Planning consent given for Portishead route
Order granted gives ‘leap’ towards delivery phase of Bristol’s MetroWest route.
THE Department for Transport has granted a Development Consent Order (DCO) for the project to reopen the nine-mile railway route between Bristol and Portishead to passenger services. Within the DCO are planning and environmental consents, along with the compulsory acquisition of land for the scheme, which forms part of phase one of MetroWest, a programme to transform rail connections in the area covered by the West of England Combined Authority (WECA). An hourly train frequency is proposed, serving stations at Pill and Portishead. With a planned end-to-end journey time of 23 minutes, the reopened route is expected to provide an estimated 50,000 people in the area with a reliable alternative to travelling by road. Detailed design and ecology enabling works will be carried out over the next 18 months, prior to the submission of a Full Business Case (FBC) to the DfT, WECA and North Somerset Council. Subject to approval of the FBC, construction work could begin in 2024. Steve Bridger, Leader of North Somerset Council described it as a “scheme of vital importance” to the region. “The local population has quadrupled since the original Portishead rail line closed almost 60 years ago,” he added. “In reopening this route and stations at Portishead and Pill, we can better connect our communities and businesses to the opportunities offered by continued growth across our region, both now and in the future.” Tavistock The announcement of the DCO coincided with submission of the Strategic Outline Business Case to the DfT for plans to reinstate around five miles of line to reconnect Tavistock to the rail network. Plans being developed by Devon County Council through the DfT’s ‘Restoring Your Railway’ programme would see the route reinstated from Bere Alston, on the Tamar Valley Line and a single platform built at Tavistock, serving a population of around 21,000 in the town and surrounding communities. An hourly service to and from Plymouth is proposed. Trains between Plymouth and Gunnislake (which reverse at Bere Alston) would continue to run at their current two-hourly frequency. The county council is seeking £3 million to develop the next stage of its business case. It says travel to and from the area is currently constrained by traffic congestion on the A386. A case for reopening the whole route between Plymouth and Exeter (which would involve relaying the line beyond Tavistock to connect with the Okehampton-Exeter section, brought back into passenger use last year) is being developed by campaign organisation the Northern Route Working Group.