to save Severn Beach line". BBC News. BBC. 27 February 2006. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
- ^ "Wessex Trains". The Iron Road: Railway Photography by Scott Borthwick. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
- ^ "FirstGroup wins rail franchises". BBC News. BBC. 13 December 2005. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
- ^ a b "First Great Western bids for longer rail franchise deal". BBC News. BBC. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
- ^ "The Great Western Railway is back in business". Railnews. 21 September 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
- ^ "Campaigners' picnic marks rail launch". This is Bristol. Northcliffe Media. 17 July 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
- ^ "Campaigners call for quick railway action". This is Bristol. Northcliffe Media. 15 September 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
- ^ "Sunday service puts smiles on faces of rail enthusiasts". This is Bristol. Northcliffe Media. 24 May 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
- ^ a b "Progress Report Winter 2008" (PDF). Severnside Community Rail Partnership. 2008. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
- ^ a b "Progress Report: January 2009" (PDF). Severnside Community Rail Partnership. January 2009. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
- ^ a b "Students' talent gives station an improved look". This is Bristol. Northcliffe Media. 8 July 2010. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
- ^ "Station work earns award for rail group". This is Bristol. Northcliffe Media. 30 September 2010. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
- ^ "First Great Western will add to service on successful Severn Bridge rail line". This is Bristol. Northcliffe Media. 25 January 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
- ^ "Bristol rail passengers complain ... they CANNOT pay their fares". This is Bristol. Northcliffe Media. 29 January 2010. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
- ^ "Contact Us: Steam Bristol". Archived from the original on 10 November 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
- ^ Deaves, Phil. "Engineers' Line References: CNX Clifton Extension Line". Retrieved 23 May 2012.
- ^ Deaves, Phil. "Engineers' Line References: AMB Avonmouth Branch". Retrieved 23 May 2012.
- ISBN 978-0-86093-632-9.
- ^ a b c "Clifton Down (CFN)". National Rail. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
- ^ "Central 6 - Bristol to Severn Beach: The Severn Beach Line" (PDF). Great Western Railway. May 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
- ^ "Massive increase in Bristol train seats begins today" (Press release). FirstGroup. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
- ^ "Modern trains and new technology for Bristol rail passengers". Global Railway Review. Russell Publishing. 11 July 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
- ^ "Train times: Bristol Temple Meads and Weston-super-Mare to Avonmouth and Severn Beach" (PDF). Great Western Railway. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
- Rail Magazine. No. 694. pp. 8–9.
- ^ "Great Western franchise to be extended". Railnews. 19 July 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
- ^ "New Great Western franchise to deliver new express trains" (Press release). Department for Transport. 27 July 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ^ "Great Western London to south Wales rail contest scrapped". BBC News. BBC. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
- ^ "First celebrates last-minute Great Western deal". Railnews. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
- ^ "First Great Western retains Wales and west rail franchise". BBC News. BBC. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
- ^ "First Great Western offered new franchise deal". BBC News. BBC. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
- ^ "FirstGroup wins Great Western contract extension". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
- ^ "Updated franchise schedule signals GW extension". Railnews. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
- ^ "Modernising the Great Western" (PDF). Network Rail. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
- ^ "Weston-super-Mare to London rail re-franchise concerns". BBC News. BBC. 10 August 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
- ^ "Bristol to London line to be electrified". This is Bristol. Northcliffe Media. 23 July 2009. Archived from the original on 23 September 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
- Rail Magazine. No. 772. pp. 58–59.
- ^ "Benefits of Bristol to London high-speed rail link 'must go beyond just mainline'". This is Bristol. Northcliffe Media. 3 March 2011. Archived from the original on 5 July 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
- Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways. Autumn 2011. Archived from the original(PDF) on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
- ^ White, James (13 March 2009). "Item 04: Greater Bristol Metro" (PDF). West of England Partnership. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 May 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
- ^ "Campaign for trains from Bristol Temple Meads every half hour". This is Bristol. Northcliffe Media. 17 January 2012. Archived from the original on 20 January 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
- Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways. April 2014. Archived from the original(PDF) on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
- ^ "Transport Minister hears calls for better Bristol train service". This is Bristol. Northcliffe Media. 17 October 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
- The Post, Bristol. Northcliffe Media. Archived from the originalon 8 July 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
- Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
- ^ "Transport chiefs drop Henbury Loop plan". BBC News. BBC. 17 July 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ "Huge majority back rethink on decision for Henbury Loop at a special meeting". Bristol Post. Local World. 28 August 2015. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
External links
- Train times and station information for Clifton Down railway station from National Rail