Work underway on another new train station

Dan Norris, the Mayor of the West of England, visited Brabazon on Friday to see the start of work on another new train station for the West of England, with enabling works and site surveys underway.

Brabazon is the new neighbourhood for Bristol being built on the historic former Filton Airfield. The new station will not only serve the new urban community, but also the eagerly-anticipated 19,500 capacity YTL Arena Bristol. Once complete, accelerated to be potentially as soon as Autumn 2026, it should connect Brabazon to Bristol Temple Meads in less than 15 minutes. BAM, who constructed Ashley Down station (which opened last year), will be building the station.

Representatives of project partners YTL Developments, the award-winning developer behind Brabazon, as well as Network Rail and Great Western Railway (GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)) were joined by the Mayor, Dan Norris; local MP^▸ (Member of Parliament), Claire Hazelgrove; and leader and co-leader of South Gloucestershire Council, Councillors Maggie Tyrell and Ian Boulton to mark the start of work on site on Friday 14th March.

Dan Norris, the Mayor of the West of England, said:

“Work is now underway on yet another new train station for the West of England. I’m proud to have opened two new stations in as many years, including the first new one in Bristol in almost a century, but there’s plenty more coming down the track for our region.

“My Mayoral Combined Authority is going full steam ahead to open this station too – serving the new town at Brabazon and helping people get to the new arena. The West of England is continuing to secure major investment to create new jobs and economic growth now and over the coming years.”

The start of work on the new station is a critical milestone in the delivery of the new urban community at Brabazon. Designed to live up to the legacy of this former Airfield’s pioneering past, the approved plans for Brabazon include thousands of new homes, creative workplaces to support up to 30,000 jobs, as well as the largest new urban public park in the South West for over 50 years, equivalent in size to Bristol’s Castle Park.

Brabazon is one of the largest parcels of urban brownfield land in the country, perfectly placed to address the acute need for new homes across the West of England. It is also located on existing road, rail, bus and active travel links, making it ideally suited to become the most sustainable examples of urban regeneration in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom).

The start of work on the station comes after the YTL Group confirmed in January that it would be investing £4 billion across its UK businesses over the next five years.

Colin Skellett, YTL’s UK Group Chief Executive, said:

“Brabazon is where the pioneers of aerospace created the future. Today the next generation of pioneers are shaping the way we will live, work and play in the 21st century.”

“The West of England faces a housing crisis, so Brabazon, the region’s largest Brownfield site, is part of the solution. Less than five miles from the centre of Bristol, at the heart of a world leading cluster of aerospace, engineering and technology companies and with a rail line, metrobus route and cycle paths. The new train station is essential to our shared vision to create the UK’s most sustainable New Town.”

Great Western Railway Managing Director, Mark Hopwood, said:

"We’ve introduced more new stations than any other train company in recent years, and it’s fantastic that work has now begun on another one, further strengthening our award-winning partnership with the Mayoral Combined Authority and Network Rail.

"The development of Brabazon New Town and its new station highlights the crucial role that rail infrastructure plays in enabling growth, creating jobs, and providing much-needed housing. We are excited to see similar progress at Henbury and Portishead in the near future."

Marcus Jones, Western Route Director at Network Rail, said:

“In the last two years, we’ve built two new stations at Ashley Down and Portway Park & Ride, which are now being well-used by passengers. It’s fantastic to see the new station in north Filton moving forward. This will bring access to the railway to a whole new community at Brabazon and link people from elsewhere in Bristol, and further afield, to this exciting new town development and the eagerly awaited arena.”

Yes, Ashton Gate station and Pill station are (and probably always have been) in the plans for the reopening of the Portishead branch line for passengers. 

Our studies have shown that it is not feasible to build a new Ashton Gate station as part of Phase 1. A new station at Ashton Gate remains within the MetroWest new stations package.

Council strives to close funding gap for Portishead rail line
5:50pm - 10 February 2025

The West of England Mayoral Combined Authority and North Somerset Council have come together to announce that they are looking to contribute the additional funds needed to deliver the Portishead to Bristol rail line.

The Full Business Case for the long-awaited reopening of the rail line was submitted to the Department for Transport in December last year. Through detailed design, the business case identified an emerging gap in the scheme’s funding, caused by delays, inflation and rising costs across the construction industry. 

To tackle this challenge, the West of England Combined Authority are set to contribute another £27m to this important railway scheme, with North Somerset looking to provide the remaining £3m. 

The additional funding from the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority is set to be ratified at their March Committee meeting with North Somerset Council's contribution to be approved at their Council meeting in February. 

If the additional funding is committed and the Full Business Case is approved by the Department for Transport, which they have indicated will follow quickly, construction of the rail line and stations at Portishead and Pill could begin soon afterward.

Councillor Mike Bell, Leader of North Somerset Council and Executive Member for Major Projects, said: “The reopening of the Portishead to Bristol rail line is set to be a transformative project for our area, connecting 50,000 people back into the rail network so that they can use a regular and sustainable transport service to reach a wealth of opportunities across the southwest. 

“Not only would this essential investment in local communities slash travel times in half and reduce car commuting by 5.5%, it would also unlock an estimated £43 million in economic growth every year. 

“This makes the Portishead to Bristol rail line a scheme of significant long-term benefit and something we’re proud to be pushing forward in partnership with the West of England Combined Authority, the Department for Transport and Network Rail. 

“The additional funding from both the West of England Combined Authority and North Somerset Council would close the gap on this shovel ready scheme, bringing us ever closer to the first trains making their journeys in 2027 – the first passenger trains to do so since the line was originally closed almost 60 years ago.

“As ever, I’d like to thank everyone who has put the work in over the past few years to get this vital project so close to construction. In particular, I’d like to thank Mayor Dan Norris for his strong support and North Somerset MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) Sadik Al-Hassan for his continued backing.”

The press release seems weirdly egotistical. Perhaps there's an election coming up? Not to mention that any PR^▸ (Public Relations) professional who uses "full steam ahead" to refer to any railway other than a heritage line deserves to be sent to the stocks.

But, on the other hand, if the egomaniac sees it as his life's work to bring us new stations then I suppose we should indulge him. Hopefully he can be goaded into getting us some overhead electrification.