Filton Abbey Wood railway station serves the town of
Filton
Filton is a town and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England, north of Bristol. Along with nearby Patchway and Bradley Stoke, Filton forms part of the Bristol urban area and has become an overflow settlement for the city. Filton Church d ...
in
South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke, the latter three forming part ...
, England, inside the
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
conurbation. It is from . There are four platforms but minimal facilities. The station is managed by
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
that operates all services. The general service level is eight trains per hour - two to South Wales, two to , two toward and two toward .
Filton Abbey Wood is the third station on the site. The first station, Filton, was opened in 1863 by the
Bristol and South Wales Union Railway
The Bristol and South Wales Union Railway was built to connect Bristol, England, with south Wales. The route involved a ferry crossing of the River Severn but was considerably shorter than the alternative route through Gloucester. The ferry w ...
. The station had a single platform, with a second added in 1886 to cope with traffic from the
Severn Tunnel
The Severn Tunnel ( cy, Twnnel Hafren) is a railway tunnel in the United Kingdom, linking South Gloucestershire in the west of England to Monmouthshire in south Wales under the estuary of the River Severn. It was constructed by the Great Western ...
. The station was closed in 1903, replaced by a new station, Filton Junction, further north, which was built at the junction with the newly constructed Badminton Line from
Wootton Bassett Junction. The new station had four platforms, each with waiting rooms and large canopies.
Services at Filton Junction declined in the second half of the twentieth century, with the station buildings and Badminton Line platforms demolished in 1976. The station was closed completely in September 1996, replaced by the current station, Filton Abbey Wood. This was built south of the original station, adjacent to the new
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
office development of
MoD Abbey Wood
MoD Abbey Wood is a Ministry of Defence establishment at Filton, Bristol, United Kingdom. The purpose-built site houses the MoD's Defence Equipment and Support and Submarine Delivery Agency procurement organisations. It was opened by Queen Eliz ...
, which was opened in 1996. The station was built with two platforms, but a third was added in 2004 and a fourth in 2018.
The line through Filton Abbey Wood is not electrified. Platform 4 was completed in 2018 as part of the Filton Bank four-tracking project, allowing increased services between Bristol Parkway and Bristol Temple Meads.
History
There have been three different stations in the area of Filton Abbey Wood. The first, Filton, opened in 1863 just north the site of the current Filton Abbey Wood, and was closed in 1903. A second station was opened a few hundred yards to the north, and was known as Filton Junction.
This station closed in 1996, replaced by Filton Abbey Wood.
First station: Filton
The first station at Filton opened on 8 September 1863 when services began on the
Bristol and South Wales Union Railway
The Bristol and South Wales Union Railway was built to connect Bristol, England, with south Wales. The route involved a ferry crossing of the River Severn but was considerably shorter than the alternative route through Gloucester. The ferry w ...
(BSWUR), which ran from to , north of Bristol on the banks of the
River Severn
, name_etymology =
, image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG
, image_size = 288
, image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle
, map = RiverSevernMap.jpg
, map_size = 288
, map_c ...
. At New Passage, passengers were transferred to a ferry to cross the Severn to continue on into Wales. The line, engineered by
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "one ...
, was built as single track
broad gauge
A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways.
Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...
, with a platform on the western side of the line.
The station was situated in the county of
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
, from Bristol Temple Meads and immediately south of the modern bridge over the
A4174 Avon Ring Road.
The BSWUR was amalgamated with the
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
, who had from the beginning operated all BSWUR services, in 1868;
and in 1873 the line was converted to
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
.
Although the line made travel from Bristol to Wales easier, the change from train to ferry to train was inconvenient, and so a tunnel was built under the
River Severn
, name_etymology =
, image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG
, image_size = 288
, image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle
, map = RiverSevernMap.jpg
, map_size = 288
, map_c ...
. To cope with the anticipated increase in demand, the line through Filton was doubled,
with a new platform built on the eastern side of the new track, complete with waiting room. The new track was first used on 1 September 1886 when the
Severn Tunnel
The Severn Tunnel ( cy, Twnnel Hafren) is a railway tunnel in the United Kingdom, linking South Gloucestershire in the west of England to Monmouthshire in south Wales under the estuary of the River Severn. It was constructed by the Great Western ...
opened. The station continued in use until 1 July 1903, when it was closed and replaced by a new station further north.
There is no trace remaining of the original station.
