Lawrence Hill railway station

      Lawrence Hill National Rail
      Lawrence Hill
      Location
      Place Lawrence Hill, Bristol
      Local authority Bristol
      Coordinates 51°27′30″N 2°33′52″W / 51.4582°N 2.5644°W / 51.4582; -2.5644Coordinates: 51°27′30″N 2°33′52″W / 51.4582°N 2.5644°W / 51.4582; -2.5644
      Grid reference ST609734
      Operations
      Station code LWH
      Managed by First Great Western
      Number of platforms 2
      Live arrivals/departures and station information
      from National Rail Enquiries
      Annual rail passenger usage*
      2002/03   54,180
      2004/05 Decrease 46,508
      2005/06 Increase 55,065
      2006/07 Increase 68,371
      2007/08 Decrease 55,730
      2008/09 Increase 67,702
      2009/10 Increase 74,876
      2010/11 Increase 93,600
      2011/12 Increase 0.103 million
      History
      Original company Bristol and South Wales Union Railway
      Pre-grouping Great Western Railway
      Post-grouping Great Western Railway
      1863 Opened
      National Rail – UK railway stations
      A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
      * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Lawrence Hill from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
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      Lawrence Hill railway station is a railway station serving the St. George area of Bristol, England as well as the surrounding suburbs of Easton, Barton Hill, Whitehall and Netham. The station is 1 mile (2 km) north of Bristol Temple Meads on the Severn Beach Line and is unmanned.

      History

      Lawrence Hill crash

      The station was opened on 8 September 1863,[1] when the Bristol and South Wales Union Railway was opened. The BSWUR (absorbed by the Great Western Railway in 1868) ran from Temple Meads to New Passage, where a ferry took passengers to South Wales.

      The original track formation had 4 tracks, with 2 lines going between the current platforms and another 2 tracks immediately to the east that bypassed the station. The 2 lines that bypassed the platforms were lifted in the early part of 1985 and the trackbed has been derelict since then. It has been proposed that this unused transport corridor could be used as a tramway or guided bus route toward Filton.

      There was a goods yard at the station immediately to the west of the existing platforms. These were in use for cement depot until the mid-1980s. The land was developed in about 1990 and now has a supermarket and small industrial estate located on it.

      On 1 November 2000, the station was the scene of a crash, when an empty Royal Mail train ran into the back of a loaded coal train. The mail train locomotive rode up over the other train, ending up against the road overbridge while balanced on top of the 3rd coal wagon from the back. The driver of the mail train suffered head injuries in the crash. Officials found that the mail train had passed through two red lights. This accident is referred to in an RIAB accident report,[2] the following text describes part of the accident at Lawrence Hill station: "The misunderstanding and incorrect use of the BPPCUIC cock on an EWS class 67 locomotive led to a serious accident at Lawrence Hill near Bristol (1 November 2000). This resulted in serious injury to a driver and significant damage to equipment."

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      Passenger services

      Summary

      There are generally two trains per hour from Lawrence Hill to Temple Meads or Stapleton Road. Along with the improved services to and from Avonmouth, there will be up to 3 trains per hour between Lawrence Hill and Temple Meads.[3][4]CrossCountry services pass through here but do not stop at the station.

      Severn Beach Line trains

      Monday to Saturday there is a roughly 40 minute service to Bristol Temple Meads and northbound towards Clifton, Avonmouth and Severn Beach. During the morning and afternoon peaks as well as weekday evenings and all day on Saturdays, train services operate to Severn Beach, but at other times only reach Avonmouth, a bus connection being provided for the onward journey. A Sunday service to Severn Beach operates from approximately 10:00 until 18:00.

      Since 18 May 2008 an improved service has been offered.[5] Trains will start earlier in the morning and finish later in the evening, with three trains to/from Avonmouth in every 2-hour cycle during the daytime in addition to those on other routes. This will have the unfortunate side-effect of trains not being at the same times past each hour.

      Services through to Severn Beach will be reduced overall, with only one train every two hours Mondays to Fridays, as opposed to the current service provided by a bus every hour connecting with every train. However, overall journey time to Severn Beach is shortened by 8 minutes by removing the need to change at Avonmouth. The bus continues to run on Saturdays to provide one journey per hour to/from Severn Beach.

      Northbound 'Devonian' in 1958
      A Paignton - Bradford Relief express pounds through Lawrence Hill in 1962
      Northbound express near Lawrence Hill Station in 1963

      Other trains

      Additional trains call on their journey between Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway.

      Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
      Bristol Temple Meads   First Great Western
      Bristol Temple Meads - Avonmouth / Severn Beach      		   Stapleton Road
      First Great Western
      Great Malvern / Gloucester - Westbury / South Coast
      First Great Western
      Bristol Parkway - Weston-super-Mare
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      Proposed changes

      In March 2007 First Great Western, published details of the improvements they plan to undertake over the next three years,[6] at Lawrence Hill they are:

      • CCTV
      • Help and information points
      • Public address system
      • Downside access ramp
      • Showcase Bus route link
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      Cultural references

      The station is mentioned in the introduction to the song Campervan Of Love by rock band Alien Stash Tin.

      It is situated very close to the start of the Bristol and Bath Railway Path, a cycleway.

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      See also

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      References

      1. ^ History of the Severn Beach Line
      2. ^ www.raib.gov.uk/cms_resources/070524_R132007_East%20Didsbury.pdf
      3. ^ Draft Dec 2007 timetable
      4. ^ Severn Beach Line Wikipedia article on the Severn Beach line
      5. ^ http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Documents/Custom/DC%20MAY%202008%20TIMETABLE/Bristol%20Temple%20Meads%20to%20Severn%20Beach.pdf New timetable from First Great Western
      6. ^ First Great Western improvement plans
      Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lawrence Hill railway station
      Railway stations served by Bristol area commuter services
      Taunton to Bristol
      and Cardiff
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      Last modified on 10 April 2013, at 19:32