Work has begun on restoring the Portishead line in Somerset, which will bring the railway to more than 50,000 people in North Somerset.
Funding for the line was finalised last year, and includes a government investment of more than £63 million.
The reopened line will reconnect Portishead and Pill to the railway network. This will enable people to travel more quickly and easily, and will support jobs, housing and investment across the region.
Passenger services ended in 1964, and freight services stopped in 1967. In 2001, the section of the line between Parsons Street Junction and Portbury Dock was reinstated for port traffic.
The project to fully restore the line will upgrade 5.5 miles of existing freight railway and restore 3 miles of former railway. It will also include the construction of two new stations at Pill and Portishead, the latter being one of the largest towns in England without a railway station.
Passenger services are due to start running in 2028, and will take around 25 minutes to travel between Portishead and Bristol Temple Meads, which is less than half the time that journeys can take by car during peak time traffic. Services will run hourly, and will call at Pill, Parson Street and Bedminster
It is predicted that the reopened line will create around 43m of economic growth for the region each year.
In the future, the line will extend further, connecting to Bristol Brabazon station, which will serve one of the UK’s largest new communities. It will also serve the new Aviva Arena, a venue for major music, sport and entertainment events.
“This is a landmark moment, and it is fantastic to see work finally beginning on stations that people in Portishead and Pill have campaigned incredibly hard for.
“The West of England Mayoral Combined Authority, North Somerset Council and our industry partners are delivering these long-awaited stations, laying the foundations for a stronger and more connected rail network.
“The West is moving out of the slow lane, and it is great that Rail Minister Lord Hendy could join us today to see firsthand how we are improving transport across our region. I look forward to hopefully welcoming him back as one of the first passengers when services begin in 2028!”
Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England
Responses
I think that the Portishead line and Henbury line should be brought back into passenger use and new stations to be reinstated and rebuilt.
So apparently “It will also serve the new Aviva Arena, a venue for major music, sport and entertainment events” So is this branch line going to support 8 and 12 car trains or is this going to be a “2 car jobbie”? In which case it is unclear how it can adequately support all passengers travelling to this new arena . And with a 25 minutes running in each direction without provision of a passing loop this is very much going to be a 1 train per hour in each direction .. hardly medium frequency of a service. And you get all this for apparently £63M …