Second station: Filton Junction
![Bristol MMB «L9 Filton Junction 43366](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Bristol_MMB_%C2%ABL9_Filton_Junction_43366.jpg)
In 1900, almost all trains from London to Wales travelled via
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
and Bristol, with some still routed via . However, the final to Bristol were relatively slow and congested, so a new route was built further north, the GWR's Badminton Line, now part of the
South Wales Main Line
The South Wales Main Line ( cy, Prif Linell De Cymru), originally known as the London, Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway or simply as the Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway, is a branch of the Great Western Main Line in Great Britain. ...
, running from
Wootton Bassett Junction to . The new line opened in 1903, and allowed faster services to Wales. There was a new triangular junction between Patchway and Filton, with the new line coming in from the east.
The new station, opened on 1 July 1903,
was on an embankment at the southern apex of the junction, just north of the present
A4174
The A4174 is a major ring road in England which runs around the northern and eastern edge of Bristol, mainly in South Gloucestershire, and through the southern suburbs of the city. When it was first conceived it was planned to circle the whole ...
.
It was north of the first station, from Bristol Temple Meads and from
London Paddington
Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services pro ...
via the new line.
The new station had four platform faces - two outer platforms, and two inner platforms sharing an island between the southbound line from Patchway and the westbound line to London. The western platforms served trains between Bristol and Wales, while the eastern platforms served trains on the new line. The platforms were linked by a subway which led to the booking office, situated on ground level by the main entrance on the east side of the station.
The approach road led south from the main entrance, towards the A4174.
There were waiting rooms and large canopies on each of the platforms. There were goods facilities to the south of the road, on the west side of the line and covering the site of the first station.
There was a goods shed with a loading platform on a
passing loop
A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains or ...
, as well as a north-facing covered loading platform and a south-facing siding. An additional south-facing siding for coal traffic was added after the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Opposite the goods yard was Filton Junction
Signal Box
In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...
, which controlled the junction and by 1948 had more than 70 levers.
Following the opening of the
Henbury Loop Line
The Henbury Loop Line, also known as the Filton to Avonmouth Line, is a railway line following the boundary between Bristol and South Gloucestershire between the Severn Beach Line at Hallen Marsh Junction, Avonmouth and the Cross Country Rout ...
, which diverged from the line towards Wales to the north, the station was renamed Filton Junction on 1 May 1910.
Trains on this line used the western platforms, and often operated loop services to and from Bristol Temple Meads via .
From 1928, trains could also run loop services via Clifton Down, and . As well as being useful for passengers changing trains (due to its junction status), Filton Junction was also used by workers at the nearby
Filton Aerodrome
Filton Airport or Filton Aerodrome was a private airport in Filton and Patchway, within South Gloucestershire, north of Bristol, England.
Description
The airfield was bounded by the A38 road to the east, and the former London to Avonmouth r ...
and the attendant aircraft works.
When the railways were
nationalised
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
in
1948
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect.
** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
, Filton Junction came under the aegis of the
Western Region of British Railways
The Western Region was a region of British Railways from 1948. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right on completion of the "Organising for Quality" initiative on 6 April 1992. The Region consisted principally of ex- Great ...
.
Following the publication of the
Beeching Report Beeching is an English surname. Either a derivative of the old English ''bece'', ''bæce'' "stream", hence "dweller by the stream" or of the old English ''bece'' "beech-tree" hence "dweller by the beech tree".''Oxford Dictionary of English Surnames' ...
, the Henbury Line was closed to passengers in 1964, and service levels began to decline. The line between and Severn Beach was also closed, putting an end to loop services. The goods yard was closed in July 1965, and the station's name reverted to Filton from 6 May 1968. Much of the station buildings were demolished in 1976, as were the platforms serving Badminton Line trains, as no trains on this line called at Filton anymore. The remaining two platforms had small replacement shelters built on them.
In 1974, when the
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
came into effect, the southern part of Gloucestershire, including the district of Filton, became part of the new county of
Avon.
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
was split into business-led sectors in the 1980s, at which time operations at Filton passed to
Regional Railways
Regional Railways was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982 that existed until 1997, two years after privatisation. The sector was originally called ''Provincial''.
Regional Railways was the most subsidised (per pas ...
.
In the 1990s, plans were made to build a new station in Filton and close the 1903 station. The last train called on 8 March 1996, with services moving to the new Filton Abbey Wood from 11 March, with two intervening days of no service due to a closure of the
Severn Tunnel
The Severn Tunnel ( cy, Twnnel Hafren) is a railway tunnel in the United Kingdom, linking South Gloucestershire in the west of England to Monmouthshire in south Wales under the estuary of the River Severn. It was constructed by the Great Western ...
