• Swindon & Wiltshire Economy
• Tuesday July 8 2025

Portishead rail project secured with £27 million from government

Trains are to run between Bristol and Portishead again after the government approved the final £27.6 million to complete the project.

New stations will be opened at Portishead and Pill, with work starting next Spring and trains running from 2028.

The project is expected to offer the town an economic boost of £43 million every year.

Trains have not run between the city and the Somerset town 10 miles away since the Beeching cuts in 1964. Travel times for commuters will be slashed to just 23 minutes, and air pollution and road congestion will be reduced say those behind the scheme.

According to the 2021 census, Portishead has a population of 26,366. The town has experienced significant population growth in recent years, with a 60 per cent increase over the past two decades.

Mayor of the West of England Helen Godwin said: “The Bristol & Portishead Line has been missed for generations. Its return has been long promised, with too many false starts. Now, in this new chapter for our region, we will build it together.

“The West of England and North Somerset, with government backing and industry partners, will connect more people to opportunity, leisure, and nature. We’re investing in jobs and economic growth. Local people will see and feel the difference from commutes being cut in half through train travel, and building this key transport infrastructure will unlock sites for much-needed new homes.

“Pill and Portishead are two of the five new railway stations being built in the West over the next few years. But our ambition goes further.

“Delivering projects like the Bristol & Portishead Line now lays the foundations for a better transport system overall for the West of England, building the suburban railway network that other places take for granted.

“Last month in the government’s Spending Review, we secured £752 million for that next stage.

“That means that 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.”

Two new railway stations have opened in the region since 2023 – Portway Park & Ride and Ashley Down – with five more in total planned including North Filton, Henbury and Charfield.