More Yate station improvements

Great news for commuters as the ticket machine at Yate Station is about to be covered, meaning the machine is less likely to break and will be easier to read on sunny days. Queuing at the ticket window will also be covered, with more shelter on the platform once you’ve got your ticket. Thanks to the Lib Dem Focus Team for putting in funding bids and finally persuading the authorities to pay up!

If you are interested in campaigning for more station improvements, the next Friends of Yate Station meeting is at 7.30pm on 1st November.

New shelter at Yate Station

Lib Dem Metro Mayor Candidate Stephen Williams met

Yate councillors Mike Drew, Sue Walker and Ruth Davis and

 Parliamentary Candidate Claire Young to discuss further

improvements at Yate Station

Passengers at Yate railway station will soon be able to buy their tickets in the dry, thanks to a new shelter that is being installed over the ticket machine and kiosk. The roof could be treated with anti-solar glare material to make it easier for passengers to see the screen on the machine.

Your Focus Team has been campaigning with local rail users for improvements at the station for many years, after winning the battle to get it re-opened in the 1980s. Last year Yate Town Council submitted a funding bid for a shelter for the ticket machine and met South Glos transport officials to push for action.

Last week Stephen Williams, the Liberal Democrat Metro Mayor candidate, met rail campaigners at the station to discuss further improvements. As Metro Mayor, Stephen would push for extra trains and carriages to tackle the overcrowding at Yate, as well as re-opening stations like Charfield.

Your views on Yate transport problems

South Glos Council’s planning blueprint (“Core Strategy”) aims to regenerate the industrial estates to the west of Yate, to create a wider range of jobs and a more attractive approach to the town. The planners are looking at the transport problems in the area. They are already aware of a whole host of issues including:

• The need for improvements at Yate station
• Heavy traffic on Badminton Road and Station Road at peak times
• The difficulty getting into and out of South Avenue and houses on Badminton Road
• The narrowness of the bridge on Stover Road
• The problems caused by lorries wrongly going down North Road

If you have any other concerns you’d like to feed in at this early stage, please contact Claire Young.

Better security for Yate station

Yate rail campaigners have welcomed the news that CCTV cameras are to be installed at the town's station. The Friends of Yate Station were told at a meeting on Monday that eight cameras will be installed to increase security at the site, which has suffered repeated vandalism.

Lib Dem councillor Sue Walker, who chairs the group said, “I'd like to thank everyone who has worked to make this happen. Yate rail users were left out in the wet and cold this winter because the shelters were damaged, which shows how a few mindless vandals can make waiting for a train a misery for everyone. I hope criminals will think twice when these cameras are in place."

She added, "The station has been without a ticket machine for some time thanks to vandalism. First Great Western said they wouldn't replace it while there were no CCTV cameras on site. I hope once there are that they will think again."

Rail shelter fixed at last as First Great Western see sense

At long last the vandalised shelter at Yate station has been fixed - and First Great Western have listened to local Lib Dems and used more vandal-proof materials.

The shelter had been broken since September, with First Great Western insisting it would be too expensive to repair. At a meeting in November, Lib Dem Cllr and train user Chris Willmore suggested to First that instead of replacing the broken panes, yet again, with glass or plastic that gets broken, they should spend to save, and put in the metal mesh with small holes that Lib Dem Yate Town Council has been using successfully on bus stops for years.

They have listened. This is far harder to vandalise (and no, that is NOT a challenge) and people can still see in and out so it feels secure - so with luck our train users should get shelter for a long time. And perhaps First Great Western might even learn the lesson and use this mesh in other places.

Campaigners hopeful of winning battle on rail shelters

Local rail campaigners are winning their battle to keep Yate commuters dry this winter. Last month, rail user Chris Willmore slammed First Great Western’s decision to leave Yate commuters with no shelter from the rain after Perspex panels in the shelters were destroyed by vandals. At Monday’s Friends of Yate Station meeting, she and other campaigners met representatives of the rail company face to face to push for action.

After the meeting, Chris Willmore said, “First Great Western are now investigating using the sort of metal mesh with holes that Yate Town Council has used successfully on its bus shelters, such as the one on Church Road. We are delighted, as this will give a longer term, vandal-resistant solution. Anyone who has waited for a train in the recent wet and windy weather will be keen for the shelters to be fixed as soon as possible.”

The photo shows local rail campaigners and Lib Dem Focus councillors Chris Willmore, Wully Perks and Martin Monk doing a spot of amateur weather forecasting - currently an essential skill for Yate rail passengers.

