Portishead rail corridor

Reopening the rail link to Portishead is a priority for the West of England. 

This would require a currently non-existent section of track to be replaced and investigation of the relationship between new passenger trains and freight traffic that currently uses part of the line. 

In September 2008 North Somerset Council published a study into re-opening the rail link to Portishead. The report and appendices is available on their website.

The study examined several different options relaying the track between the Portbury Dock Spur and Portishead with new stations at Portishead, Ashton Gate and Pill.

It noted that infrastructure will cost between £7.5m and £15m whilst annual operating costs would be between £1.6m and £2.4m.

The study also identified that a subsidy in the range of £0.4m to £0.9m per annum would also be required.

To safeguard the route North Somerset Council is purchasing three miles of disused trackbed for £75,000 (August 2008).

North Somerset Council has commissioned Network Rail to undertake further work on the feasibility of reopening the Portishead line. This will take the project up to Stage 2 Option Selection of Network Rail's 8 stage Guide for Rail Investment Projects (GRIP). A report is expected in autumn 2009.

In February 2009 the South West Region updated its transport funding priorities for the next 10 years and submitted this to Government ( see major schemes information). This submission identified seven major transport schemes in the West of England to be brought forward to completion within the next 10 years, and a further four schemes for which construction would start during this period. Current timescales suggest that physical work on the Portishead route would not start before 2014/15.