. The remains of Filton Junction can still be seen from passing trains, and the two western platforms are still present, albeit overgrown. The subway has been blocked off, and the access road is now a residential street called "The Sidings".
Third station: Filton Abbey Wood
![2018 at Filton Abbey Wood - waiting sheler on platform 4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/2018_at_Filton_Abbey_Wood_-_waiting_sheler_on_platform_4.JPG)
In the early 1990s, the
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
procurement division was consolidated into a major office development in Filton, known as
MoD Abbey Wood
MoD Abbey Wood is a Ministry of Defence establishment at Filton, Bristol, United Kingdom. The purpose-built site houses the MoD's Defence Equipment and Support and Submarine Delivery Agency procurement organisations. It was opened by Queen Eliz ...
. As part of this development, a new station was built in Filton, primarily to serve the MoD workers. Construction began in 1995, and cost £1,400,000. The station, named Filton Abbey Wood, was opened to the public on 11 March 1996 and officially opened on 19 March by
Minister for Transport
A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government agen ...
Steven Norris
Steven John Norris (born 24 May 1945 in Liverpool) is a British Conservative Party politician and businessman. Norris served as Member of Parliament for Oxford East from 1983 to 1987. After narrowly losing that marginal seat in 1987 he re-ente ...
MP and the Chair of
Avon County Council
Avon County Council was the county council of the non-metropolitan county of Avon in south west England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1974 and was abolished on 1 April 1996 at the same time as the county. The county council was based at Av ...
.
Shortly after the station was opened, the
county of Avon
Avon () was a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in the west of England that existed between 1974 and 1996. The county was named after the River Avon, which flows through the area. It was formed from the county boroughs of Bristol and Ba ...
was disbanded, with the Filton region now governed by
South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke, the latter three forming part ...
council.
The new station was situated south of the first Filton station, and south of Filton Junction.
There were two platforms, each long, separated by two running lines.
A ramped footbridge connected the platforms at the north end, and each platform had ground-level access from the sides: the eastern, southbound platform from MoD Abbey Wood; the western, northbound platform via a footpath from the car park to the north. There were metal and glass shelters on each platform and a small, rarely used booking office on the southbound platform.
Initial services at the station included local stopping services from Bristol to South Wales, and services between and . Services towards Bath were of particular importance to the MoD, as many of their staff had been based there prior to the construction of MoD Abbey Wood.
South Gloucestershire council provided a subsidy for half-hourly services to Bath.
The station proved popular with MoD workers, local residents commuting into central Bristol, and also students and staff at the
University of the West of England
The University of the West of England (also known as UWE Bristol) is a public research university, located in and around Bristol, England.
The institution was know as the Bristol Polytechnic in 1970; it received university status in 1992 and ...
.
When the railway was
privatised
Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
in 1997, local services were franchised to
Wales & West
Wales & West was a train operating company in the United Kingdom that operated the South Wales & West franchise from 1996 until 2001.
The franchise was operated by Prism Rail from October 1996 until July 2000, when the firm was taken over by N ...
, which was succeeded by
Wessex Trains
Wessex Trains was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by National Express that operated the Wessex Trains franchise from October 2001 until March 2006, when the franchise was merged with the Great Western and Thames Valley f ...
in 2001. The line through Filton closed for two weeks in June 2004 to enable the construction of a new platform and third running line on the west side of the station, separating trains towards Bristol Parkway from trains towards Wales before the station, and so allowing through-trains to pass stopping trains.
The project cost £16 million,
and caused the complete suspension of
Severn Beach Line services to allow longer-distance services to use it as a diversion.
The Wessex franchise was amalgamated with the Great Western franchise into the
Greater Western franchise
Greater Western is a railway franchise for the provision of passenger services from London Paddington to the Cotswolds, West of England, South West England and South Wales. The current holder is Great Western Railway.
History
In 2003, as part of ...
from 2006, and responsibility passed to First Great Western which was subsequently rebranded as
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
in 2015.
First introduced new services between and , and between and , each calling at Filton Abbey Wood.
From December 2006,
Virgin CrossCountry
Virgin CrossCountry was a train operating company in the United Kingdom operating the InterCity CrossCountry passenger franchise from January 1997 until November 2007. Virgin CrossCountry operated some of the longest direct rail services in th ...
began operating a single daily service
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
to Cardiff Central via Bristol Temple Meads and Filton Abbey Wood. This service was taken over by
Arriva CrossCountry
CrossCountry (legal name XC Trains Limited) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the Cross Country franchise.
