Железнодорожная станция Монпелье в Бристоле

Railway station in Bristol, England

Montpelier railway station is on the Severn Beach Line and serves the district of Montpelier in Bristol, England. It is 2.85 mile (5 km) from Its three letter station code is MTP. The station has a single platform, serving 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 on 1 October 1874 as Montpellier (two 'L's) by the Great Western and Midland Railways as part of the Clifton Extension Railway, designed to connect the port of Avonmouth to the national rail network. In February 1888 the station's name changed to Montpelier (one 'L'). The station had two platforms, with the main structures on the southern platform and smaller waiting rooms on the northern platform. In 1903 the station employed 19 staff. Much of the main station building was destroyed by bombing during the Second World War. The Severn Beach Line declined over the latter half of the twentieth century, with passenger numbers falling significantly. Goods services at Montpelier ended in 1965, and all staff were withdrawn in 1967. The line was largely reduced to single track in 1970, with the northern platform abandoned and all trains using the remaining platform. The station building is no longer in railway use. Services had decreased to ten per day each direction by 2005, but have since increased to a train every 30 minutes in each direction.

Montpelier railway station is located in the Bristol ward of Ashley, north of the city centre, serving the districts of Montpelier, Cotham, Ashley Down and St Andrews. The surrounding area is mostly residential, with shops on the nearby A38 Cheltenham Road. The station can be accessed step free from Station Road to the south, or by a footbridge and steps from Cromwell Road to the north. from Bristol Temple Meads, and 10 mile (16 km) from Severn Beach. It is the third station from Temple Meads, and first station of the branch part of the line (the first two stations, and , are on the main line Cross Country Route). The station is on a roughly east–west alignment, curving to the north, with a single curved platform to the south of the track, serving trains in both directions. Directly to the east of the station is the Montpelier Tunnel, and to the west is The Arches bridge over the A38. The station's northern platform was abandoned in 1970 and is overgrown. The station building is used as a workshop and showroom for a company selling fireplaces, and is bricked up on the platform side. It is, however, colourfully decorated with a mural, painted as a collaborative effort between the Severnside Community Rail Partnership and local schools. The Severnside CRP also tend the station's garden in conjunction with the nearby Montpelier High School. There is no car park or taxi rank, but there are bus stops on Cromwell Road, and more on the busy A38 Cheltenham Road roughly away. Cycle storage is available on the platform. In the 2013/14 financial year, approximately 120,000 passengers used Montpelier station, making it the 1592nd busiest station in the country and the fifth busiest within the Bristol unitary authority area. This was an increase of almost 100% from the 2002–03 financial year, and reflected a general rise in usage of the Severn Beach Line.

Montpelier railway station was opened on 1 October 1874 when the Clifton Extension Railway began operations. The line, a joint venture between the Midland and Great Western Railways, was built to connect the Bristol Port Railway and Pier to the national network. The station was built by Messrs Baker & Son of Canon's Marsh, Bristol. The Clifton Down Tunnel, the final link to the Bristol Port Railway and Pier, was opened in 1877, initially allowing freight trains to reach Avonmouth Docks. It was not until 1885 that it was cleared for passenger use, which allowed services to Avonmouth via and There was a trial Midland service between and Avonmouth in September 1885, but this was ended after a month. British Rail was split into business led sectors in the 1980s, at which time operations at Montpelier passed to Regional Railways. At this time, all trains ran to Severn Beach, but the service pattern was irregular. 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, with Bristol City Council providing a subsidy to Wessex Trains. 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 2007, they repainted the mural on the old station building, but it was defaced by vandals the same year. First Great Western offered a £500 reward for identifying the persons responsible, and stated they planned to install CCTV cameras. Students from Fairfield High School repainted the mural with help from professional graffiti artist Richard Minchin. Artist Wei Ong repainted the mural in 2015, and it was repainted again in 2017 by street artist Silent Hobo. Customer help points with next train information screens were installed during 2008/09, paid for by money from the Department for Transport's "Access for All" fund and local councils. The help points were stolen in early 2010, but have since been replaced. A large number of trees north of the station, which had provided noise mitigation and stabilised the embankment, were felled in 2018 by local residents, without permission from Network Rail.

First Great Western declined a contractual option to continue the Greater Western passenger franchise (of which services at Montpelier 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 upgrade to the Great Western Main Line, the main line from London to Bristol was due to be electrified by 2016. However, the electrification was never intended to extend beyond the main lines, and electrification into Bristol Temple Meads was indefinitely delayed in 2016, so Montpelier will continue to be served by diesel trains, with the "Sprinter" units replaced by and "Turbo" units. Stephen Williams, MP for Bristol West, questioned whether electrification could continue to Montpelier and the rest of the Severn Beach Line. Then Secretary of State for Transport Philip Hammond replied that it would have to be looked at in the future. The group Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways supports the electrification of the entire Severn Beach Line. Improved services at Montpelier 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 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 Montpelier to via Avonmouth. 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.

A crash occurred at the station on 14 May 1878, when a train from to Clifton Down hit a goods train which had been shunting at the station. Several of the goods train's wagons were smashed or overturned, and the railway was severely damaged.