The Severn Beach line is a local railway line in Bristol and Gloucestershire, England, which runs from to , and used to extend to . The first sections of the line were opened in 1865 as part of the Bristol Port Railway and Pier; the section through Bristol was opened in 1875 as the Clifton Extension Railway.
The line has faced several threats of closure over the years, and has been reduced to single track in many places. In the 21st century it has experienced a surge in passenger numbers, with a 90% increase in the years 2007–2011. All services along the line are operated by Great Western Railway, generally two trains per hour in each direction between Temple Meads and , calling at all stations, with one train per hour extended to Severn Beach. The line carries little freight traffic, with most of the heavy freight traffic to Avonmouth Docks being routed via the Henbury Loop Line through Filton. The line was highlighted by Thomas Cook as one of the scenic lines of Europe.
Route From , the line runs east, diverging from the Great Western Main Line, Wessex Main Line and Heart of Wessex Line at Bristol East Junction. The line curves to the north, passing under the A4320 and then joining with a chord from the Great Western Main Line at Dr Day's Junction. At this point there are four tracks, but in the past this narrowed to two before . Four tracks were restored as part of the Great Western route improvements. Continuing north, the line passes under the old Midland Railway Bristol to Gloucester Line, passes through station, then diverges west from the Cross Country Route at Narroways Hill Junction. The line from here is single track, passing through woodland and circling the St Werburghs area, then passing under the B4052 (Ashley Hill) before reaching . The line then passes over the A38 Cheltenham Road on a viaduct known as "The Arches", before reaching and continuing along a straight cutting through Cotham before reaching . This is the line's main passing point, as it is one of the few remaining places with double track.
The line then enters the mile-long Clifton Down Tunnel, reappearing in the Avon Gorge. It follows the Avon, passing through before turning inland to and , under the M5 Avonmouth Bridge and through an industrial estate, before reaching . Beyond Avonmouth, the line passes through a small residential area before reaching Avonmouth Docks. A freight yard is to the east of the line here, used for coal trains. is within the yard, and to the north the Henbury Loop Line diverges to the east. The Severn Beach line continues north along the bank of the River Severn to the terminus at .
Beyond Severn Beach, the line used to continue north through the town and further along the bank of the Severn, meeting the Bristol and South Wales Union Railway's line near . It then joined with the South Wales Main Line at .
The line was listed among Thomas Cook's most favoured attractions for its scenic route along the River Avon and River Severn.
Services Services along the line are operated by Great Western Railway, mainly using diesel Turbo units. Until mid-2017, the line had been operated by Sprinter units, occasionally supplemented by Super Sprinter and Express Sprinter units. Until 2012, Pacer units were a regular sight, but these were moved south to work in Devon following a cascade of Class 150/1 units from London Midland and London Overground.
Monday to Friday, two trains per hour run from to , with one extended to and , giving a service at Clifton Down of one train approximately every 30 minutes in each direction. Services start alternately from Bristol and . There is a similar level of service on Saturdays. Sunday sees a roughly hourly service to and from Bristol, with all daytime services extended to Severn Beach.
Clifton Down is the line's main passing point, so trains to Avonmouth usually arrive at the same time as trains to Bristol Temple Meads. Most trains call at all stations. The typical journey time from Temple Meads to Avonmouth is 28 minutes, and 37 minutes to Severn Beach.
All stations on the line are in Travel Zone A (Bristol City) apart from Severn Beach which is in Zone C.
History The Bristol Port Railway and Pier
Bristol sits on the River Avon, with its docks several miles inland. By the 19th century, ships had grown to such a size that navigating the Avon was not possible any more, and so ships would have to dock at the head of the river at Avonmouth instead. The Bristol Port Railway and Pier company (BPRP) was founded in 1862 with the intent to build a single-track standard gauge railway the from Avonmouth to the city centre alongside the Avon. The railway's act of parliament was passed on 17 July 1862, and the railway opened on 6 March 1865, running from a terminus called Clifton in the Avon Gorge.
As built, the railway was isolated from the rest of the national network, having not been intended for anything more than local traffic, so a connection to the main line railways was needed in order to develop Avonmouth as a port. However, due to the position of Clifton station and the large amount of developed land in the Hotwells area, an extension towards Bristol Temple Meads, the city's main station, would have been prohibitively expensive. Instead, a link was proposed from the BPRP at Sneyd Park, running under Clifton Down and through the suburbs to connect to the main lines of the Midland and Bristol and South Wales Union railways. The connection was authorised in 1867, but the BPRP was in financial difficulties, and so unable to complete the line. It entered into negotiations with the Midland and Great Western Railways (the latter now the owner of the Bristol and South Wales Union Railway).
