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The Portishead Railway is a branch line railway running from Portishead in North Somerset to the main line immediately west of
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, England. It was constructed by the Bristol & Portishead Pier and Railway Company, but it was always operated by its main line neighbour, and was more usually thought of as ''the Portishead branch'' or ''the Portishead railway''. It opened as a
broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...
() line to connect new docks at Portbury, at the west side of the mouth of the River Avon, with the railway network. The line opened to Portishead in 1867, and to the docks in 1879. The docks were always overshadowed by
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
and Avonmouth docks. The ordinary passenger service declined in the twentieth century, leading to closure to passengers in 1964, and to all traffic in 1981. When a new high capacity freight terminal was opened at the site of the
Royal Portbury Dock The Royal Portbury Dock is part of the Port of Bristol, in England. It is situated near the village of Portbury on the southern side of the mouth of the River Avon, Bristol, Avon, where the river joins the Severn estuary — the Avonmouth ...
, the line as far as that point was reopened to accommodate the new traffic, in 2002. Public consultation took place in 2015 regarding the reopening of the entire line to passenger traffic in 2020, as part of the MetroWest proposals. By 2020, the line was scheduled to reopen in December 2024.


History


Getting authorisation

In the 17th and 18th centuries,
Bristol harbour Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of . It is the former natural tidal river Avon through the city but was made into its current form in 1809 when the tide was prevented from going out per ...
had been paramount as the focus of international trade with the New World. However the city centre location, and the difficult tidal negotiation of the Avon valley, was increasingly a constraint on development, particularly as larger vessels came into use. A number of schemes were put forward without success, but in 1846 the Portbury Pier and Railway Company obtained parliamentary authority to build a floating pier near
Portbury Portbury is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England within the unitary authority of North Somerset. The parish includes the hamlet of Sheepway which is situated on the moorland at the northern edge of the Gordano valley, between the Gord ...
, on the west side of the Avon near its mouth, and a railway to connect it to Bristol.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "one ...
had proposed the development, and the railway was to be operated on the atmospheric principle, in which trains were propelled by a piston in a tube between the rails, from which the air ahead of the train had been exhausted by stationary steam engines. At this time the collapse of investor confidence following the period of
railway mania Railway Mania was an instance of a stock market bubble in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in the 1840s. It followed a common pattern: as the price of railway shares increased, speculators invested more money, which further incre ...
was taking effect, therefore finance for the work could not be raised and the new company was dissolved. In 1849 a small stone pier was built at Portishead, and packet steamers unloaded passengers there from that time; but this did little to reduce the desire to improve the city's port facilities, and competing factions tried to get approval for their schemes. In July 1862 the
Bristol Port Railway and Pier The Bristol Port Railway and Pier (occasionally referred to as the Bristol Port and Pier Railway) was a railway in Bristol, England. Route The Bristol Port Railway and Pier company (BPRP) ran from a main terminus at (originally called Clifton), ...
Company obtained Parliamentary authority for a railway on the eastern side of the Avon at "
Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...
" (actually
Hotwells Hotwells is a district of the English port city of Bristol. It is located to the south of and below the high ground of Clifton, and directly to the north of the Floating Harbour. The southern entrance to the Avon Gorge, which connects the docks ...
), to a new dock at Avonmouth. This line opened in March 1865. Those who favoured a port on the western side of the Avon were not deterred by the progress of the alternative, and formulated a scheme for a dock at Portbury, and a railway to serve it running from a junction with the
Bristol and Exeter Railway The Bristol & Exeter Railway (B&ER) was an English railway company formed to connect Bristol and Exeter. It was built on the broad gauge and its engineer was Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It opened in stages between 1841 and 1844. It was allied with ...
(B&ER), with a branch to Portishead. The Company would be the Bristol & Portishead Pier & Railway Company. The main line would have curved sharply to the north before reaching Portished, and run directly to a northwards pier on the coast somewhat east of the present Portbury Wharf location. The branch was to continue directly west from a junction near Sheepway Gate Farm to the Portishead station. This scheme easily got its authorising
Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
on 29 June 1863, with a capital of £300,000 and borrowing powers of £66,600.


