Montpelier railway station
Montpelier Montpelier, Bristol England | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 51°28′06″N 2°35′19″W / 51.4684°N 2.5887°W |
Grid reference | ST592745 |
Managed by | Great Western Railway |
Platforms | 1 |
Other information | |
Station code | MTP |
Classification | DfT category F2 |
History | |
Original company | Clifton Extension Railway |
Post-grouping | Great Western Railway and London, Midland and Scottish Railway |
Key dates | |
1 October 1874 | Opened |
18 November 1965 | Closed to goods traffic |
17 July 1967 | Staffing withdrawn |
1970 | Line singled |
Passengers | |
2018/19 | 94,684 |
2019/20 | 0.130 million |
2020/21 | 42,438 |
2021/22 | 91,758 |
2022/23 | 0.170 million |
Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
Montpelier railway station is on the
The station was opened on 1 October 1874 as Montpellier (two 'L's) by the
The Severn Beach Line declined over the latter half of the twentieth century, with passenger numbers falling significantly. Goods services at Montpelier ended in 1965, and all staff were withdrawn in 1967. The line was largely reduced to single track in 1970, with the northern platform abandoned and all trains using the remaining platform. The station building is no longer in railway use. Services had decreased to ten per day each direction by 2005, but have since increased to a train every 30 minutes in each direction.
Description
Montpelier railway station is located in the Bristol ward of
Facilities at the station are minimal – there are a few chairs and timetable information is provided. There are help points on the platform, giving next train information and allowing passengers to contact staff. There is no ticket office, though a self-service ticket machine was installed in 2022.[2] The station building is used as a workshop and showroom for a company selling fireplaces,[9] and is bricked up on the platform side. It is, however, colourfully decorated with a mural, painted as a collaborative effort between the Severnside Community Rail Partnership and local schools. The Severnside CRP also tend the station's garden in conjunction with the nearby Montpelier High School.[10][11][12] There is no car park or taxi rank, but there are bus stops on Cromwell Road, and more on the busy A38 Cheltenham Road roughly 400 yards (370 m) away.[2][13] Cycle storage is available on the platform.[2]
The line through Montpelier has a 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) speed limit for diesel multiple units, and 15 miles per hour (24 km/h) for other trains.[3] The line, which is not electrified, has loading gauge W6A, and carries less than 5 million train tonnes per year.[14] In the 2013/14 financial year[update], approximately 120,000 passengers used Montpelier station, making it the 1592nd busiest station in the country and the fifth busiest within the Bristol unitary authority area. This was an increase of almost 100% from the 2002–03 financial year, and reflected a general rise in usage of the Severn Beach Line.[15][16][note 2]
Services
All services at Montpelier are operated by Great Western Railway using Class 166 Turbo DMUs.[17][18][19]
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[20]
- 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 |
History
Joint railway era
Montpelier railway station was opened on 1 October 1874 when the Clifton Extension Railway began operations. The line, a joint venture between the Midland and Great Western Railways, was built to connect the Bristol Port Railway and Pier to the national network.[8][21]: 15 It ran from Sneyd Park Junction in the Avon Gorge via Clifton Down station to Ashley Hill Junction, east of Montpelier, from which the Great Western and Midland lines diverged – the Great Western heading south, joining the Bristol and South Wales Union Railway towards Bristol Temple Meads, the Midland heading east towards Mangotsfield. The line was built at 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge, and was initially managed by the Clifton Extension Railway Joint Committee.[22]: 19, 37–39
The station was built by Messrs Baker & Son of
The initial Monday to Saturday service provided at Montpelier by the Midland Railway was 13 trains per day between Clifton Down,
The station was initially well-staffed: in 1903 there were 19 staff, although this had fallen to 15 by 1935. Before the First World War, it was not unusual for extra porters to be sent to Montpelier to handle large quantities of goods – the station was used by many commercial travellers who had large hampers full of clothes and samples, and the loading on Monday morning had the potential to cause delays. In 1910, Montpelier saw 17 Great Western services from Avonmouth to Temple Meads and 15 the other way, a further 20 trains each day operating between Clifton and Temple Meads, and 13 Midland trains each way between Clifton and Fishponds or Mangotsfield. Midland services were suspended from 1 January 1917 to 15 May 1919 due to the War.[8] The Hotwells section of the Bristol Port Railway and Pier closed in 1922, so to compensate an additional six trains were provided to Avonmouth, with four back.[21]
In 1923,
British Rail and privatisation
When the railways were
British Rail was split into business-led sectors in the 1980s, at which time operations at Montpelier passed to Regional Railways. At this time, all trains ran to Severn Beach, but the service pattern was irregular.[19] This changed in 1995 when an hourly timetable was introduced for peak times, but northbound services were terminated at Avonmouth.[21]: 42
When the railway was
In 2004, the
Preceding station | Historical railways | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Clifton Down | Midland Railway Clifton Extension Railway (1874–1897) |
Fishponds Line and station closed. | ||
Redland | Midland Railway Clifton Extension Railway (1897–1917, 1919–1922) |
|||
London, Midland and Scottish Railway Clifton Extension Railway (1922–1941) |
||||
Clifton Down | Great Western Railway Clifton Extension Railway (1874–1897) |
Stapleton Road | ||
Redland | Great Western Railway Clifton Extension Railway (1897–1948) |
|||
Severn Beach Line (1948–1982) |
||||
Severn Beach Line (1982–1997) |
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Severn Beach Line (1997–2001) |
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Severn Beach Line (2001–2006) |
Future
First Great Western declined a contractual option to continue the Greater Western passenger franchise (of which services at Montpelier are a part) beyond 2013, citing a desire for a longer-term contract due to the
With the upgrade to the Great Western Main Line, the main line from London to Bristol was due to be electrified by 2016.
