UK: The government has confirmed it will provide the remaining funding needed to enable the reinstatement of passenger services between Bristol and Portishead.
Passenger services on the line ended in 1964, and freight services were stopped from 1981 to 2002.
In 2023 Network Rail awarded VolkerFitzpatrick a multi-disciplinary works contract for the reinstatement of 5·5 km of disused line between Pill and Portishead to enable the reintroduction of passenger services. The £6·14m first stage covered detailed design and surveys, enabling works and support for the preparation of the full business case. The second stage covering GRIP 6-8 implementation is available as an option subject to funding and consents.
The final £27·6m of funding was confirmed by the government on July 8. This paves the way to mobilisation this autumn, for work to start in spring 2026 and re-opening with a planned hourly service in 2028.
‘After many years of hard work, we have this crucial funding’, said North Somerset Council leader Mike Bell. ‘We can roll up our sleeves in readiness to get out on site, connecting 50 000 residents back into the rail network by linking Portishead and Pill with Bristol and beyond. When it opens, the line will offer its first passenger trains in generations, with journey times of just 23 min providing more sustainable access to jobs, education and an estimated £43m in economic growth every year.’
Mayor of the West of England Helen Godwin said the government’s Spending Review had provided a total of £752m so ‘the west can get out of the slow lane on transport and start to catch up with other city-regions, with better buses, more trains, and mass transit — with trams and much more on the table’.