The CrossCountry franchise was restructured by the Department for Transport (DfT) i ...
when the CrossCountry franchise changed hands in 2007, and then replaced by a daily service each direction between Cardiff Central and .
A three-week closure of the line and station in late October & early/mid November 2018 saw all trains replaced by buses between Bristol Parkway and Bristol Temple Meads and on the Severn Beach branch whilst the four track layout between Dr Day's Junction and Filton Junction was reinstated, also bringing a new fourth platform at Filton Abbey Wood into use and short extensions to the southern ends of the other three platforms to fully accommodate 5 carriage 23 metre vehicle trains.
Location
![Filton Abbey Wood from the footbridge](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Filton_Abbey_Wood_from_the_footbridge.jpg)
Filton Abbey Wood railway station is located in the
Filton
Filton is a town and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England, north of Bristol. Along with nearby Patchway and Bradley Stoke, Filton forms part of the Bristol urban area and has become an overflow settlement for the city. Filton Church d ...
area of
South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke, the latter three forming part ...
, within the
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
conurbation
A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ca ...
. The area to the west of the station is primarily residential, while to the east is a large commercial area, including
MoD Abbey Wood
MoD Abbey Wood is a Ministry of Defence establishment at Filton, Bristol, United Kingdom. The purpose-built site houses the MoD's Defence Equipment and Support and Submarine Delivery Agency procurement organisations. It was opened by Queen Eliz ...
which is adjacent to the station.
The main access to the station is via a long footpath (a slope of approximately 1 in 8) and bridge from Emma-Chris Way to the north, which has a small car park.
There is also foot access from MoD Abbey Wood to the east.
The station is on the
Cross Country Route
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...
between and , and just off the
South Wales Main Line
The South Wales Main Line ( cy, Prif Linell De Cymru), originally known as the London, Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway or simply as the Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway, is a branch of the Great Western Main Line in Great Britain. ...
south of and the eastern end of the
Henbury Loop Line
The Henbury Loop Line, also known as the Filton to Avonmouth Line, is a railway line following the boundary between Bristol and South Gloucestershire between the Severn Beach Line at Hallen Marsh Junction, Avonmouth and the Cross Country Rout ...
.
It is from Bristol Temple Meads and from (via Bristol Parkway).
[Railways in the United Kingdom are, for historical reasons, measured in miles and chains. There are 80 chains to the mile.] The station is just north of Filton South Junction, where the northbound line to South Wales and the westbound line to Avonmouth split from the line to Bristol Parkway, and just south of Filton Junction No. 1, where the southbound lines from South Wales and Parkway converge.
The next station south is , the next station north is Patchway, and the next station east is Bristol Parkway.
Facilities
Facilities at the station are minimal - there are metal and glass shelters on each platform, and some seating. A small ticket office operates on platform 1 on weekday afternoons, there is also a machine for buying tickets but the station is generally unstaffed. There are customer help points, giving next train information for all platforms, as well as dot-matrix displays showing the next trains on each platform. A small
pay and display
A pay and display machine is a type of ticket machine used for regulating parking in urban areas or in car parks. It relies on a customer purchasing a ticket from a machine and displaying the ticket on the dashboard, windscreen or passenger win ...
car park with 30 spaces is to the north of the station, as are racks for eight bicycles. CCTV cameras are in operation at the station.
Passenger volume
Over the decade 2002–2012, passenger numbers at Filton Abbey Wood almost doubled, from 395,000 to 771,000.
[Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Filton Abbey Wood, from ]Office of Rail and Road
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the economic and safety regulation of Britain's railways, and the economic monitoring of National Highways.
ORR regulates Network Rail by setting its ...
statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. In the 2006/07 financial year, over 50,000 passengers used Filton Abbey Wood to travel to or from Bristol Temple Meads.
Platform layout
Services typically use the following platforms:
Platform 1 - Services heading towards Bristol Temple Meads from Bristol Parkway
Platform 2 - Services heading towards Bristol Parkway from Bristol Temple Meads
Platform 3 - Services heading towards Bristol Temple Meads from Cardiff Central
Platform 4 - Services heading towards Cardiff Central from Bristol Temple Meads
Services
![Filton Abbey Wood - GWR 165132 Cardiff Central service](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Filton_Abbey_Wood_-_GWR_165132_Cardiff_Central_service.JPG)
Filton Abbey Wood is managed by
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
which operates all services from the station.
The basic service Monday to Friday is four trains per hour in each direction, split between four services. These are the hourly services each way between and ; and ; and Cardiff Central; and finally and . The Taunton service has occasional extensions to and beyond, while the Gloucester to Westbury has alternate hour extensions to (via
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Englan ...