Improved services at Montpelier are called for as part of the
Incidents
A crash occurred at the station on 14 May 1878, when a train from Mangotsfield to Clifton Down hit a goods train which had been shunting at the station. Several of the goods train's wagons were smashed or overturned, and the railway was severely damaged.[66]
See also
Notes
- ^ Railways in the United Kingdom are, for historical reasons, measured in miles and chains. There are 80 chains to the mile.
- ^ Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Montpelier, from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
References
- ISBN 1-84348-099-9.
- ^ a b c d e "Montpelier (MTP)". National Rail. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
- ^ a b "Network Capability – Baseline Declaration: (1) Track and Route mileage: (2) Line-speeds: Western Route" (PDF). Network Rail. 1 April 2009. p. 180. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
- ^ 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.
- ISBN 978-0-319-22914-9.
- ^ ISBN 1-904537-54-5.
- ^ "Period Fireplaces". Retrieved 16 September 2012.
- ^ a b "Progress Report Winter 2008" (PDF). Severnside Community Rail Partnership. 2008. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
- ^ "Progress Report January 2012" (PDF). Severnside Community Rail Partnership. 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
- ^ a b Tilley, Caitlin (21 March 2018). "Schoolchildren help repaint Montpelier station". Bristol 24/7. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
- ^ "Montpelier Station: Onward Travel Information" (PDF). Network Rail. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
- ^ "Route 13: Great Western Main Line" (PDF). Network Rail. 2006. Figures 3, 6 and 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ^ "Station Usage Estimates 2002/03". Office of Rail and Road. Archived from the original on 4 September 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
- ^ "Station Usage Estimates 2013/14". Office of Rail and Road. Retrieved 12 May 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Train times: Bristol Temple Meads and Weston-super-Mare to Avonmouth and Severn Beach" (PDF). Great Western Railway. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-901945-30-0.
- ^ Maggs, Colin(1975). The Bristol Port Railway and Pier. The Oakwood Press. pp. 13, 19, 37–39, 47–51.
- ^ a b "Sunday service puts smiles on faces of rail enthusiasts". This is Bristol. Northcliffe Media. 24 May 2010. Retrieved 16 July 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. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
- ^ "The Great Western Railway is back in business". Railnews. 21 September 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
- ^ "Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways making rail difference". This is Bristol. Northcliffe Media. 25 September 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "July 2007". Cardiff & Avonside Railway Society. July 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
At Montpelier station, vandals have covered a mural only completed during the middle of the month with tags, First/GW are now offering a £500 reward to identify the persons responsible. The new mural was painted on the ground floor of the station building by professional artists, with schools and local businesses assisting, a new station garden has also been created. First/GW plan to install CCTV cameras at this station to monitor activity as it has become a graffiti 'hotspot'.
- ^ "September 2007". Cardiff & Avonside Railway Society. September 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
Along the line at Montpelier station, students from Fairfield School have tidied up the murals on the platform buildings, which had been de-faced by vandals during May. Six students, who won a competition were able to paint their own designs on the walls, with graffiti artist Richard Minchin assisting, in the presence of head of art at Fairfield School, David Otlet.
- ^ "FoSBR Newsletter" (PDF). May 2015. p. 6. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ "Progress Report: January 2009" (PDF). Severnside Community Rail Partnership. January 2009. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
- ^ "Thieves steal customer help points at Bristol stations". BBC News. 15 March 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
- ^ "May 2010". Cardiff & Avonside Railway Society. May 2010. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
23/02 ... Between 25 – 28/02, two First/GW passenger information screens were stolen from Redland and Montpelier stations. The equipment would have no value if an attempt was made to resale, but a technical knowledge would have had to be known to safely remove the panels.
- ^ Cork, Tristan (29 January 2018). "Residents cut down a wood on Bristol railway line without permission to improve their views". Bristol Post. Local World. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
- ^ "Probe after railway bank trees felled in Bristol". BBC News. BBC. 29 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
- 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. 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. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
- ^ "First Great Western offered new franchise deal". BBC News. 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.
- ^ "Great Western electrification: Intercity line work 'deferred'". BBC News. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
- ^ "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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
- ^ Ribbeck, Michael (6 July 2012). "£100 million Bristol Metro train network by 2016". Bristol Post. Northcliffe Media. Archived from the original on 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. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ "Railway Collision near Bristol". Gloucester Citizen. 15 May 1878. Retrieved 9 March 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
External links
- Train times and station information for Montpelier railway station from National Rail