Portishead Railway Opening Soon? | The Portishead Branch Part 3
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- Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
- I return to The Portishead Railway Branch, this time in the section of the branch that runs through the City of Bristol, from the former Clifton Bridge Station to Parson Street, where it meets the Bristol - Exeter mainline.
#railway #bristol
That’s fantastic that Portishead railway may reopen!! I really hope they get the funds to do it.
Thank you Louise!
Yes, I do hope that work can start on this later this year. I certainly will be travelling on it if so.
Take care,
Paul
I am over 80, and as a child, remember walking DOWN Rownham hill from the bridge towards Aston Gate, yes there were freight sidings behind the ring road on the A38 / WSM road, cannot remember the A number, the breakdown train was on I suppose a dedicated siding, before the line swung round to run by the harbour itself. The factories I think were part of Wills tobacco factory, certainly the brick units around the area were Bonded Whare houses. Brought back many memories, like going down to Sea mills sitting on the riverside with Dad and my Brother watching the late afternoon freight coasting down the bank from Pill and Ham Green.back to Bristol behind a GWR Class 5300, or 6300 Happy days Thank you,
Great read and happy memories from you.
Thank you Michael - and thanks for a truly fantastic comment.
Some brilliant railway memories there.
Thanks for sharing them.
Take care,
Paul
Always liked Bristol, industrial archaeology and railways so this video ticks all the boxes. 🙂. Fascinating video, great work.
Ah, thank you!
Glad you found it fascinating.
Cheers,
Paul
Thanks Paul, loads of information as usual, plenty to maintain interest. Lets hope the council get their act together and open it up. Take care. Ron
Thank you Ron!
Glad you enjoyed it - yes, let's hope it all happens on this line soon.
Take care,
Paul
Wonderful voice Paul, so easy to understand the future of more stations opening .
Thank you John - let's hope something happens with this one soon.
Paul
A good update, Portishead really needs the railway to open, interesting to know other places are to open in due course, the more the better. Jan
Thank you Jan.
Yes, of all the lines in the Westcountry that desperately need to reopen, this is probably top of the list - I will of course cover it as soon as it happens here.
Take care,
Paul
Just come across your channel.Thoroughly enjoyed it looking forward to me
Thank you Richard!
Welcome to Westcountry Wanderings.
Hope you enjoy some of my other videos - I have grouped them into playlists by county, and there are ones looking at Railways and Canals specifically too.
Cheers,
Paul
Hello Paul and greetings from Poland
In my opinion, the best of your 3 films. Superb historical information about Clifton Bridge and Ashton Gate stations. Your research pays dividends when you explained the story
Wonderful news about the line to Portishead reopening. I'm sure its going to happen because Network Rail wouldn't have laid out the cash and their time and effort in clearing the undergrowth away
Thank you Michael - glad you enjoyed it.
Yes, it did take sometime to do the research on this one.
I think you are right about what Network Rail have done recently - surely they would not have done that much clearance for a freight line?
Take care,
Paul
Always exciting to see a line reopen. I hope. Nice update. Thank you Paul.👍
Thank you Daryl!
Yes, lets hope it really will happen this time.
Cheers,
Paul
Very interesting and enjoyable series on the Portishead line - whose reopening looks as if it might at last be happening. Let's hope so. Thank you.
Thank you Malcolm!
I really think it may well happen this time - finally!
Thank you,
Paul
I look forward to you going back WHEN it opens. You can't tell, but I have my fingers crossed.
Thank you Faith!
Yes, a lot of local people have been crying out for this for a long, long time.
Take care,
Paul
The Freightliner depot there closed in 2019 and work was transferred to wentloog
Thank you!
I was wondering why all the kit, security and signs were there - maybe mothballed for potential future reuse?
Cheers,
Paul
Thank you very much for this final episode in your Portishead Branch series. Very nostalgic for me as I was a passenger on it so many times in the decade before it closed. At that time, regular trains never stopped at Ashton Gate, it was only for football specials when City were at home. The various opening & re-opening dates you gave seem to align with the very brief periods when City were in the First Division.