) in the north, to in the south, and one daily extension to . Combined, there are two trains per hour to Bristol Parkway, two trains per hour to Cardiff Central and four trains per hour to .
A single direct service from
London Paddington
Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services pro ...
calls at Filton Abbey Wood in the morning, continuing to , but there are no direct services to London.
CrossCountry services pass non-stop.
The local services described above are formed using , ,
165
Year 165 ( CLXV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Orfitus and Pudens (or, less frequently, year 918 ''Ab urbe condita'' ...
and
diesel multiple-unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...
trains.
The London to Swansea service is operated by
Class 800s or
Class 802s.
The standard journey time to Bristol Temple Meads is 8 minutes, to Bristol Parkway is 4 minutes, and to Cardiff Central is 50 minutes.
On weekdays only, a
Parliamentary service
A parliamentary train was a passenger service operated in the United Kingdom to comply with the Railway Regulation Act 1844 that required train companies to provide inexpensive and basic rail transport for less affluent passengers. The act requ ...
also travels via Bristol West Curve, avoiding Bristol Temple Meads. It departs at 15:59 and stops next at
Keynsham
Keynsham ( ) is a town and civil parish located between Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. It has a population of 16,000.
It was listed in the Domesday Book as ''Cainesham'' (as it is pronounced), which is believed to mean the home of Sai ...
.
Future
First Great Western
Great Western Railway (GWR) is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that operates the Greater Western passenger railway franchise. It manages 197 stations and its trains call at over 270. GWR operates long-distance inter-city ...
declined a contractual option to continue the
Greater Western franchise
Greater Western is a railway franchise for the provision of passenger services from London Paddington to the Cotswolds, West of England, South West England and South Wales. The current holder is Great Western Railway.
History
In 2003, as part of ...
beyond 2013, citing a desire for a longer-term contract due to the
impending upgrade to the Great Western Main Line.
The franchise was
put out to tender,
but the process was halted and later scrapped due to the fallout from the
collapse of the InterCity West Coast franchise competition.
A two-year franchise extension until September 2015 was agreed in October 2013,
and subsequently extended until March 2019.
The line through Filton Abbey Wood was due to have been electrified by 2017 as part of the Great Western Main Line electrification project, however this has been postponed indefinitely.
The
Cross Country Route
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...
, the
Bristol to Exeter line
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in S ...
and the
Heart of Wessex Line
The Heart of Wessex Line, also known as the Bristol to Weymouth Line, is a railway line that runs from to and Weymouth in England. It shares the Wessex Main Line as far as Westbury and then follows the course of the Reading to Taunton Line a ...
were not set to be electrified, so services at Filton Abbey Wood would still have been provided by diesel trains; however many "
Sprinter" units have been replaced by and "Turbo" units.
The group
Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways
Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways (FoSBR) is a Bristol-based campaign group, calling for better rail transport in the Bristol area.
Formation
FoSBR was formed in 1995 as ''Friends of Severn Beach Railway'', to protest against the potential ...
supports the electrification continuing beyond the main lines,
as does
MP for
Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmixon ...
John Penrose
John David Penrose (born 22 June 1964) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Weston-super-Mare since 2005. A member of the Conservative Party, he was the United Kingdom Anti-Corruption Champion at the Home Office fr ...
. The electrification scheme also included the four-tracking of the line through Filton to allow more services between and and to separate fast inter-city services from local stopping services, which was completed in November 2018.
A fourth platform has been added in November 2018 as part of the project.
Filton Abbey Wood is on the / corridor, one of the main axes of the
Greater Bristol Metro
MetroWest, formerly known as the Greater Bristol Metro, is a project to improve the rail services in Bristol, England, and the surrounding region. It was first proposed at First Great Western's Stakeholder Event in March 2008. The aim of the p ...
, a rail transport plan which aims to enhance transport capacity in the Bristol area. The plan will also see the reopening of the
Henbury Loop Line
The Henbury Loop Line, also known as the Filton to Avonmouth Line, is a railway line following the boundary between Bristol and South Gloucestershire between the Severn Beach Line at Hallen Marsh Junction, Avonmouth and the Cross Country Rout ...
and the opening of a new station at Ashley Hill between Filton and .
Notes
See also
*
Rail services in Bristol
References
External links
{{Closed stations Gloucestershire
Filton
Railway stations in Bristol, Bath and South Gloucestershire
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1996
Railway stations opened by Railtrack
Railway stations served by Great Western Railway
DfT Category F1 stations