UK: North Somerset Council says it remains committed to reopening the Portishead to Bristol line, despite the government’s cancellation of the Restoring Your Railway programme.
Rail schemes within the programme will now be subject to review by the Secretary of State for Transport.
In early 2023 Network Rail awarded VolkerFitzpatrick a multi-disciplinary works contract for the reinstatement of 5·5 km of disused line between Pill and Portishead to enable the reintroduction of passenger services to Bristol.
There are two phases to the contract, with the £6·14m first stage covering detailed design and surveys, enabling works and support for the preparation of the full business case. The second stage, covering GRIP 6-8 implementation, is available as an option subject to funding and consents being secured.
Shovel-ready scheme
The project ‘is a hugely important scheme for us and one that will make a significant difference to the lives of local people, both now and in the future’, said Leader of North Somerset Council Mike Bell following the Chancellor’s July 29 announcement that the RYR Fund would be scrapped.
’We remain absolutely committed to reopening the line and Network Rail were shortly due to submit our full business case to the Department for Transport. Full business case approval is the final step needed before we can get spades in the ground for construction.
’It’s taken years of hard work to come this far. We were the country’s first passenger scheme to secure a Development Consent Order to re-open a branch line. We’ve risen to financial challenges created by inflation and rising costs across the construction industry, securing an extra £15·5m in funding from the Department for Transport, whilst pledging of a further £10m of our own.
‘Though we understand the difficult decisions facing national government, we believe there continues to be a strong case for the investment into the Portishead to Bristol rail line. This is a shovel-ready scheme that we can deliver — and for which on-the-ground preparatory work has already begun. We just need government support to make it happen.’