Construction, and a change of location

Work progressed swiftly, and a portion mayVincent appears to base this inference on a prediction at a September 1864 Board meeting, but does not confirm that it actually took place. have been opened in early 1865 from Rownham near Clifton Bridge to the junction with the B&ER main line near the Telegraph Inn in Bedminster. A number of changes were made to the intended route as work progressed, and the most significant was the change from a pier at Portbury to a dock at Portishead. The pier would have been exposed to westerly winds and would have had limited accommodation for the reception and loading of vessels. The intended Portishead branch became the main line, curving north at Portishead to service the west side of the new dock, and the Portbury section of the originally intended main line was abandoned; these changes were authorised in a new Act of 1866. Evidently the dock required more expenditure than the pier, and an additional £66,000 of share capital and £20,000 in loans were authorised. The access to the new dock required a crossing of Portishead Pill on a curve, and a wooden trestle viaduct of 23 spans was required. Colonel Yolland of the
Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...
carried out an inspection of the line on 12 April 1867. He noted that the gradients and curves were significantly inferior to those on the original 1863 design; this probably indicates that they were sacrificed to reduce earthworks and avoid one of the tunnels. The line was in length, with an additional at the dock. The track was broad gauge, and there were stations at Clifton Bridge, Pill, Portbury and Portishead, and a siding at Ashton Vale Works; there was an engine turntable at Portishead. However Yolland found numerous shortcomings; as well as fencing deficiencies there were inadequate clearances to two bridge abutments and to retaining walls, and in the No. 2 Tunnel; and proper signalling needed to be provided at the junction with the B&ER and at the Ashton Vale siding. These and other shortcomings were attended to at once, and the line opened on 18 April 1867. The train service in 1870 was eight trains each way daily, with a journey time of 30 to 35 minutes; there was one train each way on Sundays, the return to Bristol leaving at 8:30 pm. MacDermot describes the original opening: On 18 April 1867 the single line opened, constructed on the broad gauge (). There were four tunnels, respectively in length, and the stations on the line were , , and .


Shipping

The emphasis now was on passenger and ordinary goods traffic, and the original objective, the shipping facility, was on the back burner; reporting the opening, the ''Bristol Times'' said, "It is intended shortly to commence a port, which is expected to occupy about two years in the erection."''Bristol Times and Mirror'' newspaper, 20 April 1867, quoted in ''Vincent'' However, in June 1868 a tidal pier was opened, and by April 1870 a low-water extension was ready. Vincent says that the railway company itself ran steamer services to
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
and
Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...
, and summer excursions to Ilfracombe.


Gauge conversion

The Great Western Railway progressively converted its main lines and branches to
standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
, , and the Portishead line, still the property of the Bristol & Portishead Pier and Railway Company, was converted between Saturday 24 and Tuesday 27 January 1880.


Connection to the Bristol Harbour lines

By Act of Parliament of 1897, the GWR was authorised to make a connection between the branch and the
Bristol Harbour Railway The Bristol Harbour Railway (known originally as the Harbour Railway) was a Standard-gauge railway, standard-gauge industrial railway that served the wharves and docks of Bristol, England. The line, which had a network of approximately of trac ...
, and also with the north side of the Floating Harbour, following agreement with the Corporation of Bristol. These lines were completed to Canons Marsh and, via the water-hydraulic powered Ashton Swing Bridge to Wapping Wharf, opening to goods traffic on 4 October 1906, together with the West Loop at Ashton Gate, facing Exeter.


Closure

Passenger services were discontinued in 1964 as part of the ''
Reshaping of British Railways The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the ...
'' report. Freight was discontinued in 1981 but the railway was not dismantled. In 1985 a series of steam excursions ran along the line as part of the "GW150" celebrations. This is thought to be the last commercial use before the line was rebuilt.


