Portishead
A Development Consent Order (DCO) to reopen the disused 3.45-mile Portishead branch was submitted by North Somerset Council (NSC) to the Planning Inspectorate on November 15.
The project forms part of the MetroWest Phase 1 scheme that will upgrade the Severn Beach and Bath Spa-Bristol routes to operate a half-hourly service and reopen the Portishead line with an hourly service. Reopening the route is expected to cost in the order of £112m.
Services would diverge from the existing freight-only branch from Ashton Junction to Royal Portbury Dock at Pill Junction, over the formation of the former branch line to Portishead which closed to passenger traffic in 1964 and to freight in 1981.
The route was reopened as far as Royal Portbury Dock in 2002. Although track remains in place on the disused railway to the outskirts of Portishead (where a new station will be built), it and the ballast will have to be replaced.
New single-platform stations are to be built at Portishead and Pill. Both will be able to accommodate five-coach trains, although initially only three-coach trains will be used. Trains will run to Bristol Temple Meads.
The existing railway from Royal Portbury Dock to Pill Junction will be realigned. Upgrades of the line from Pill to Ashton Junction will also take place (with line speed remaining unchanged at 30mph), as well as associated road improvements.
NSC says the wider MetroWest scheme will cut 181,000 car journeys and create 1.3 million rail passenger journeys per year by 2035. It could create 514 permanent jobs and has a Benefit:Cost Ratio of 3:1. The regional economy could be boosted by up to £264m in its first decade.
“The Portishead line is a nationally significant project that will deliver wide-ranging environmental and economic benefits to our region,” said NSC leader Don Davies.
“Once completed, MetroWest Phase 1 will connect an additional 50,000 residents directly to the national rail network and will improve the level of service for a further 180,000 residents on the Severn Beach and Bath corridors.
West of England Combined Authority Chief Executive Patricia Greer added: “Reaching this milestone puts us within touching distance of the long-awaited reopening of the Portishead to Bristol line. It is also a significant moment in the wider MetroWest project, which will improve rail services for people right across the West of England.
“From Severn Beach to Portishead and Henbury to Bath, we will be helping to cut congestion, improve air quality and keep people moving.”
Following submission of the DCO, the Planning Inspectorate will take up to 28 days to decide whether the application meets the standards required to be accepted for examination. If it does, members of the public can register to become an Interested Party to present their views.
There then follows a six-month examination period, after which the PI must prepare a report on the application for the Secretary of State for Transport within three months. The SoS then has a further three months to make the decision on whether to grant development consent.
If the PI grants the application, this means a decision should be made before the middle of 2021, although there is a six-week period after final approval for Judicial Reviews to take place.
If the project is approved, construction is expected to start in December 2021.