Current Situation

A brief summary of the current situation follows:

The line from Bristol to Royal Portbury Docks is in use as a freight line, leaving 3.2 miles of disused track to be reinstated, and the whole route needs to be uprated to accept passenger traffic.

North Somerset Council have purchased the three miles of disused track from British Railways Board (Residuary) Ltd (BRB).

New railway investment projects now have to be managed through Network Rail’s GRIP process (Governance for Railway Investment Projects). There are 8 stages in GRIP, the first two of which are covered by the 2008 Halcrow report. Construction would start at GRIP stage 6.

GRIP 3 (Option selection) is now complete (18 October 2010). Network Rail was commissioned to undertake a technical evaluation culminating in this report which was originally hoped to be complete by the end of 2009. Read full GRIP 3 report. (Note: large files)

Explanation of GRIP Process:

Network Rail’s GRIP process description

Listen to Radio Bristol interview about GRIP 3 (19 Oct 2010) of Elfan Ap Rees (NSC) and Peter Maliphant of PRG here.

Portishead Railway Group wishes to see an immediate start on GRIP 4 so that physical work can start as soon as funds become available.

North Somerset Council had considered as a second option the use of ‘Bendy buses’ on the old track bed and running along the narrow, twisty, hilly and congested A369, but this was rejected in favour of a rail service.

North Somerset Council submitted a bid to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on 1 July 2011 for funding to re-open the Portishead railway to passenger train services. The bid was seeking £43.3m from the government’s Regional Growth Fund for the project. A further £4.8m would be funded from council resources and funds previously collected in connection with developments in Portishead. See North Somerset Council Website. On October 31 2011, the Government rejected the bid.

An ecological study of the disused line is underway (during 2011) which is a necessary precursor to the GRIP 4 process. This would enable track clearance to be done during the winter months.