First Great Western refuse to repair Yate Station shelter

Rail user, Chris Willmore (pictured above), has slammed First Great Western's decision to leave Yate commuters with no shelter from the rain whilst they wait for their train.

At the best of times it is a scramble for the hundreds of commuters waiting for morning trains from Yate to Filton and Bristol to find space in the tiny shelter. But now, even the shelter will not protect them from the rain. All but one panel of the shelter is broken, and rail users were horrified when First refused point blank to repair them.

Chris Willmore, who reported the problem and asked for action said, "This is mad. It leaves users with no shelter. There had been some vandalism, but the police have caught the culprit. Now we need the shelter back. Otherwise we are saying the countless decent rail users, who pay huge sums to use the train must wait in the wind and rain, unprotected. I can see why they didn't repair it whilst the culprit was at large, now he has been caught they should restore it."

"We will be taking it up with First face to face at the next Yate Station Users Group - but frankly First seem more interested in trying to persuade passengers to plant flower beds than actually providing a service to train users."

Campaigners celebrate extra rush-hour train from Yate

Claire Young, Wully Perks (Vice-Chair) and Sue Walker (Chair) of Friends of Yate Station and Steve Webb MP at Yate Station


Following pressure from local MP Steve Webb and the Friends of Yate Station, First Great Western have agreed to put on an extra morning commuter train from Yate in the new timetable to be introduced in May.

Late last year, the MP held a meeting at his Yate office with First Great WesternChief Executive Mark Hopwood to register his complaint about overcrowding on rush-hour trains between Yate and Bristol. The company considered these concerns and has now announced that from May there will be an additional train leaving Yate at 0712, calling at Filton Abbey Wood, Bristol Parkway and Bristol Temple Meads before going on to Westbury. This is a train thatwas previously running empty through the station, starting in Cheltenham Spa and only beginning to pick up passengers at Bristol Parkway.

Commenting on his web site, Steve Webb said:"An extra morning train from Yate to Abbey Wood and Bristol is a big step forward. For passengers who have had enough of overcrowding on the later trains, this will provide an additional option of a less crowded earlier train. For workers with some flexibility on working hours it may mean that they can then travel back home slightly earlier, and thereby avoid the peak rush-hour trains out of Bristol in the evening. Coming on top of the additional carriage that we have secured for the 0815 service, this is another sign that where we campaign effectively we can get things improved".

In addition to the new 0712 service, there is an improvement in service for those travelling to Swindon, with the 0740 service now going on from Bristolto Swindon without the need for changing trains.

What improvements would you like to see at Yate Station?

What improvements would you like to see at Yate Station? More shelters? Better information? Let us know by commenting on this post or by emailing claire.young@southglos.gov.uk.

New parking charges at local stations

On Sunday, huge increases in car parking charges were introduced by First Great Western. The daily charge for parking at Bristol Parkway has gone up by more than a third from £5 per day to £6.90, whilst the charge at Yate has more than doubled from £1 to £2.10. Train companies are looking for new sources of revenue because the current low level of inflation means that they are not allowed to increase many of their principal rail fares this year. However, there is a risk that these very high car parking charges will simply put people off using the train altogether and force even more people onto the roads.

Local MP Steve Webb said, "These huge increases in car parking charges are outrageous. It is ridiculous that the Government tries to cap the cost of rail travel by putting a limit on fare increases but stands idly by while the train companies simply rake in the money through increases in car parking charges. First Great Western should also think again. If higher car park charges put people off travelling altogether then the company will be doing long-term damage to its business by this short term measure".

Steve said that he was also concerned that the large increase in charges at Yate would worsen the problem of rail commuters parking in the residential side streets near to the station. He said that he would now be writing both to the Department of Transport and to First Great Western to protest about the increases.

Some relief for overcrowded Yate rail passengers

First Great Western is putting an extra carriage on an overcrowded morning service from Yate via Filton Abbey Wood and Bristol Parkway to Bristol Temple Meads. From December there will be three carriages on a re-timed train at 8.16 am, instead of just two carriages at 8.09 am.

This follows a campaign by the Friends of Yate Station and Steve Webb MP, who took a senior First GW manager on the train to show how overcrowded it was.

This still leaves an overcrowding problem in the evening service back from Temple Meads.

Steve Webb described the changes as just a small step forward and commented "It's good news but we need three carriages on all peak services. We also need to be confident that trains will always turn up. They should also be running with greater frequency."

So how about it, First Great Western? You'll be able to take some people into Bristol but you won't be able to bring them back. That's not exactly integrated thinking.

For more details see the Evening Post report here.