Future
First Great Western declined an option to continue the Greater Western passenger franchise (of which local and London services at Weston-super-Mare are a part) beyond 2013, citing a desire for a longer-term contract due to the impending upgrade to the Great Western Main Line. The franchise was put out to tender, and it was announced in March 2012 that Deutsche Bahn, First Group, National Express and Stagecoach had pre-qualified. The winner was expected to be announced in December 2012, with the new franchisee taking over in April 2013, however, it was announced in July 2012 that the franchise would be extended due to the late issue of the Invitation to Tender (ITT). The ITT was eventually released at the end of July, but the process was halted and later scrapped due to the fallout from the collapse of the InterCity West Coast franchise competition. Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin MP stated that he would aim to negotiate an agreement to extend the current First Great Western for at least two years. The new franchise will see the introduction of new Intercity Express Trains, capacity enhancements and smart ticketing.
With the coming upgrade to the Great Western Main Line, the main line from London to Bristol is due to be electrified. However, the electrification will not extend beyond Bristol, so Weston-super-Mare will continue to be served by diesel trains. This could entail the removal of direct London services, as electric trains would not be able to operate beyond Bristol. Services could however continue using bi-mode trains, which have electric engines that can be powered by either electrified tracks, or by on-board diesel generators. The group Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways supports the electrification continuing to Weston, as does MP for Weston-super-Mare John Penrose. It was suggested that the loss of direct London services would see a 40% decrease in passenger numbers.
The Weston-super-Mare/Yate corridor is one of the main axes of the Greater Bristol Metro, a rail transport plan which aims to enhance transport capacity in the Bristol area.
Read more about this topic: Weston-super-Mare Railway Station
Famous quotes containing the word future:
“If ever the search for a tranquil belief should end,
The future might stop emerging out of the past,
Out of what is full of us; yet the search
And the future emerging out of us seem to be one.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
“The future is built on brains, not prom court, as most people can tell you after attending their high school reunion. But you’d never know it by talking to kids or listening to the messages they get from the culture and even from their schools.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1953)
“Our system of government, in spite of Vietnam, Cambodia, CIA, Watergate, is still the best system of government on earth. And the greatest resource of all are the 215 million Americans who still have within us the strength, the character, the intelligence, the experience, the patriotism, the idealism, the compassion, the sense of brotherhood on which we can rely in the future to restore the greatness to our country.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)