Parson Street railway station
Encyclopedia
Parson Street railway station serves the western end of Bedminster in Bristol
, England
. It also serves other surrounding suburbs including Bishopsworth
and Ashton Gate
, along with Bristol City FC.
was opened on 14 June 1841 but there was no station between Bedminster
and Flax Bourton until the Great Western Railway
opened "Parson Street Platform" on 29 August 1927. This was situated in a cutting and access to the two platforms was by steps from the bridge that carried Parson Street across the east end of the cutting.
On 21 May 1933 the station was reopened after significant alterations that saw the cutting widened to accommodate four tracks and two island platforms, one for trains in each direction. From north to south the tracks were the Up Relief and Up Main (towards Temple Meads), Down Main and Down Relief. A booking office was provided on a widened Parson Street bridge and so the station became known as "Parson Street" - the "Platform" denoting a minor stopping place being no longer appropriate.
Immediately east of the station was Malago Vale Carriage Sidings, while to the west was Parson Street Junction. This gave access to the Portishead branch line
and a large marshalling yard – Bristol West Depot – was laid out on the south side of the line.
The Bristol Area Resignalling Scheme in the 1970s saw the Down Relief line converted to a siding linking Malago with West Depot where the marshalling yard had become carriage sidings, but this was lifted when West Depot closed sometime after the opening of a new depot at St Philips Marsh
to service High Speed Train
s. A small road/rail container terminal was operated from the opposite side of the line during the 1980s, and has since reopened to container traffic. The Up Relief line is still used for trains coming off the branch. Trains running on the Up Main from the west can only move across to the Up Relief after passing through Parson Street.
. The basic pattern of trains is an hourly train calling at all stations between Bristol Parkway
and Weston-super-Mare
. There are also peak hour services from Cardiff
to Taunton
. There is a two-hourly service each way on Sundays.
The station is unstaffed but push-button information point is provided giving details of train services from the station. A payphone is located nearby.
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It also serves other surrounding suburbs including Bishopsworth
Bishopsworth
Bishopsworth is the name of both a council ward of the city of Bristol in the United Kingdom, and a suburb of the city which lies within that ward.As well as the suburb of Bishopsworth, the ward contains the areas of Bedminster Down, Highridge and Withywood....
and Ashton Gate
Ashton Gate
Ashton Gate Stadium is a stadium in Ashton Gate, Bristol, England, and is the home of Bristol City F.C. Located in the south-west of the city, just south of the River Avon, it has an all-seated capacity of 21,497, with an effective capacity for football matches of around 19,500, with an average...
, along with Bristol City FC.
History
The Bristol and Exeter RailwayBristol and Exeter Railway
The Bristol & Exeter Railway was a railway company formed to connect Bristol and Exeter.The company's head office was situated outside their Bristol station...
was opened on 14 June 1841 but there was no station between Bedminster
Bedminster railway station
Bedminster railway station is on the Bristol to Taunton Line and serves the suburb of Bedminster in Bristol, England. It also serves the area of Windmill Hill.-History:The Bristol and Exeter Railway was opened on 14 June 1841...
and Flax Bourton until the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
opened "Parson Street Platform" on 29 August 1927. This was situated in a cutting and access to the two platforms was by steps from the bridge that carried Parson Street across the east end of the cutting.
On 21 May 1933 the station was reopened after significant alterations that saw the cutting widened to accommodate four tracks and two island platforms, one for trains in each direction. From north to south the tracks were the Up Relief and Up Main (towards Temple Meads), Down Main and Down Relief. A booking office was provided on a widened Parson Street bridge and so the station became known as "Parson Street" - the "Platform" denoting a minor stopping place being no longer appropriate.
Immediately east of the station was Malago Vale Carriage Sidings, while to the west was Parson Street Junction. This gave access to the Portishead branch line
Portishead Railway
The Portishead Railway was a branch line railway running from Portishead in Somerset to the Great Western Main Line in Bristol, England. It was constructed in the 1860s by the Bristol & Portishead Pier and Railway, which was incorporated to build a pier and a broad gauge link to the Bristol and...
and a large marshalling yard – Bristol West Depot – was laid out on the south side of the line.
The Bristol Area Resignalling Scheme in the 1970s saw the Down Relief line converted to a siding linking Malago with West Depot where the marshalling yard had become carriage sidings, but this was lifted when West Depot closed sometime after the opening of a new depot at St Philips Marsh
St Philips Marsh
St Philip's Marsh is an industrial inner suburb of Bristol, England. It is bounded by River Avon and Harbour feeder canal making it an almost island area, unlike the other two areas surrounded by water, it was historically part of Gloucestershire...
to service High Speed Train
High Speed Train
There are three types of trains in Britain that have been traditionally viewed as high speed trains:* Advanced Passenger Train - Tilting trains which never entered into regular revenue-earning service....
s. A small road/rail container terminal was operated from the opposite side of the line during the 1980s, and has since reopened to container traffic. The Up Relief line is still used for trains coming off the branch. Trains running on the Up Main from the west can only move across to the Up Relief after passing through Parson Street.
Services
This station and all trains serving it are operated by First Great WesternFirst Great Western
First Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....
. The basic pattern of trains is an hourly train calling at all stations between Bristol Parkway
Bristol Parkway railway station
Bristol Parkway railway station is situated in Stoke Gifford in the northern suburbs of Bristol, England. It is part of the British railway system owned by Network Rail, and is managed by First Great Western....
and Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare railway station
Weston-super-Mare railway station serves the town of Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, England. It is situated on a loop off the main Bristol to Taunton Line....
. There are also peak hour services from Cardiff
Cardiff Central railway station
Cardiff Central railway station is a major railway station on the South Wales Main Line in Cardiff, Wales.It is the largest and busiest station in Wales and one of the major stations of the British rail network, the tenth busiest station in the United Kingdom outside of London , based on 2007/08...
to Taunton
Taunton railway station
Taunton railway station is a junction station on the route from London to Penzance, from London Paddington station. It is situated in Taunton, Somerset, England and is operated by First Great Western...
. There is a two-hourly service each way on Sundays.
The station is unstaffed but push-button information point is provided giving details of train services from the station. A payphone is located nearby.
See also
- Public transport in BristolPublic transport in BristolThe majority of public transport users in the Bristol Urban Area are transported by bus, although rail has experienced growth and does play an important part, particularly in peak hours...