Network Rail contractors BAM Nuttall started work on the site of the new Ashley Down train station at the end of February 2023. WECA hope that the new station will be completed in summer 2024.
Valuable extra transport link
West of England Mayor Dan Norris and Bristol City Council Cabinet Member for Transport Don Alexander were on site on 7th March to mark the start of work.
It’s exciting that construction work will be starting to bring a railway station back to Ashley Down that will serve the local community and be a valuable extra transport link, offering connectivity to the rest of the rail network, while reducing congestion on our roads.
I’d like to thank everyone for bearing with us throughout the temporary closure of Concorde Way. I know it’s a popular route for walking and cycling but it will all be worth it in the end when we have a brand new railway station for everyone in the surrounding area to use.
Councillor Don Alexander, Cabinet Member for Transport
BAM Nuttall will begin by installing foundations for the new platforms and footbridge. For a fortnight in June 2023, two of the four tracks will be closed so that the lines can be slewed and the new platforms installed. The other two tracks will remain open during this blockade, except for some overnight closures.
Concorde Way
Late changes to the platform design and other factors are having an impact on the busy Concorde Way path. This has to be closed for longer than was initially planned. Path users have pointed out that despite recent improvements at Boiling Wells Lane, the diversionary route could be better. They are pressing for further work on the section along Muller Road between Boiling Wells Lane and Petherbridge Way.
Ashley Down station reopening is part of the MetroWest project. It will initially be served by hourly trains from Bristol Temple Meads to Filton Abbey Wood. Services will be extended to North Filton and Henbury stations on the Henbury Line when these stations open. The current programme shows a target date for these stations to open in 2026.
According to Dan Norris: “North Filton and Henbury station projects are only at outline design stage and remain subject to planning approval (which the West of England Combined Authority has no powers to speed up). Officers continue to work closely with adjacent developers to ensure that respective designs and construction programmes are integrated, so as to try to minimise delays.”
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