Portishead Railway Group

25/03/2026

Portishead Railway Group will continue posting news here as we get it, but now that construction is under way you might like to know that Network Rail have a dedicated web page for the Portishead & Pill line reopening:
https://www.networkrail.co.uk/our-work/our-routes/western/the-portishead-line/
You can sign up there for e-mail newsletters on construction progress.
They also have a dedicated page, in case you've not already seen it:
https://www.facebook.com/portisheadline

We’re restoring the Portishead Line from Bristol to Portishead. When reopened, it will reconnect more than 50,000 people to the railway.

10/03/2026

25/02/2026

If you'd like the chance to find out more about the construction works for the Portishead & Pill railway and speak to members of the project team, here's a couple of drop-in meeting dates for your diary.

28/01/2026

The Portishead end of the line is very visible, but the Bristol end much less so. Here's where the trains from Portishead and Pill join the main line, a couple of hundred metres west of Parson Street station.

Trains will have to fit in amongst all the services on the main line, before carrying on to Parson Street, Bedminster and Temple Meads.

The Pill & Portishead line is two tracks for only a short distance, along to near Ashton Gate stadium.

25/01/2026

Some more works have been going on at the Portishead station site. Utilities are being moved in preparation for the construction of the new Quays Avenue/Harbour Road/Phoenix Way roundabout, which will be in front of the yellow digger.
This will create the space for the station forecourt to fit where the roundabout currently is. (The photo is taken from the station site looking along Harbour Road).

05/12/2025

For anyone not sure where exactly Portishead station will be ....

The Phoenix Way/Quays Avenue roundabout will move a short distance along Harbour Road, in front of Harbourside Family Practice, making room for the station forecourt and the end of the railway track and platform to go where the roundabout is currently. Parking and a pedestrian & cycle route will run along the old track bed towards Waitrose.

02/12/2025

As well as the track clearance going on along the Sheepway stretch of the railway track, in the background is one of quite a few compounds that will be needed between Portishead and Parson Street, for storage and access during construction.

A significant part of the work that has been done by the project team over the past 10 years has been dealing with over 1,000 landowners and acquiring, either permanently or temporarily, over 100 pieces of land.

27/11/2025

For anyone interested in the cycle path where it runs alongside the railway track, it will continue to do so at all three bridges when the line is reopened. Here are the approved plans from the Development Consent Order, which show everything remains the same, but with a high fence between the track and cycle path.

12/11/2025

One of the questions we’re often asked is “Where is the funding for the reconstruction of the Portishead & Pill line coming from?”

The answer, based on the most recent information we have, is more than 50% comes from funding devolved from central government in 2013 (which shows how long the work required to reopen the line has taken) and the 2022 City Region Sustainable Transport Fund. 25% is from the Department for Transport, 10% from WECA (that is BANES, Bristol & S.Glocs. combined) and 10% from North Somerset Council.

06/11/2025

Good to see some more preparatory works going on at Pill Station

13/10/2025

Following on from the utilities works around the Quays Avenue roundabout in Portishead, it's good to see the first steps in creating the new Pill Station getting underway. This area is being cleared to create the station forecourt, with drop-off area and access ramp to the platform.