Ashley Hill railway station was a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

serving the area of

Ashley Down Ashley Down is an area in the north of Bristol. It lies on high ground east of Bishopston, north of St Andrews and St Werburghs, west of Muller Road and south of Horfield. The main artery is Ashley Down Road. Since May 2016 it is part of the ...

in the north 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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was located on what is now known as

Filton Bank Filton Bank is the name given to a section of the Bristol to Birmingham line in Bristol, England, roughly between and stations. Description The line runs from Dr Days Junction where the Great Western Main Line branches off from the Brist ...

. It was served by stopping trains to Severn Beach (via

Pilning Pilning is a village in South Gloucestershire, England, close to Redwick and Severn Beach. Pilning is close to the M4, M49 and A403 roads, and has the South Wales Main Line railway running through it, with a minor station. The civil parish ...

Avonmouth Avonmouth is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, facing two rivers: the reinforced north bank of the final stage of the Avon which rises at sources in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset; and the eastern shore of the Severn Estuar ...

(via

Chittening Chittening is an industrial estate in Avonmouth, Bristol, England, bypassed by the A403 road, near the River Severn. It lies within the city boundary of Bristol, in Avonmouth ward, but used to be beyond it, in historic Gloucestershire, on forme ...

) and

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...

(via

Badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

). 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 ...

plan to open a new train station, to be called Ashley Down, on the site of Ashley Hill station, in 2023.

History

The station was opened in 1864 by the

Bristol and South Wales Union Railway The Bristol and South Wales Union Railway was built to connect Bristol, England, with south Wales. The route involved a ferry crossing of the River Severn but was considerably shorter than the alternative route through Gloucester. The ferry wa ...

, which was absorbed by the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

in 1868. The station passed to the

Western Region of British Railways The Western Region was a region of British Railways from 1948. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right on completion of the "Organising for Quality" initiative on 6 April 1992. The Region consisted principally of ex- Great ...

nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

in 1948. It was closed by the

British Railways Board British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

in 1964.

The site today

Trains running between Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway pass the site. Remains of one of the platforms are clearly visible. In 2001 the station was selected to be reopened as "Ashley Down" and used as a stop for the proposed

Bristol Supertram Bristol Supertram was a proposed light rail system for the Bristol and South Gloucestershire regions of England. In 2001, the project was given backing from the government to build a line that would link the city centre with the North Bristol r ...

project. This was planned to operate as a 30-minute service between Broadmead Shopping Centre and North Bristol, but the project was cancelled in 2004.

Future

The line through Ashley Hill was to have been electrified in 2017 as part of the Great Western Main Line electrification project, but this work has been postponed indefinitely. The route was however restored to four-tracks, which will allow more services between Parkway and Bristol Temple Meads, and separate fast inter-city services from local stopping services. The West of England Combined Authority plan to open a new train station on the site of Ashley Hill station, as part of the MetroWest scheme. The reopening is supported by

Bristol City Council Bristol City Council is the local authority of Bristol, England. The council is a unitary authority, and is unusual in the United Kingdom in that its executive function is controlled by a directly elected mayor of Bristol. Bristol has 34 wards ...

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 ...

, local MPs and local rail groups, and will provide rail access to local colleges and to the County Ground, home of

Gloucestershire County Cricket Club Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Gloucestershire. Founded in 1870, Gloucestershire have always ...

. The new station was initially ruled out by

due to modern regulations regarding the track gradient in stations, and also due to the high cost of removing an embankment. However in January 2018, it was revealed that plans had been revived to reopen the station as part of the reopening of Henbury Spur. Following the Bristol City Council meeting of 20 June 2019, Ashley Hill was cited as a station of main interest in MetroWest, with an opening date expected by 2023. The new station, to be called Ashley Down, will be served by hourly services to Henbury calling at Filton Abbey Wood, North Filton and Henbury on the way north, and Stapleton Road, Lawrence Hill and Bristol Temple Meads on its way south.

References

* * {{Proposed rail infrastructure projects in the United Kingdom Disused railway stations in Bristol Former Great Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1864 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1964 Beeching closures in England