Bedminster Railway Station - Incidents

Incidents

There have been several railway incidents in the Bedminster area over the years. On 1 May 2001, a Class 153 unit passed a red signal near Bedminster, but was stopped before it could head on to the Main line from the Relief line in front of a High Speed Train. Three years later, on 23 September 2004, the 12:10 Wessex Trains service from Penzance to Bristol Temple Meads struck and killed a 12 year-old boy on the Up Relief line, who had been hiding under the platform. The death was ruled accidental.

What used to be the westbound relief line at Bedminster was converted into a carriage siding, and is used to stable trains to avoid clogging the platforms at Bristol Temple Meads. However, as the tracks are fairly easily accessible, such trains can be a magnet for vandals, causing First Great Western to offer a reward of £1000 in March 2007 to catch vandals who had been damaging and spray-painting the trains. More generally, there were 19 crimes reported at Bedminster railway station in 2007, and 14 in 2008. British Transport Police statistics noted a 53% reduction in reported crime at Bristol area stations between 2007 and 2012.

On 6 January 2009, the Windmill Hill bridge, just to the west of Bedminster station, was hit by a vehicle, causing some delays to train services while it was assessed for damage. The bridge was struck again on 17 December 2009, which stopped services for 40 minutes.