Sea Mills railway station

Railway station in Bristol, England

Sea Mills railway station is on the Severn Beach Line and serves the districts of Sea Mills, Stoke Bishop, Sneyd Park and nearby Westbury on Trym in Bristol, England. It is 6 mile (10 km) from , situated at the confluence of the River Avon and River Trym and near the A4 Bristol Portway. Its three letter station code is SML. The station has a single platform which serves trains in both directions. as of 2015 it is managed by Great Western Railway, which is the third franchise to be responsible for the station since privatisation in 1997. They provide all train services at the station, mainly a train every 30 minutes in each direction. The station was opened in 1865 by the Bristol Port Railway and Pier, and had a single platform. It later became part of the Clifton Extension Railway, and had a second platform built. The station was expanded over the years, and at one point had four porters staffing it. However the Severn Beach Line declined over the latter half of the twentieth century and by the 1970s the station had no staff and only one platform. Services however have increased since 2000 to a train every 30 minutes in each direction.

The station is located on the southern edge of the district of Sea Mills. The surrounding area is mostly residential, with allotments to the west and a small football ground to the north. The station is less than from the River Avon to the west, and directly south of a small harbour at the mouth of the River Trym, which the railway crosses on a bridge. The station has road access to the east from Sea Mills Lane, which runs parallel to the Trym, and can also be accessed via a footpath along the Avon to the west. The A4 Bristol Portway is less than east of the station, and crosses the railway south of the station. The station is on the Severn Beach Line from to , 6 mile (10 km) from Temple Meads and 7 mile (11 km) from Severn Beach. It is the sixth station from Temple Meads. The next station towards Temple Meads is ; the next towards Severn Beach is
The station is on an alignment of approximately 160 degrees, curving towards the south. The station's western platform was abandoned in 1970 and is overgrown. A user worked level crossing at the north end of the station allows vehicles and pedestrians to cross the railway, alternatively pedestrians may cross the line using a footpath which goes under the bridge over the River Trym. Facilities at the station are minimal – there is a brick shelter and a few seats. Timetable information is provided; help points show next train information and allow users to contact railway staff. There is no ticket office or other means for buying or collecting tickets, nor is there any car park or cycle storage facility. The nearest bus stops are away on the A4 Portway. In 2021 a mural created by Graft which features the flora and fauna of the area and was created at the station in consultation with local people. The line through Sea Mills has a speed limit of for locomotive hauled trains and for diesel multiple units. The line handles less than 5 million train tonnes per year, has a loading gauge of W6 and a route availability of 7. In the 2012/13 financial year, approximately 58,000 passengers used Sea Mills station, making it the 1,863rd busiest station in the country and the tenth busiest within the Bristol unitary authority area. This was an increase of almost 70% from the 2002 03 financial year, and reflected a general rise in usage of the Severn Beach Line.

[[File:Sea Mills railway station MMB 28. jpg|thumb|left|The station building was constructed in 1906, A single 150 feet (46 m) long uncovered platform was provided on the north side of the line, with a wooden building containing the booking office and porter's office. The station staff consisted of a stationmaster with a porter being brought in from Hotwells when needed. A south facing goods siding was provided, but the station mostly dealt with passengers and parcels. The initial service was six trains per day in each direction. Despite the increased traffic, the BPRP suffered financially, and was taken over by the CER in 1890. which was succeeded by Wessex Trains, an arm of National Express, in 2001. Following action by Friends of Severn Beach Railway (FOSBR) and a string of protests, services had increased to 10 per day in each direction by 2005, The Wessex franchise was amalgamated with the Great Western franchise into the Greater Western franchise from 2006, and responsibility passed to First Great Western, a subsidiary company of FirstGroup, rebranded as Great Western Railway in 2015. A minimum service requirement was written into the franchise agreement, ensuring an hourly service along the line, and this has since been increased to three trains every two hours (24 trains per day). Sunday services to Severn Beach were restored in 2010. In December 2021 the service to Avonmouth was improved to half hourly Monday to Saturday, and hourly on Sunday.

thumb|A First Great Western Sprinter DMU calls at Sea Mills with a train for in 2014. Trains such as these displaced the Pacer DMUs which had previously operated the line. First Great Western declined a contractual option to continue the Greater Western passenger franchise (of which services at Sea Mills are a part) beyond 2013, citing a desire for a longer term contract due to the impending upgrade to the Great Western Main Line. but the process was halted and later scrapped due to the fallout from the collapse of the InterCity West Coast franchise competition. A two year franchise extension until September 2015 was agreed in October 2013, and subsequently extended until March 2019. With the coming upgrade to the Great Western Main Line, the main line from London to Bristol is due to be electrified by 2016. However, the electrification will not extend beyond the main lines, so Sea Mills will continue to be served by diesel trains, with the current "Sprinter" units expected to be replaced by and "Turbo" units. Stephen Williams, MP for Bristol West; and the group Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways supports the electrification being extended to the Severn Beach Line. Improved services at Sea Mills are called for as part of the Greater Bristol Metro scheme, a rail transport plan which aims to enhance transport capacity in the Bristol area. There is an aspiration for half hourly services, with trains towards Bristol terminating alternately at and , however due to the large sections of the Severn Beach Line which are single track and to the congested main line from Temple Meads, such frequency is not currently feasible. The enhancement scheme was given the go ahead in July 2012 as part of the City Deal, whereby local councils would be given greater control over money by the government. There are also calls for the reopening of the Henbury Loop Line, which could allow a direct service from Sea Mills to via Plans for a loop were rejected by the West of England Joint Transport Board, however Bristol City Councillors voted to send the decision back to the board for further discussion. There are also calls for the second platform at Sea Mills to be reinstated as a passing loop or as part of a restoration of the whole line to double track.