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THINKING ON LINE TO NOWHERE |
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10:40 - 01 December 2006
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Campaigners calling for the
railway to reopen between Portishead and Bristol
were given a ray of hope when this station
suddenly sprang up in the coastal town.It has a
long platform with sloping ends, a ticket and
station master's office, double rail track, points
and buffers.
There is a traditional chocolate and
cream Portishead sign in the old Great Western
style, copied from the original station which
closed in 1964.
A warning urges passengers
not to cross the line.
It has certainly
opened the eyes of local railway campaigners who
have been calling for the passenger service to
Bristol to reopen for years.
But the new
station is in no way connected to the old track
being given a new lease of life.
Instead it
is a training facility built at a cost of £500,000
by Portishead company Hydrex Equipment UK Ltd,
which specialises in providing heavy plant for the
railway industry.
Project director Trevor
Bidwell-Ford, who plays the role of station
master, said: "The station has been built in our
large yard purely for training
purposes.
"We work with Network Rail and
other rail authorities to replace track and carry
out other jobs in and around stations from the tip
of Scotland to the depths of Cornwall.
"It
is sited only a stone's throw away from the town's
former station and the original track, which still
exists.
"Lots of rail enthusiasts have
called in with hope in their eyes that it might be
connected with the reopening of the passenger
service into Bristol.
"But as much as we
support the idea, we sadly have to tell them this
is not the case. We use the station purely for
training and have made it look as authentic as
possible."
The Government announced last
year that the line would not be opened in the
"foreseeable future" but train operator First
Great Western said recently it would be carrying
out a survey on the line.
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