Clifton Extension Railway
The Clifton Extension Railway initially ran from to Narroways Hill Junction with what is now the Cross Country Route north through Bristol, then part of the Great Western Railway; and over a viaduct from Narroways Hill to the Midland Railway's Bristol to Gloucester line near . The line was managed by the Clifton Extension Railway Joint Committee, but in 1894 responsibility was passed to the Great Western & Midland Railways Joint Committee. Services began to Clifton Down on 1 October 1874.
The initial service provided by the Midland Railway was between Clifton Down, Fishponds and , where passengers could change for services to Bath, Birmingham and other Midland destinations. The Great Western provided services from Clifton Down to , the city's major station, where passengers could change for trains to London, Exeter and Wales, among others. The Great Western also provided occasional through services to . There were a total of 23 trains in each direction between the two companies Monday-Saturday. On Sundays, there was no Midland service, but seven Great Western trains. The fare to Temple Meads was 6d first-class and 3d third-class.
The Clifton Down Tunnel, the final link to the Bristol Port Railway and Pier, was opened in 1877, initially allowing freight trains to reach Avonmouth Docks. It was not until 1885 that it was cleared for passenger use, which allowed services to via and . There was a trial Midland service between and Avonmouth in September 1885, but this was ended after a month. In 1886, the daily Great Western service was six trains each way between Avonmouth and Temple Meads, 24 trains from Clifton Down to Temple Meads and 26 the other direction. The Midland provided 12 services from Clifton Down to Fishponds, and 11 back.
There was not initially a station at , but there was local support, with several petitions submitted to the line's Joint Railway Committee. The first was received in October 1885, but was rejected due to the estimated cost of £3,410 to provide the station. A second petition was rejected eighteen months later. The Bristol Chamber of Commerce petitioned for a station in 1892, but the Committee again rejected the request, stating that estimated traffic levels would not justify the expense. It took until 1896 until a revised plan was accepted by the committee. The station finally opened on 12 April 1897.
In 1910, Clifton Down 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 First World War. The section of the Bristol Port Railway and Pier closed in 1922, so to compensate, an additional six trains were provided from Clifton Down to Avonmouth, and four back.
In 1923, grouping resulted in the Midland Railway being absorbed into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), and the line continued in a joint arrangement between the Great Western and the LMS. From 1924, many trains to Avonmouth were extended to , a growing seaside resort, and some on to , then back to Temple Meads via . The Second World War saw the end of services to Fishponds and Mangotsfield, the last operating on 31 March 1941. By 1947, just before the start of the British Rail era, there were 33 services each direction between Avonmouth and Temple Meads, and 18 on Sundays. Some trains made circular trips to and from Temple Meads via Clifton Down and or .
British Rail
When the railways were nationalised in 1948, the Severn Beach line came under the aegis of the Western Region of British Railways. Passenger numbers however dropped sharply in 1961 as the result of a fare increase, and so in 1962 a new reduced timetable was enacted, which lost more passengers, and saw the withdrawal of a special schoolchildren's service. A year later in 1963, the Beeching report suggested that all services along the line be withdrawn. Following meetings with staff, it was decided to keep the line open to Severn Beach, but to close the section to Pilning, and also end services via Henbury. These services duly ended, but the line was still threatened, and on 10 February 1967 it was announced that all services between and Severn Beach would be discontinued. An enquiry followed, and in June that year the decision was reversed, on the condition that tickets be issued on the trains. Thus, on 17 July 1967, all stations along the line, other than Temple Meads, had their staff withdrawn. The decrease of costs allowed a reduction of ticket prices, but the line was still under threat until in June 1969 it was decided that the line's closure would result in significant hardship, and so a grant was allocated to ensure continued services. Most of the line was reduced to single track in late 1970, leaving Clifton Down as one of the few passing places.
In 1971 the weekday service was 20 trains in each direction, 19 calling at all stations between Bristol Temple Meads and Severn Beach and 1 train that terminated at St Andrews Road.
On 20 October 1981, the Severn Beach line saw one of the first uses of a railbus on passenger services, when British Rail Engineering Limited Railbus RB003 operated the 10:08 service from . The first railbus concept, LEV1, would begin operations on the line less than a week later. Later model Pacer railbuses would be a regular sight on the line until 2012.