Tag Archives: Bike/Rail

Bikes at Temple Meads

Great Western Railway (GWR) have announced engineering works over the Christmas period. Some routes will be diverted and buses will replace some trains (the buses can carry folding bikes only).

Travel to London

No trains will run on the GWR network on 25 or 26 December, and on 24 and 27 December there will be no trains running between London Paddington and Slough. Some long distance trains will be diverted to London Marylebone. GWR suggest that you can also travel to London on South Western Railway from Reading, or on Chiltern Railways from Oxford.

Travel to Southampton

Most services in this area will be diverted via Eastleigh. GWR say train travel into Southampton is available by changing at Salisbury or Eastleigh.

Travel to Gatwick Airport

At Redhill, on the North Downs Line, trains will only run between Reading and Reigate. Buses
will connect from Reigate to Redhill and Gatwick Airport.

See https://www.gwr.com/travel-updates/planned-engineering/christmas2017 for more.

We’ve been notified of restrictions to carrying cycles on the replacement bus services in operation while Bath station is being modernised this April.  This leaflet has further details GWR Bath Station Modernisation leaflet TPOD3 FINAL, but the key points are:

Weekend of 8/9 April – Buses replace trains Bristol Temple Meads – Bath – Chippenham – Westbury

Monday 10 to Thursday 13 April – Trains run, but there will be slightly less capacity than normal in the Bath area

Good Friday to Easter Monday inc – Buses replace trains Bristol Temple Meads – Bath – Chippenham – Westbury

Tuesday 18 to Friday 21 April – Trains run, but there will be slightly less capacity than normal in the Bath area

Weekend of 22/23 April – Buses replace trains Bristol Temple Meads – Bath – Chippenham – Westbury

When buses replace trains we can only convey folding bikes.

 

Please also note that there will be a similar policy in operation in the Swindon, Chippenham, Bristol and South Wales areas later on this year when other big improvement projects take place.

We are strong supporters of Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways (FOSBR) and they have just launched an online rail travel survey to feed into the
WEP Joint Transport Plan and inform their campaign strategy – see the FOSBR website or follow the link https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/LWQBS7T

The national Association of Train Operating Companies is interested in learning more about travel by cycle-rail. Here’s what they’re after:

The number of cycle-rail users is growing each year and so it’s important that the Association of Train Operating Companies, understand how best to provide you with helpful information when you’re planning a rail journey with a cycle.

BCyC member Alan Morris reports in from the Portishead railway line consultation exhibition…

It confirms that “Our engineering work to date indicates it should be feasible to retain the short sections of cycle / pedestrian path alongside the re-opened railway under the bridges, subject to some reductions in the width of the path and provision of appropriate fencing and other safety requirements.”

And there will be a “a 300 metre pedestrian and cycle promenade with lighting linking [the Portishead station] to the town centre and various footpath improvements.”