Disused Portishead railway tracks to be placed near Bristol

Old tracks from the disused Portishead railway line are set to find a new life on a heritage railway on the other side of Bristol.

North Somerset Council has donated old tracks from the railway to be reused on the Avon Valley Railway. The tracks will mean vintage steam and diesel locomotives can continue to depart from Bitton station to travel along the former Mangotsfield and Bath line.

The tracks are being removed from the section of the line between the Pill points and Portishead so that new tracks suitable for modern trains can be laid as part of the reopening of railway — but that reopening has been thrown into doubt after the government cancelled the fund that would make it possible.

Alan Matthews, the chair of the Avon Valley Railway, said: "This generous donation in repurposing the old track will be used to improve our railway infrastructure This in turn will make sure our heritage locos and carriages will be able to take local people on a heritage experience for many years to come. Once the track is lifted by the Avon Valley Railway and its contractors, it will be moved to our base at Bitton Station."

Leader of North Somerset Council, Mike Bell, said: "I’d like to thank the volunteers from the Avon Valley Railway who have helped us with the track removal and I’m glad the old rails will find a good use on their heritage line. The railways were vital in shaping modern Britain, creating growth and opportunity by connecting communities. Avon Valley Railway is a reminder of this important heritage, but also the ways that investment in infrastructure can create possibilities."

Both the Portishead railway and the Mangotsfield and Bath line were closed in the 1960s as part of the Beeching cuts. The Mangotsfield and Bath line has been largely repurposed, with the Bristol and Bath Railway Path along much of it, its Bath terminus of Green Park Station in use as a community space, and with the Avon Valley Railway running along six miles of the line. The volunteer railway was started in the 1970s.

But the Portishead railway still sits as a disused railway. There has long been hope that it could fully reopen as a part of the national passenger rail network once again. The line as far as Portbury has already been restored but new tracks suitable for modern trains still need to be laid along the last 3.3 miles from the Pill points to Portishead. Plans for tracks and new stations in Pill and Portishead were signed off by North Somerset Council in January

Network Rail had been shortly due to submit the full business case for approval to the Department for Transport when the government cut the Restoring Your Railway scheme, which would have funded their contributions. A review by the transport secretary will decide whether the government should continue to fund the project.

Mr Bell said: "Reopening the Portishead to Bristol rail line stands to be transformative for North Somerset, providing a regular and sustainable transport link with access to regional growth. It is a scheme that is hugely important to us and one that will make a significant difference to people’s lives now and in years to come.

"By working with Avon Valley Railway to clear the old tracks, we’re demonstrating our continued commitment to reopening the Portishead to Bristol rail line. We are still having conversations with our partners and with government and await further details of the scheme’s review.

"We’ve made so much progress on the Portishead to Bristol rail line in recent years and we’re doing everything in our power to ensure things remain full steam ahead."

In addition to removing the old tracks to donate to the Avon Valley Railway, environmental and tree works have also been happening along the stretch of track set to be restored. In 2023 a new bat corridor was completed and reptile fencing was installed to keep wildlife safe from the trains.

At a rally in support of the reopening of the railway held outside Bristol Temple Meads on Tuesday 27 August, North Somerset’s new Labour MP Sadik Al-Hassan told people gathered: "I will try everything to make sure we get the stations we deserve and were promised, without any further delays because that’s what’s killed this line again and again, decade after decade."

But challenged by one person at the rally on whether he would be prepared to vote against scrapping it, Mr Al-Hassan said: "I would prefer it never to get to that point. … It depends on what else is on the table."

Reopening the Portishead railway is a part of the Metrowest project, a major scheme to increase the frequency of local trains across the West of England and wider area, and to reopen the lines to Portishead and Henbury. North Somerset Council said it was continuing to work with the West of England Combined Authority and Network Rail on submitting a full business case to the Department for Transport.

Next Saturday (September 7) will mark 60 years to the day that Portishead and Pill stations closed to passengers.

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