Route

The line branches northwards from the Bristol–Exeter main line at Parson Street Junction, originally called Portishead Junction, immediately west of Parson Street station in southern Bristol. From here it runs north along the southwest bank of the River Avon. At Ashton junction, the former line to Bristol Harbour diverged to the right. Immediately north of the site of the junction, the first station was Ashton Gate, opened in 1906,Cobb says 1926 followed by Clifton Bridge station, south of the
Clifton Suspension Bridge The Clifton Suspension Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Avon Gorge and the River Avon, linking Clifton in Bristol to Leigh Woods in North Somerset. Since opening in 1864, it has been a toll bridge, the income from which provides fun ...
itself. Now in the Avon Gorge, the railway runs through No. 1 Tunnel where the Clifton Suspension Bridge runs overhead. Next is Nightingale Valley Halt, opened in 1928 and closed in 1932, where a footpath leads up to the Leigh Woods suburb of Bristol; the site of the halt is then followed by No. 2 Tunnel. There were several small quarries adjacent to the line as far as Sandstone Tunnel. There was then a crossing loop at Oakwood, approximately opposite Sea Mills. The line then swings away westwards to Ham Green Halt, opened in 1926 to serve a hospital. The longer Pill tunnel was next, followed by Pill viaduct and passenger station, and then Portbury Shipyard station; the latter was built in 1918 to serve a planned shipyard, but this was never built and the station closed in 1928.
Portbury Portbury is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England within the unitary authority of North Somerset. The parish includes the hamlet of Sheepway which is situated on the moorland at the northern edge of the Gordano valley, between the Gord ...
is the next station, followed by the terminus of the passenger railway, Portishead, as the line swerves north-eastwards. The line originally continued beyond the passenger station in that direction to the Pier. This extension closed in 1954. A west curve was constructed at the main line junction west of Parson Street, forming a triangle there. The derelict shell of the Portbury Shipyard building (built 1913) remains to the north of the line. A short line branched off back towards the river at this point to serve the proposed development. In 1954 the original Portishead station was demolished, to provide space for the second Portishead power station, and a new station constructed in a new location, lasting only a decade before the line stopped carrying passengers. The original line towards Portishead is severed just north of Pill, where the line to the
Royal Portbury Dock The Royal Portbury Dock is part of the Port of Bristol, in England. It is situated near the village of Portbury on the southern side of the mouth of the River Avon, Bristol, Avon, where the river joins the Severn estuary — the Avonmouth ...
leads off to the north, crossing the adjoining
cycle path A bike path is a bikeway separated from motorized traffic and dedicated to cycling or shared with pedestrians or other non-motorized users. In the US a bike path sometimes encompasses ''shared use paths'', "multi-use path", or "Class III bikewa ...
on a low concrete bridge. No points have been installed to create a junction with the former line onwards to Portishead, although the derelict track remains in situ from here towards Portishead, passing under the M5 motorway via a bridge that was constructed with sufficient clearance to allow for electrification. The railway alignment has been safeguarded by local planning policies, and when the site of Portishead station was redeveloped as a
Waitrose Waitrose & Partners (formally Waitrose Limited) is a brand of British supermarkets, founded in 1904 as Waite, Rose & Taylor, later shortened to Waitrose. It was acquired in 1937 by employee-owned retailer John Lewis Partnership, which still se ...
supermarket, a nearby site was safeguarded for a potential new station. The alignment is breached on the southern approach to Portishead by Quays Avenue, constructed to serve housing development around the former dockside.


Reopening of the line


Partial reopening to freight

During 2000 and 2001 the railway was rebuilt as far as Pill and a short spur constructed to the
Royal Portbury Dock The Royal Portbury Dock is part of the Port of Bristol, in England. It is situated near the village of Portbury on the southern side of the mouth of the River Avon, Bristol, Avon, where the river joins the Severn estuary — the Avonmouth ...
to transport freight. The total cost of this work was £21 million. The guests for the official opening ceremony were taken from Parson Street station to Portbury on a train hauled by
Bristol Industrial Museum The Bristol Industrial Museum was a museum in Bristol, England, located on Prince's Wharf beside the Floating Harbour and which closed in 2006. On display were items from Bristol's industrial past – including aviation, car and bus manufactur ...
's ''Portbury'' locomotive on 21 December.


2006–11: first proposals

Some local politicians and organisations have been campaigning to have the remaining repaired and a new station constructed at Portishead. A campaign group advocates reopening the station and the short stretch of unopened line. The coastal town largely serves as a dormitory town for
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
workers, and the main route into the city, a single carriageway, the
A369 The A369 is an A road running from Ashton Gate junction with the A370 and the A3029 to Portishead in South West England. The first part is relatively flat and the route passes through several villages which are Leigh Woods, Abbots Leigh, Ea ...
, is often unable to cope with the volume of commuter traffic. The 2006–2011 Joint
Local Transport Plan {{Unreferenced, date=April 2008 Local transport plans, divided into full local transport plans (LTP) and local implementation plans for transport (LIP) are an important part of transport planning in England. Strategic transport authorities (count ...
reserved £1 million for the project. In January 2009, it was announced that
Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
was to carry out a feasibility study on re-opening the line. During the Rail Priority Conference organised by the West of England Partnership in November 2011, delegates travelled on the line, using sections of track not currently used for passenger traffic.


