New station at Ashley Down, Bristol

[whole diary]

[johnneyw]

Took a picture today of the "brick" cladding going up on the lift towers.  The cherry picker is preferred to scaffolding and each brick cladding piece seems to slot into the metal frame.  Apparently the unfilled horizontal bits are going to be for contrasting bricks to give it a spot of variety.
There's also much activity....and mud.... around the station access area.

[Red Squirrel]

Ashley Down station taking shape, with Concorde Way closure extended

23 February 2024 at 17:00

Bristol’s latest new railway station is taking shape in Ashley Down. Its platforms, footbridge, and lift are now in place following a huge effort since construction began in March 2023.

While work continues on building Bristol’s second new station, after the city’s first new station in almost a century opened last year at Portway Park & Ride, the council is leading on the project to create a gateway to the new entrance to Ashley Down station.

To carry out the station build safely, it was necessary to close Station Lane and a section of the Concorde Way walking, wheeling and cycling route. Ongoing station building works and the entrance works unfortunately require Concorde Way to remain temporarily closed for longer than anticipated.

The Secretary of State for the Department for Transport has granted an extension of the temporary closure until 30 September 2024 or until completion of the station works, whichever is earlier. It is unlikely all this extra time will be needed and work is continuing at pace to complete the new station and entrance works and to reopen Concorde Way as soon as possible.

Councillor Don Alexander, Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “I know lots of people from Ashley Down and Lockleaze will be looking forward to using their brand new station later this year, massively improving connectivity. I recently visited the station to see how works are progressing and it’s great to see it taking shape.

“It’s disappointing that the Concorde Way closure will need to be extended and I’d like to thank residents for their continued patience. This work will be well worth it, when, later this year, we have another new railway station that serves communities in Bristol.

“New railway stations, such as Ashley Down, open up sustainable transport options for communities across Bristol and the wider region, and give us an idea of the multiple benefits a mass transit system could bring, which would be truly transformative for travelling through the city.”

To complete the works safely, an extra section of Concorde Way, from Station Road to Muller Road, which is included in the closure application but has remained open so far, will need to be closed to complete the entrance works with a diversion via Ralph Road put in place.

The Ashley Down station project partnership includes the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority working with Bristol City Council, Network Rail and Great Western Railway.

The station is part of the MetroWest programme which aims to unlock opportunities for both business and pleasure for residents between Ashley Down and Temple Meads, Filton and Henbury.

When complete, Ashley Down station will initially be served by hourly trains operating between Bristol Temple Meads and Filton Abbey Wood from Monday to Saturday and a more limited service on Sundays. The service will be extended once the planned stations at North Filton and Henbury have opened.

Find out more about Ashley Down station at https://travelwest.info/projects/ashley-down-station

The gateway works involve connecting Station Road up to the entrance to the new station, making sure it offers Equality Act compliant access. It includes:

• an accessible route to the station entrance and a resting bench
• two Disabled parking bays and a loading bay
• improvement to the levels of Concorde Way
• new steps from Station Road to the subway
• new measures to reduce potential issues between cyclists and pedestrians in a narrow space, including painting ‘SLOW’ markings and improving visibility along Concorde Way near the subway
• a crossing point to the station entrance
• landscaping works, including flowering hedges, meadow grassland, spring flowering bulbs, planting tree and shrubs, and installing bird and bat boxes
• lighting leading up to the station entrance

Source: Bristol City Council

[PrestburyRoad]

That brick cladding on the lift towers looks rather like a modern version of mathematical tiles, adapted for modern building technologies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematical_tile

The appearance looks fine to me; I hope it lasts well.

[johnneyw]

There's been visible progress since I last took a picture from the same location so I thought that I'd post one from today to show the difference.
The access is coming on as well but as it was a tad busy there I decided best not to get in the way to take a picture.... perhaps save that for a sunny evening when it's quiet.

[johnneyw]

It was a nice enough evening to have a quick look at the access works to the station after the orange clad ones had gone home and take a few pictures.
The excavations and landscaping are beginning to make sense now and hopefully a spell of drier weather will help accelerate the process.....the recent prolonged period of wet conditions can't have helped.  Anyway here's two photos of the works plus an overview shot of how the bridge and platforms are shaping up.

[johnneyw]

Took a look yesterday when it was quiet to view the progress.  The main visual changes now centre around the access work being undertaken at the bottom of Station Road.  It's beginning to look a lot less like a bad day at The Somme with the bulk of the soil/mud excavation now seemingly completed and the installation of supporting structures being evident.

As usual, a few photos.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thanks for your updates here, johnneyw 

[johnneyw]

Ten days of pretty decent weather since my previous visit has produced further progress, as is hopefully demonstrated by the pictures below showing further news excavations and the construction of supporting walls.
I also managed to find a more helpful vantage point to take the photos from.

[Red Squirrel]

Network Rail have posted an update on Ashley Down Station here: https://twitter.com/networkrailwest/status/1793673242692968593

In essence, they're at the systems testing phase.

Bristol 247 put up a story based on this tweet, which I won't quote here as it doesn't really add much. You can read that here; https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/ashley-down-station-could-open-before-end-2024/

[johnneyw]

The race is on between who will finish first, the Network Rail Contractors for the station itself or Bristol City Council's contractors for the access works.
My money's on the NR^» (Network Rail - home page) people.

[bobm]

Looks like a test train is pausing at Ashley Down tonight.

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:V24774/2024-06-13/detailed#allox_id=0

[johnneyw]

It's some while since I last took a few snaps of how things are going.  I'd describe progress for the access works as steady rather than spectacular but the station looks like it's pretty much done.
Anyway, three photos from today showing where the steps have been cast and some of the supporting structures as well as more evened out ground.

[IndustryInsider]

Excellent.  I await the opening once the works have been finished and the usual 12 month bureaucracy has passed by. 

[johnneyw]

the usual 12 month bureaucracy has passed by. 

What?  Such reckless haste by our local authorities?   

[Red Squirrel]

Some photos from yesterday:

Station entrance:


View from Station Rd, showing new steps and access ramps under construction: