Portishead Approved - Construction Updates Thread - No speculation

[tumbles]

Marked a phase in my life as I worked at Strachan & Henshaw (RIP, now Babcock) from 1989 - 1993. But am glad the line is being brought back into use now.

Bridge swings used to play havoc with the rush hour traffic. Are they still even possible? I saw the last sand dredger come into Poole's Wharf before it was redeveloped for housing.

And much earlier on (1974 - 1977) I was on the Cambridge Science Park and on a slow day could watch the St Ives gravel trains from my office window. The LC on Milton Rd was always closed for a long time bc IIRC someone had to walk the length of the train. The alternative was the grotty narrow underpass. All cleared away for the Misguided Busway.

Happy days.

I worked in the old GE/ABB building at Nailsea for while and fair few of the engineers there referred to it as Strawn and some Straws weirdly.

Can remember the dredgers, as they would come down to opposite Pill and use the landing on other side. Want to say one of the boats was old Harry brown but not sure. Shame they stopped as the silt and mud seems much worse since they did.

Worked in BS3 for 20 odd years now and the flyover still causes chaos but on 10x scale. Always nice when it swings pre rush hour for one man and his boat. The bridge is getting towards end of life and has got stuck open a few times. What’s even worse is people seem to sit and wait when it swings as they don’t realise they can go around to the one by the Nova Scotia. Drives me mad.

 

[matt]

Just a reminder that this thread is updates on construction on the Portishead route. Anything else should be posted in a new thread.

 

[JKF]

Correct, the turnout will be south of Pill station AIUI. So the platform coping visible on the right of the picture wont be the passenger platform.

Which is actually a daft decision because it has level access at the northern end and would negate the need for a disabled lift which will just get vandalised by the local neds. But because of the dock branch it had to be this way round, I guess signalling is more expensive than a lift.

I can remember the platforms being cleared in the 80s ahead of the GWR 150 trains (not that any made passenger stops there) so they were visible for a few years.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 Nov 2025 ==

Actually got me thinking what physical infrastructure (Platforms/Station buildings) will be left on the Portishead Branch.

Ashton Signal Box - demo'd early 1990s?
Ashton Gate Station - Platforms remain
Clifton Bridge Station - Platforms & Bridge remain
Nightingale Valley Halt - Nothing remains
Ham Green Halt - Platform remain
Pill Station - Signal box demolished in 1964, Street level buildings due for demo by end of year, coal sidings removed in 2000 prior to freight reopening.
Portbury Shipyard - Nothing remains.
Portbury Station - platform & station now private residence.
Portishead Station(s) - Pier station building demo'd for RNLI 2015, Original station demo' 1954, Second Station closed 1964, used as part of petrol station till Waitrose? circa 2000.

So the demo of the Pill buildings will leave pretty much just a few platforms and Portbury station as the only remements of the original line operation.

Is the shell of Portbury Shipyard station not still standing? It was still there a few years back, visible from the cyclepath. It seemed odd because the adjacent rail track was quite high relative to the building, but I think that was because it might have been realigned when they relaid it as CWR in the 70s.

 

[tumbles]

Clearance work has got as far as the Royal Portbury Docks road bridge by the M15 J19 roundabout.







Pill station cut back seems complete, topside buildings still standing at this point

 

[Pete_uk]

Nice to see they are getting on with it!

 

[Brush 4]

Physical progress is so fast compared with the snail's pace of the bureaucratic process. Same at Okehampton, Ashington and East-West construction.

 

[tumbles]

Work has started on Portishead Station this week with initial clearance around Quays Avenue. Not sure when the NR official 'start' is as at moment its mostly council contractors doing the clearance work.

Physical progress is so fast compared with the snail's pace of the bureaucratic process. Same at Okehampton, Ashington and East-West construction.

I think they'd have been able to turn this around in 18 months maybe less if it wasn't for the major work at Portishead end. Still at least it is getting done.

 

[Djgr]

Physical progress is so fast compared with the snail's pace of the bureaucratic process. Same at Okehampton, Ashington and East-West construction.

Yep, and a key reason why Britain is so broken is that so many people are paid to do tasks whose value is highly questionable.

If you want to explore this further I highly recommend a book entitled "Bull*hit Jobs" by the late academic David Graeber.

 

[Freightmaster]

Yep, and a key reason why Britain is so broken is that so many people are paid to do tasks whose value is highly questionable.

It can also happen after construction - I remember when Reading Green Park station had been completed
there was a subsequent delay of several weeks because paperwork had to be 'signed off' by some safety
committee or other before the station could be commissioned.

I'm not advocating for corners to be cut when it comes to safety, but there just seems to be a ludicrous
amount of bureaucracy to wade through in this country when it comes to infrastructure projects...



MARK

 

[zwk500]

Physical progress is so fast compared with the snail's pace of the bureaucratic process. Same at Okehampton, Ashington and East-West construction.

Lets not forget the multiple rounds of legal appeals against the project.

 

[tumbles]

Lets not forget the multiple rounds of legal appeals against the project.

I don't think there were any in the case of the Portishead Branch? What seemed to happen is firstly Grant Shapps needlessly kicked it along as long as he could and then seemingly pulled out of his backside that he was worried that HS2 type protests might occur despite the fact that the project had full support from just about every group including the greens etc. There was Barry Cash and his idiotic bus plan but that was just white noise by all accounts.

The process been needlessly long in part due to the GRIP process having to be restarted at stage 4 (I think) when I think whoever was leading the process was changed and meant they had to start from scratch again.

 

[pdeaves]

There was also much time spent because, against advice, the council opted for a development consent order including the existing line which made the whole thing more complicated and restrictive than it needed to be. It's good that the scheme is now going ahead but it isn't a good example of a fast, low bureaucracy project.

 

[och aye]

Clearance work has got as far as the Royal Portbury Docks road bridge by the M15 J19 roundabout.

View attachment 193338

View attachment 193339

View attachment 193340

Pill station cut back seems complete, topside buildings still standing at this point

View attachment 193341

After so many false dawns, it's fantastic to see work progressing on the line.

 

[Yindee8191]

The roundabout next to where the station will be in Portishead has now had its trees chopped down, along with most of the others in the area. A hive of activity today, especially with cable diversions also underway.

 

[JKF]

There was also much time spent because, against advice, the council opted for a development consent order including the existing line which made the whole thing more complicated and restrictive than it needed to be. It's good that the scheme is now going ahead but it isn't a good example of a fast, low bureaucracy project.

The council buying the unused section of the line messed things up too, had they not it would have retained its status as a railway and certain permissions to reinstate wouldn’t be needed. So many costly errors.

 

[tumbles]

The council buying the unused section of the line messed things up too, had they not it would have retained its status as a railway and certain permissions to reinstate wouldn’t be needed. So many costly errors.

I think they did that as feared the port co would buy it and simply bulldoze it all to give easy access to court house farm plots - they’d bought the farmland around similar time. Hindsight tho.. building a bridge under / over the line where quays avenue is is another although I do think station would have been very compact/tight fit where it was originally proposed so maybe this is better to some extent

 

[Annetts key]

The council buying the unused section of the line messed things up too, had they not it would have retained its status as a railway and certain permissions to reinstate wouldn’t be needed. So many costly errors.

No, the problem is that the law makers made the legislation too inflexible, maybe because they never considered a council buying a railway so that the line of route would not be lost.

This country doesn't appear to consider that it may be good practice to protect or retain lines of routes of inactive or currently disused railways or other lines of communication.

Short-termism, that's far too often all that is considered.

The railway itself has sold land that later on it has needed to buy back.

 

[Mag_seven]

A reminder that this thread is for the discussion of Portishead line updates.

thanks

 

[Snow1964]

Yesterday DfT published a WECA (West of England Combined Authority) update document which on page 21 gives competition date as October 2027

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/693c0aedcfacd5e888491ed1/weca-crsts-annual-monitoring-report-24-25.pdf

Don't know if this is an date error, or the rumoured 2028 date has now been tightened up again (possibly due to faster growth in Bristol area) and is now due to open in under 2 years time.

 

[JKF]

The crossing at Ashton has been resurfaced and possibly has new barriers too (they looked very clean and shiny) - this may or may not be related to the reopening. I did see some work going on there about four weeks ago on a weekend evening. There was also a notice about a closure in January presumably for more work.

I think they were going to create a second exit from the industrial park served by the crossing because of the increase in trains, but I’m not sure if that is still happening now that the proposed service is hourly.