I applaud your optimism but, after more than 20 years of promisses, I fear that the Portishead passenger re-opening will be killed by lack of budget and I will never see it in my lifetime.
Thank you Richard.
Thanks for the football information, a topic about which I freely admit I know nothing.
I do hope that after many false dawns, this is the time it will finally happen.
Take care,
Paul
thanks paul for the finish of this small series. caroline.
Thank you Caroline!
I will do another video on it of course when (!) it opens.
Take care,
Paul
Its that word 'could', again! Thanks for the update.
Yes!
I am much more hopeful this time around, although I think the completion by the end of 2026 is a tad over optimistic.
Cheers,
Paul
I would not rely on the Portishead line opening within this Parliament, I sincerely hope I am wrong for the hard pressed residents of P.
Hi Paul, familiar territory for me, well at least the short stretch by the Babcock factory anyway!!
I can remember walking over the old railway lines on entering the factory one of which led to the tower at the back of the yard which, so I'm told, was used for testing chains. It was Strachan and Henshaw when I first went there almost 20 years ago. From what I recall they had defence and nuclear business there and some manufacturing which ebbed away when they joined the Babcock group.
I found some photos taken from the suspension bridge where if you know where to look you can see where the line would have been (found some from Bath too) let me know if you would like to see them for your group.
Lovely to see new developments and it looks a winner to me which will ease traffic. I think the football ground is staying where it is although they did have plans to build a stadium out of town. First time I went to Ashton Gate it was to see Portsmouth play against Bristol Rovers, at that time they were ground sharing with City after a fire iirc. I remember going by train but I think we got off at Temple Meads and walked
Great video, all the best!!
Thank you David,
Thanks for the information about the factories - yes, I had a feeling they were rail served, but, unfortunately, I could not find any old photos of that bit.
Yes, please feel free those photos onto share them onto my Westcountry Wanderings Facebook Group.
Thanks David!
Take Care,
Paul
Great Update Paul, lots of info and history. i wonder if it will open on time, seems they need quite a bit more money. anyway great Video and enjoyed watching. Best wishes Darren👌👍👍👍
Thank you Darren.
Yes, I do hope it can happen soon - it so desperately needs it.
Cheers,
Paul
Hi Paul nice update video 👌
Thank you Roy!
Glad you enjoyed it.
Hope you are having a good week.
Take care,
Paul
There was a signal box at the level crossing that controlled the crossing and Ashton Junction until quite recently.
Thank you!
Shame it got removed. I presume when the Metro busway was done and the junction with the Harbour Railway was removed?
Cheers,
Paul
This last episode was so convoluted- sorry Paul; i think if I knew the area and had travelled on the trains there I would have understood the layout better. But I got a bit mixed up with the lines & directions etc. - such a tangle of roads,busways & rails- I don’t think even in the part of London I know I have seen anything comparable - don’t envy the planners there. Hopefully you won’t have to wait as long as we have here for the East-West railway to reopen ( supposed to open Spring 2025) keeping fingers crossed. We were promised double tracks, a spur to Heathrow ( maybe Aylesbury too),fast trains,but in the end these did not materialise.
Thanks Paul!
Thank you Diana - yes, I am not that familiar with Bristol at all - urban is a bit alien to me - all of this was from research prior to filming.
There is certainly a lot there, and a lot of infrastructure that has been added since the line closed.
I had a relative that was working on the South West connection for Heathrow (from Reading, I think), but sadly that too had the plug pulled on it.
I do hope work can start on this one soon.
Take care,
Paul
I saw a video years ago here on YT and a girl had moved to Portishead from Bristol to enjoy a quieter life. But it took SO long to get to Bristol and back to Portishead everyday that she sold up and moved back into Bristol. The people who interviewed her even did a test to see if a person on a bicycle could beat a person driving a car from Portishead into Bristol and the bicycle easily beat the car so the railway line is sorely needed. Odd how they can through billions at HS2 but dither over a few million to put a line back which will actually benefit people.
Thank you - yes I seem to remember that documentary when it was first aired on the BBC.
