Construction work on a new train station in Ashley Down is due to begin early next year and should be completed in 2024. The new station will be built on the railway between Temple Meads and Filton Abbey Wood, with services eventually running to the new YTL Arena too.
The station will be built off Station Road, just south of the Ashley Down allotments. Building work means part of the Concorde Way cycling route will be temporarily closed off, with a diversion route along Boiling Wells Lane. It’s expected the station will run half-hourly trains.
The starting date for works should be confirmed after a West of England combined authority meeting approves funding for the project next month. The progress was welcomed by the mayor, who said the station would connect people to jobs, education and leisure.
Read more: Train station near Bristol arena 'needs higher frequency' of services
Bristol mayor Marvin Rees said: “It’s fantastic that work is set to get under way on our second new railway station for Bristol — with our city’s first new station in almost a century now almost finished at Portway Park and Ride.
“This will be the first time in almost 60 years that residents in the Ashley Down area will be able to catch trains locally, helping to better connect people to employment, education and leisure opportunities, while tackling congestion and pollution, and reducing social and economic isolation.
“Our investment into improving the rail network, and working with partners to achieve this, is an important part of our long-term strategy to boost sustainable transport and increase connectivity across Bristol and the wider region — as we work towards the mass transit system which Bristolians need and deserve.”
The site used to be home to Ashley Hill train station, which closed in 1964 as part of the Beeching Cuts that saw many train stations and railways across the country closed down. The new Portway Park and Ride train station is expected to open early next year.
The new Ashley Down station is part of the MetroWest Phase 2 project, which will also see new train stations built at North Filton next to the new arena, and at Henbury. These two stations have been hit by delays and the North Filton station is expected to open in 2026.
Green Councillor Lily Fitzgibbon, representing Bishopston and Ashley Down, said: “We are delighted to hear about the progress on Ashley Down station. Residents have waited a long time. We still have concerns that without a residence parking zone in the area that people from further out may use the residential streets around the station as a free park-and-ride, and so we will continue to put pressure on the administration for a residents parking zone.”
