Ashton Gate station was built after local football team Bristol City were promoted to the Football League First Division, then the top tier of English football. The station was opened to serve their home ground, Ashton Gate Stadium, which was situated nearby. The station opened for supporters on 15 September 1906, and to the general public on 1 October that year.[3] In 1914 it was temporarily renamed "Exhibition Station" for the Bristol International Exhibition.
The station closed due to economies during the First World War. It then passed on to the Western Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. It was then closed by the British Railways Board in 1964, then briefly reopened for traffic to the football ground until 1977, and temporarily re-opened in May 1984 to serve Mission England, a series of evangelical rallies by Billy Graham at the football ground.[6]
The Portishead Branch Line is to be reopened as part of the MetroWest scheme, a rail transport plan which aims to enhance transport capacity in the Bristol area.[7][8][9] The scheme was given the go-ahead in July 2012 as part of the City Deal, whereby local councils would be given greater control over money by the government.[9] A consultation on the plans was held between 22 June and 3 August 2015 to gather views from the community and stakeholders before moving on to detailed designs. The detailed proposals will be subject to a second consultation before the plans are finalised. Due to the additional capital costs, the line will not be electrified, however the design will include passive provision for future electrification. The line through Ashton Gate would be increased to double track.[10]Network Rail stated that it was not feasible to reopen Ashton Gate during the initial stage of the project, but that the scheme will be future-proofed to allow the construction of a station at a later date.[11]
Trains along the reopened line will operate between Portishead and Bristol Temple Meads, with two trains per hour in each direction. Services would call at Pill and Parson Street, with aspirations to also call at Bedminster and Ashton Gate. Trains could also be extended on to the Severn Beach Line. The trains used will be diesel multiple units, likely three carriages long. The line will be operated as part of the Greater Western passenger franchise. Great Western Railway, a subsidiary of FirstGroup, currently operate the Greater Western franchise, however their contract expires in early 2019, before services to Portishead are due to start.[10][13][14] In May 2016, it was reported that Bristol City Council did not consider there was a business case for the station's reopening due to its low predicted annual patronage of 67,000 excluding Bristol City matches.[15]
^White, James (13 March 2009). (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. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
^ abRibbeck, Michael (6 July 2012). "£100 million Bristol Metro train network by 2016". The Post, Bristol. Northcliffe Media. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
^ ab(PDF). MetroWest. TravelWest. June 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 November 2015.
^"New Ashton Gate station delayed as part of £60m MetroWest project". Rail Technology Magazine. Cognitive Publishing. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
^"The Great Western Railway is back in business". Railnews. 21 September 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
^"First Great Western offered new franchise deal". BBC News. BBC. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.[refnote 1]
^"Updated franchise schedule signals GW extension". Railnews. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.[refnote 1]
^Johnson, Howard (27 April – 10 May 2016). "Regional News". RAIL. No. 799. p. 24.
Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
Notes to references:
^ abNote that these references refer to First Great Western, which was rebranded as Great Western Railway in 2015.[12]
External linksedit
Media related to Ashton Gate railway station at Wikimedia Commons
January 01, 1970
ashton, gate, railway, station, 441598, 625482, 441598, 625482ashton, gatethe, disused, station, pictured, 2012, general, informationlocationashton, gate, city, bristolenglandgrid, referencest566716platforms2other, informationstatusdisusedhistoryoriginal, comp. 51 26 30 N 2 37 32 W 51 441598 N 2 625482 W 51 441598 2 625482Ashton GateThe disused station pictured in 2012 General informationLocationAshton Gate City of BristolEnglandGrid referenceST566716Platforms2Other informationStatusDisusedHistoryOriginal companyGreat Western RailwayPre groupingGreat Western RailwayPost groupingGreat Western RailwayKey dates15 September 1906Station partly opens as Ashton Gate Platform1 October 1910Station fully opens1917Station closed23 May 1926Station reopensAugust 1928Station renamed Ashton Gate29 October 1962Station renamed Ashton Gate Halt7 September 1964Station closed29 September 1970Station reopensby 1984Station closed vteRailways in the Bristol area Legend Cross Country Route Thornbury branch line Yate South Wales Main Line New Passage Pier Westerleigh Junction New Passage Halt Cross Hands Halt South Wales Main Linevia Severn Tunnel Pilning Severn Beach Coalpit Heath Severn View Industrial Park Winterbourne Chittening Industrial Estate Bristol Parkway Patchway Smoke Lane Industrial Estate Ram Hill Colliery Chittening Platform Hallen Halt Avonmouth Docks Henbury St Andrews Road Charlton Halt Avonmouth BPR amp P North Filton Platform Avonmouth Royal Edward Stoke Gifford depot Avonmouth Docks Westerleigh Goods Depot Avonmouth Avonmouth Light Railway Filton Junction Avonmouth Docks Filton Portway Park amp Ride Filton Abbey Wood Shirehampton Horfield Sea Mills Ashley Hill Clifton Down Tunnel Mangotsfield 1845 1869 Clifton Down Mangotsfield 1869 1966 Redland Staple Hill Montpelier Fishponds Hotwells Halt Warmley Hotwells Narroways Hill Junction Stapleton Road sidings Grey line represents Stapleton Road boundary of Bristol Oldland Common unitary authority area Avon Valley Railway Lawrence Hill Waste depot Bitton Bristol St Philip s Barton Hill Depot St Mary Redcliffe tunnel Avon Riverside Bristol Temple Meads Bristol Temple Meads Princes Wharf Kelston Bristol Harbour Railway St Philip s Marsh T amp RSMD SS Great Britain East Depot Bristol Docks North Bedminster Bristol Docks South Parson Street CREATE Centre Mangotsfield to Bath line South Liberty Lane Depot Ashton Gate St Anne s Park Clifton Bridge Brislington Nightingale Valley Halt Long Ashton Ham Green Halt Bristol Exeter line Pill Whitchurch Halt Portbury shipyard Keynsham Royal Portbury Dock Bristol amp North Somerset Rly Portbury Shipyard Saltford Portbury Great Western Main Line 1954 1964 Portishead Weston Clevedon andPortishead Light Railway 1879 1954 Portishead Portishead Pier Ashton Gate stationclass notpageimage Ashton Gate station Bristol Ashton Gate railway station was a railway station serving the Ashton Gate area of Bristol England which included Ashton Gate football ground the home ground of Bristol City F C It was located on the Portishead Railway Recent proposals have been made for the station to reopen as part of the MetroWest project to improve rail transport in the Greater Bristol area 1 Contents 1 History 2 Future 3 Notes 4 References 5 External linksHistory edit nbsp Station in 1962 The railway through Ashton Gate was opened on 18 April 1867 by the Bristol and Portishead Pier and Railway Company when services began on their line from the Bristol and Exeter Railway at Portishead Junction note 1 to a pier on the Severn Estuary at Portishead The line was built as 7 ft 2 134 mm broad gauge and was largely single track 2 3 The line was relaid as 4 ft 8 1 2 in 1 435 mm standard gauge between 24 and 27 January 1880 and in 1883 the line was double tracked 3 Ashton Gate station was built after local football team Bristol City were promoted to the Football League First Division then the top tier of English football The station was opened to serve their home ground Ashton Gate Stadium which was situated nearby The station opened for supporters on 15 September 1906 and to the general public on 1 October that year 3 In 1914 it was temporarily renamed Exhibition Station for the Bristol International Exhibition The station was 8 miles 75 chains 14 4 km from the line s terminus at Portishead note 2 2 miles 79 chains 4 8 km from Bristol Temple Meads and 121 miles 30 chains 195 3 km from the Great Western Railway s terminus at London Paddington 4 5 note 3 The station closed due to economies during the First World War It then passed on to the Western Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948 It was then closed by the British Railways Board in 1964 then briefly reopened for traffic to the football ground until 1977 and temporarily re opened in May 1984 to serve Mission England a series of evangelical rallies by Billy Graham at the football ground 6 Preceding station Historical railways Following station Parson Street Great Western RailwayPortishead Railway Clifton BridgeLine open Station closedFuture editThe Portishead Branch Line is to be reopened as part of the MetroWest scheme a rail transport plan which aims to enhance transport capacity in the Bristol area 7 8 9 The scheme was given the go ahead in July 2012 as part of the City Deal whereby local councils would be given greater control over money by the government 9 A consultation on the plans was held between 22 June and 3 August 2015 to gather views from the community and stakeholders before moving on to detailed designs The detailed proposals will be subject to a second consultation before the plans are finalised Due to the additional capital costs the line will not be electrified however the design will include passive provision for future electrification The line through Ashton Gate would be increased to double track 10 Network Rail stated that it was not feasible to reopen Ashton Gate during the initial stage of the project but that the scheme will be future proofed to allow the construction of a station at a later date 11 Trains along the reopened line will operate between Portishead and Bristol Temple Meads with two trains per hour in each direction Services would call at Pill and Parson Street with aspirations to also call at Bedminster and Ashton Gate Trains could also be extended on to the Severn Beach Line The trains used will be diesel multiple units likely three carriages long The line will be operated as part of the Greater Western passenger franchise Great Western Railway a subsidiary of FirstGroup currently operate the Greater Western franchise however their contract expires in early 2019 before services to Portishead are due to start 10 13 14 In May 2016 it was reported that Bristol City Council did not consider there was a business case for the station s reopening due to its low predicted annual patronage of 67 000 excluding Bristol City matches 15 Notes edit The junction between the Bristol to Exeter line and Portishead Railway was known as Portishead Junction until 1932 after which it was known as Parson Street Junction 2 The location of the terminal pier is an estimate 4 Railways in the United Kingdom are for historical reasons measured in miles and chains There are 80 chains to the mile References edit West of England Area Rail Studies Final Report PDF JTEC West of England Partnership Archived from the original PDF on 11 March 2016 Retrieved 8 March 2016 a b Maggs Colin G 1990 Bristol Railway Panorama Bath Millstream Books pp 109 119 ISBN 0 948975 22 9 a b c Oakley Mike 2006 Bristol Railway Stations 1840 2005 Bristol Redcliffe pp 35 37 ISBN 1 904537 54 5 a b Deaves Phil Engineers Line References POD Portishead Branch Retrieved 13 October 2015 Deaves Phil Engineers Line References MLN1 Paddington to North Road Junction Retrieved 13 October 2015 Ashton Gate Bristol Railway Archive bristol rail co uk Retrieved 23 January 2009 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 Retrieved 19 January 2012 a b Ribbeck Michael 6 July 2012 100 million Bristol Metro train network by 2016 The Post Bristol Northcliffe Media Retrieved 6 July 2012 a b Consultation on re opening the Portishead branch line as part of MetroWest Phase 1 PDF MetroWest TravelWest June 2015 Archived from the original PDF on 19 November 2015 New Ashton Gate station delayed as part of 60m MetroWest project Rail Technology Magazine Cognitive Publishing 16 December 2014 Retrieved 19 December 2014 The Great Western Railway is back in business Railnews 21 September 2015 Retrieved 21 September 2015 First Great Western offered new franchise deal BBC News BBC 10 October 2014 Retrieved 10 October 2014 refnote 1 Updated franchise schedule signals GW extension Railnews 10 October 2014 Retrieved 10 October 2014 refnote 1 Johnson Howard 27 April 10 May 2016 Regional News RAIL No 799 p 24 Butt R V J October 1995 The Directory of Railway Stations details every public and private passenger station halt platform and stopping place past and present 1st ed Sparkford Patrick Stephens Ltd ISBN 978 1 85260 508 7 OCLC 60251199 OL 11956311M Jowett Alan 2000 Jowett s Nationalised Railway Atlas 1st ed Penryn Cornwall Atlantic Transport Publishers ISBN 978 0 906899 99 1 OCLC 228266687 Notes to references a b Note that these references refer to First Great Western which was rebranded as Great Western Railway in 2015 12 External links edit nbsp Media related to Ashton Gate railway station at Wikimedia Commons Pictures of the station Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ashton Gate railway station amp oldid 1174952111, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
