UK: Mass transit in Bristol ‘is on the table’, newly appointed West of England Mayor Helen Godwin said on June 4 as she welcomed receiving a share of the £15·6bn in transport capital investment funding announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves on the same day.
‘Together, we need to accelerate plans to secure better buses, deliver more trains and railway stations, and give local people proper alternatives to their cars. Trams, rail, light rail and guided buses are all on the table to make that a reality’, Godwin said.
‘Over the years, as a region, we’ve talked too much about mass transit and delivered too little. It’s finally time to deliver a mass transit system that people can rely on. Working with the new government, and with genuine collaboration between local councils, it’s time for real change’, she added.
The West of England Combined Authority will receive £752m to spend on transport, rounded up to £0·8bn in Treasury announcements. Of this total, around £200m is expected to be directed to the development of a ‘mass transit’ network radiating from Bristol to serve destinations in neighbouring North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.
Godwin explained that this could take the form of trams or light rail, or be an expansion of the existing Metrobus network, which uses a mix of guided busway and express routes to connect the centre with outlying suburbs. The next step in the plan will be publication ‘in the autumn’ of a refreshed transport strategy ‘to set out the long term direction of travel’, WECA said.
Bristol City Council meanwhile is undertaking a series of road remodelling schemes running north to south through the city centre with an initial aim of creating a segregated bus priority corridor. This would link Bedminster with the M32 motorway that runs north from the central business district towards Frenchay and Bristol Parkway.
Some council members have suggested that once completed, this car-free corridor could form the basis for a future light rail route. However, a formal business case for the proposed mass transit network would only be completed in 2029-30 at the earliest, according to the combined authority.
Suburban rail growth
Local rail enhancements are also covered in the WECA allocation. Suburban rail services are to receive a £150m share, which will be used to support its ambition to run four trains per hour on the key routes radiating from Bristol.
A specific intervention will focus on enabling frequent trains to run between the emerging development zone at Brabazon and Bristol Temple Meads. Located on former aerospace land in Filton to the north of the city, the Brabazon residential and entertainment zone is expected to be a major traffic generator for the future Henbury Loop line.
Under the existing MetroWest programme, Great Western Railway’s existing hourly DMU shuttle between Temple Meads and Filton Abbey Wood is to be extended along a currently freight-only route to serve new stations at North Filton and Henbury, which are expected to open in 2026. North Filton would serve the Brabazon complex, where a large indoor sport and entertainment area is entering the construction phase.
