Portishead Branch

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Portishead Branch 13/02/2010 at 00:16 #705
alan_s
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An article in the Bristol Evening Post * today suggests that the Portbury freight branch is not suitable for passenger trains and will cost an extra £10m on top of the previous estimates to get a service to Portishead.

How can this be? If the line can take coal trains weighing hundreds of tons, how come it would struggle with a 2 car pacer, which is about all we could expect on this line. Railtours still use this line from time to time, I have been on at least 3 myself!

Alan

* http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/163-10m-blow-Bristol-Portishead-rail-link-dream/article-1829927-detail/article.html

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Portishead Branch 13/02/2010 at 00:16 #6651
alan_s
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152 posts
An article in the Bristol Evening Post * today suggests that the Portbury freight branch is not suitable for passenger trains and will cost an extra £10m on top of the previous estimates to get a service to Portishead.

How can this be? If the line can take coal trains weighing hundreds of tons, how come it would struggle with a 2 car pacer, which is about all we could expect on this line. Railtours still use this line from time to time, I have been on at least 3 myself!

Alan

* http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/163-10m-blow-Bristol-Portishead-rail-link-dream/article-1829927-detail/article.html

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Portishead Branch 13/02/2010 at 10:34 #6654
AnyFile
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I do not know anything of this line, but in the article you linked, I can read
Quote:

The track, which was reopened in the 1990s, is capable of taking trains at speeds of up to 30mph.

But the passenger trains would run at speeds of up to 60mph, meaning it would have to be upgraded.

can this be the reason?

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Portishead Branch 13/02/2010 at 10:55 #6658
alan_s
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But is that true? Is it possible that a small light unit going at 60 would put more stress on the track than a heavy coal train going at 30 ?

And why would they only just have realised this. Already they know the signalling needs updating and a passing loop adding. I think they're just stalling because they don't want to do it, despite the success of reopening ebbw vale line.

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Portishead Branch 13/02/2010 at 12:35 #6661
kbarber
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Complete speculation: is it a signalling issue, with braking distances calculated for 30mph?
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Portishead Branch 13/02/2010 at 12:41 #6662
alan_s
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Thanks for the suggestion, good thinking.

However I believe that 1) resignalling was already costed in before this "extra 10m" and 2) the whole line currently runs on a single token between Ashton Junction and Portbury Dock, so no intermediate signalling.

I have just had a thought though - one way where speed may come in - perhaps to get higher speed round corners the track needs to be banked a bit more?

Alan

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