From 2012: Metrowest programme

The project to reopen the Portishead line to passenger rail services is part of the MetroWest programme to improve local rail services in the
West of England combined authority The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) is a combined authority within the West of England area, consisting of the local authorities of Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset. The combined authority is led by the ...
area (which covers most of greater Bristol, but excludes Portishead). This will use both existing and disused rail lines in the Bristol area, operating half-hourly services subject to a proven business case being made and infrastructure constraints. Phase 1 of the programme will include reopening the Portishead line to passenger services and increasing the frequency of services on the routes to
Severn Beach Severn Beach is a village on the Severn Estuary in South Gloucestershire, England. The eastern portal of the Severn Tunnel is on the outskirts of the village. The Severn footpathon the sea wallis part of the Severn Way that leads from Gloucester, ...
and
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
. The project is being led by
North Somerset Council North Somerset Council is the local authority of North Somerset, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government services including Cou ...
on behalf of the three West of England combined authority councils (Bath & North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire, and Bristol City), as well as North Somerset, with oversight from 2014 by the West of England Joint Transport Board within the West of England local enterprise partnership. In March 2013, track clearance works began to allow surveying of the original line to Portishead. This was the beginning of the work required to reopen the line for passenger use. Technical assessment of potential sites for a new Portishead station was undertaken in 2013 and followed by public consultation in 2014. The site chosen in 2015 is at the junction of Harbour Road and Quays Avenue, some 600 metres short of the 1950s station. In March 2017, MetroWest reported a substantial increase in the estimated costs of Phase 1, owing to the work required to upgrade the line in the Avon Gorge to achieve the line speeds required for a half-hourly service, and to reroute road traffic away from a level crossing in Ashton Vale. In order to reduce the cost from an estimated £145 million to £116M, the Joint Transport Board agreed to downsize the project to provide an hourly service to Portishead. A January 2019 report by the Campaign for Better Transport listed the line as a "priority 1" candidate for reopening. In April 2019, £31 million of funding was promised by Chris Grayling,
Secretary of State for Transport The Secretary of State for Transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Department for Transport. The incumbent i ...
. In November 2019, North Somerset Council submitted a Development Consent Order (DCO) application to the
Planning Inspectorate The Planning Inspectorate for England (sometimes referred to as PINS) is an executive agency of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities of the United Kingdom Government with responsibility for making decisions and providing reco ...
, which seeks powers to build and operate the disused section of railway from Portishead to Pill, gain environmental consent to undertake works to the existing freight railway through the Avon Gorge and obtain powers for the compulsory acquisition of land. The Secretary of State for Transport was expected to make a decision within 18 months, however the decision deadline has since been extended to April 2022. Subject to final business case approval, construction work is expected to start in April/May 2022 and take around two years to complete. The
Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
's ''Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline'', published in October 2019, listed the project among those in development, awaiting a "Decision to Deliver" and the completion of a full business case.


Operations

The freight-only route carries
DB Schenker DB Schenker is a division of German rail operator Deutsche Bahn that focuses on logistics. The company was acquired by Deutsche Bahn as Schenker-Stinnes in 2002. It comprises divisions for air, land, sea freight, and Contract Logistics. Histo ...
, Freightliner and
GB Railfreight GB Railfreight (GBRf) is a rail freight company in the United Kingdom. As of 2022, it is owned by the global investment company Infracapital. GB Railfreight was established in April 1999 as the rail freight operating subsidiary of the train o ...
services. The major freight flows along the line are bulk coal and newly delivered vehicles. All services are operated by Class 66 or Class 70 locomotives.


See also

* Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway, a
standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
light railway A light railway is a railway built at lower costs and to lower standards than typical "heavy rail": it uses lighter-weight track, and may have more steep gradients and tight curves to reduce civil engineering costs. These lighter standards allow ...
which operated between Weston-super-Mare and Portishead


Notes


Citations


References

* Portishead Railway Group, 2006.
History of the Portishead Railway
" Accessed 2006-04-15.
Transcript of House of Commons debate on reopening the railway, 24 January 2005


External links




Photographs of the Portishead Railway from BBC Bristol

Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways
{{Transport in Bristol Rail transport in Bristol Closed railway lines in South West England 7 ft gauge railways Railway lines opened in 1867 Railway companies disestablished in 1885 British companies disestablished in 1885 Railway companies established in 1867