There has been quite a lot of work on the line this year (mainly some fairly thorough vegetation clearance) which hasn’t been part of the formal reopening scheme but I think has been done with this in mind, and the crossing works might also fit this category.



(Photos show crossing with newly laid tarmac and yellow cross-hatching)

 

[Annetts key]

Barriers and wig-wags (road traffic lights) all look the same as the type that has been there since the line was reopened to freight.

Maybe the barriers were cleaned and the skirts repaired or replaced during maintenance of the crossing.

The fencing has all been replaced and some of the vegetation cut down. It was the wire netting type supported by reinforced concrete posts. You can see this on Google street view.

 

[Gloster]

Barriers and wig-wags (road traffic lights) all look the same as the type that has been there since the line was reopened to freight.

Maybe the barriers were cleaned and the skirts repaired or replaced during maintenance of the crossing.

The fencing has all been replaced and some of the vegetation cut down. It was the wire netting type supported by reinforced concrete posts. You can see this on Google street view.

It looks like the equipment is the same as is visible on the July 2025 Streetview view, other than some changes to graffiti.

The Streetview view has a notice on an adjacent lamppost saying “New metro line will close this crossing 45 times per day if approved causing major disruption to all business [sic] on this estate.” The notice looks like an official one, black capitals on a yellow background, but I suspect it isn’t.

 

[trainlogger]

The renewal of the crossing/tarmac happened over the Christmas period. Caught some of the action on 28th...

 

[The exile]

The Streetview view has a notice on an adjacent lamppost saying “New metro line will close this crossing 45 times per day if approved causing major disruption to all business [sic] on this estate.” The notice looks like an official one, black capitals on a yellow background, but I suspect it isn’t.

Presumably in fact either 44 or 46 times!

 

[zwk500]

The Streetview view has a notice on an adjacent lamppost saying “New metro line will close this crossing 45 times per day if approved causing major disruption to all business [sic] on this estate.” The notice looks like an official one, black capitals on a yellow background, but I suspect it isn’t.

[PEDANT]
"... disruption to all business on this estate" is not grammatically incorrect, although arguably would be better with 'business conducted'.
[/PEDANT]

Presumably in fact either 44 or 46 times!

Unless the there's a split or join for stabling purposes at Portishead, or they're counting freight workings as an odd number per day?

 

[The exile]

Unless the there's a split or join for stabling purposes at Portishead

Think that proposal was knocked on the head quite a while ago (but then the notice is presumably hardly new!)

 

[zwk500]

Think that proposal was knocked on the head quite a while ago (but then the notice is presumably hardly new!)

Oh it's not happening now, especially as a number in the 40s implies 2tph service, which also isn't happening.

 

[contrex]

"causing major disruption to all business [sic] on this estate.”

That's perfectly grammatical.

 

[JKF]

I’ve looked into the proposed western entrance to the trading estate, which is supposed to mitigate concerns about increased crossing closure times, and it is going ahead. I guess it will need to be in place ahead of the passenger service starting. The connection will be near to the slip road on the Long Ashton bypass by the current park and ride site. It’s part of a larger scheme which includes the creation of 500 new homes on the land between the park and ride and the trading estate. I imagine this will contribute to the case for a station at Ashton which isn’t part of current plans but has been earmarked for the future. Land for the housing was sold last July, with outline permission, detailed planning permission was due for submission in the autumn.

One to keep an eye on as it forms part of the railway development, albeit peripheral.

 

[Annetts key]

The Streetview view has a notice on an adjacent lamppost saying “New metro line will close this crossing 45 times per day if approved causing major disruption to all business [sic] on this estate.” The notice looks like an official one, black capitals on a yellow background, but I suspect it isn’t.

I suspect the passenger service if only hourly or thereabouts will not result in significantly more disruption compared to when the line was being used at maximum capacity for long freight trains (a mix of car trains and coal trains). The long freight trains took a while to pass over the crossing (especially fully loaded trains) because every single one had to stop so that the driver could collect a token or replace a token at the relevant signal (one token hut at the protecting signal either side of the level crossing). Hence the train was always pulling away from a stand...

With the removal of the token instruments (replaced with TCB but with axle counters), two or three car DMUs will take far less time to pass over the crossing (having no need to stop) therefore the road closed time will be significantly less per train.