I agree with you about the vast sums of money wasted on HS2 - it could have funded lots and lots of far more useful smalled projects like this one, and it still would have saved money overall, compared to HS2 expenditure, which has yet to deliver anything and just duplicates a route where there are already alternatives.
Cheers,
Paul
Great aspirations, sadly I've been watching this saga for many years and it seems to go through a cycle of surveys, planning, then nothing.
This charade has been going on for decades. I don't doubt that government 'friends' has been kept in clover by the amount of money spent on reviews and overviews followed by yet more reviews. But no action.
I think the powers that be rely on the short memories of so many people to keep going around the circus, on a cycle of about a decade - Money for mates alas.
I further have to report that the line has been broken by the port company in order to access imported car parking on the other side of the line so no doubt the taxpayer will pick up the tab from not only restoring the line but the improvements necessary for the Dock company to carry on unhindered.
Sorry to be so negative but living in Shirehampton I've been keen on this for 30/40 years.
Yes, I saw the line breach when I was filming Part Two in this series and covered it then - how on earth did they get planning permission to go across the tracks there and remove them?
It should be the port authority paying to reinstate that bit - not the taxpayer.
It does, however, look like things may be different this time - we shall see!
Cheers,
Paul
i don't think it shoed be yore last make other recordings their good man if any thing else happens maybe record the line getting rebuilt
I will definitely be covering the reopening of this line when it happens on my channel - this was just the last video looking at the entire length of the line. There will be other videos on my channel looking at railway aspects in the Westcountry.
Cheers,
Paul
I noticed a gang of workers clearing the platform at Pill of undergrowth today, right back to the retaining walls. A more thorough job that was really required if it were to remain a freight only line? Let's hope.
Thank you Denis - that's really interesting and bodes well I think.
Cheers,
Paul
I remember catching a train to Parson Street in the early 1980's to watch Plymouth Argyle play Bristol City at Ashton Gate. I recall the station being quite austere and we (Argyle supporters) were escorted by police to and from the stadium. Can't remember the result, but it was a long day! I hope to be on one of the first trains to Portishead as I've never been there before, mainly due to the traffic situation to and from the town. Great presentation as usual Paul, lets hope the next video in the series shows some of the line renewal taking place. 👍
Thank you Jonathan.
Yes, I seem to remember going through Parson St. on trains to/fro Cornwall in the 1980s (they always crawled through the Bristol suburbs back then) and it looked really run down and unwelcoming.
The bus to the town of Portishead is OK, but it is a fair walk from Temple Meads Station, to Bristol Bus Station, and the journey is slowish, even outside of rush hour.
I will certainly try cover the reopening of the line, whenever that will be!
Cheers,
Paul
I think that the Portishead Line does deserve to be reopened along with Pill and Portbury stations to reopen as well as to reopen Portishead railway station. And GWR to operate from Bristol Temple Meads to Portishead.
Absolutely - it can't come fast enough Andrew.
Cheers,
Paul
As a former Bristol resident, I'm always shocked at the amount of graffiti when I watch videos of Bristol now!! 😮
Oh, gosh, yes, Peter!
I refrained from commenting on it in the commentary, because I know some people like it (?!)
Cheers, Paul
We don’t want the railway. We like our town the way it is. Although things have negatively changed already after they built a couple of horrible apartment blocks on Harbour Road. We don’t want our town to become like Bristol, urbanised and gentrified. There’s already a perfectly good bus service into Bristol. Why would we need the train? It’ll be very expensive anyway. It’s a politicians whim.
I respect your differing opinion, and will not try and persuade your mind, except to add a couple of facts:
1: the train would be much quicker than the bus, which can take one hour, and much more in the rush hours. The train would be 20 - 25 minutes.
2: commute on the single main road in and out can take a horrendous amount of time in rush hours.
3: The cost of the train fares can be set locally, as is the case with the Severn Beach line, which I think is like £3 return, so need not be expensive.
4: It is replacing something that was already there - and Portishead wasn't urban then (and indeed much smaller than it is now).
The very valid points you make regarding not wanting Portishead and surrounding areas to become part of Bristol, and more urban like. are related to planning, and not the railway. I do very much understand your concerns about those.
Kind Regards,
Paul