New Bristol train station will impact bus and cycling routes

Bus stops could be relocated and a cycling route will be made narrower near a new train station under construction in Bristol. The changes are needed to make switching from buses to trains easier and to make platforms on the new station wide enough for disabled people.

The new Ashley Down train station is part of the MetroWest 2 project ^[1], which will later reopen the Henbury line to passenger trains and build two other new stations: at North Filton by the new arena and in Henbury. These will run regular services to Bristol Temple Meads.

During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, June 6, Bristol City Council ^[2] chiefs faced questions about when the bus stops would be moved, as well as the impact on cyclists. The Concorde Way cycling route will in parts be permanently cut by almost a metre in width.

Councillor Don Alexander, cabinet member for transport, said: “This is crucial infrastructure to support homes and help reduce car dependency. Expanding the local rail network through the MetroWest programme will increase capacity of the network and accessibility of our local rail services, as we build towards the mass transit system that Bristolians need and deserve.

“I know that there are concerns about the inconvenience caused by the work, but I think most people understand that these are great developments for the city and would tolerate the construction as these are delivered for Bristol.”

Construction on Ashley Down station began in March and is due to last for a year. This month the track will be closed for 16 days ^[4] while workers build the new platforms. The station is due to open next year, while North Filton and Henbury stations will open in 2026. The council is also trying to find funding to open new stations at Ashton Gate and St Annes.

Ashley Down will be the second station to open within Bristol’s city limits in almost a century, after the Portway Park and Ride station ^[5] which will open this summer. Filton Abbey Wood, in South Gloucestershire, opened in 1996, and Parson Street opened in 1927.

Christina Biggs, from Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways, said Bristol City Council should work with the West of England Combined Authority to relocate bus stops from the two routes that pass down Muller Road next to the new train station. This would be so people can easily switch from a bus to a train during the same journey.

She said: “We have a rail network that doesn’t cover the whole of the city, but it doesn’t take much thought to realise that if you could coordinate the buses that actually intercept with the railways, then you’ve suddenly extended your network at very little extra cost. The irritating thing is that the positioning of bus stops isn’t with the West of England Combined Authority, yet. So that then creates a difficulty when you’re trying to do this, coordinating rail and bus.”

Both the council and the combined authority are on board with relocating bus stops, according to Cllr Alexander. But that will happen only after other work on the train station is first completed.

Cllr Alexander said: “It’s absolutely recognised by both authorities that there needs to be joined-up thinking regarding buses and trains at the station. It’s not that that’s not happening, or that nobody is talking. It’s a matter of sequencing: at some point something’s got to happen first, and then something’s got to happen second.”

A map of the proposed access and layout around the new Ashley Down railway station (Image: TravelWest/WECA)

Bristol mayor Marvin Rees added: “Let’s not lose sight of the fact that this is a new train station opening up in the city, which I think is an incredible piece of delivery, one of the first train stations in almost a century. And there are a series of them coming through now, which I think is incredibly positive. They will, in and of themselves, bring a benefit — our challenge is to make sure we maximise the benefit they can potentially deliver by that full integration.”

Delays have hit the planned construction of a new train station at Henbury ^[6]. The main obstacle is that South Gloucestershire Council has not yet granted planning permission for the new train station, and it’s unclear when this might happen. Construction work can’t begin until the council grants permission. Planning approval was given for North Filton ^[7] in January.

Another issue is the Concorde Way cycling path, a major commuter route to the north of the city, which will be made narrower in a long stretch passing the new station. This is so the new platforms can be made wide enough to be accessible to disabled people. In some sections, the path will lose about 90 centimetres from its width, bringing it to about two metres wide.

This section of Concorde Way, a major cycling route, is closed for at least a year (Image: Alex Seabrook)

Cllr Alexander said: “The problem is that there is a very large bank along one side of the path for a number of metres. The station, in order to be accessible and compliant, does need to take a small section of the path. There’s absolutely no way we could or would delay the building of this station because of the loss of a small amount of the path.

“I’m sure most people would entirely understand why the second station — after Portway Park and Ride — to be built in Bristol in nearly a century could conceivably cause a loss of a few centimetres from a cycle path, without it being a disaster. We’re now looking at the changes we could make to that bank.

“It’s quite expensive and there are some structural things, there are a number of trees and it will need to have a supporting wall. So it’s not a quick thing. But we’re looking at that now to make sure Concorde Way is the absolute best piece of infrastructure it can be for walkers and cyclists, because we know that it’s very heavily used.”

But digging into the large bank, to widen the Concorde Way again, could lead to yet further disruption to walkers and cyclists. A large section of the route is already closed off for at least a year ^[8] while the station is built. Cllr Emma Edwards, leader of the Green group and representing Bishopston and Ashley Down, said the work should take place at the same time as the construction of the station.

Speaking after the meeting, she said: “This is a key cycle corridor regularly used by about 1,000 people a day and reducing the width to two metres in places — while significantly increasing the volume of people walking and cycling on it — is bound to cause conflict and problems.

“The administration’s casual dismissal of this leaves me very concerned about their commitment to active travel. Every effort should be made to get it right the first time rather than having to close this busy path all over again for future repairs that will be more expensive and complex to carry out once the station is complete.”

References

^{^} MetroWest 2 project (travelwest.info)
^{^} Bristol City Council (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
^{^} Bristol train station will cause rail disruption for 16 days as construction begins (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
^{^} closed for 16 days (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
^{^} Portway Park and Ride station (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
^{^} train station at Henbury (fosbr.org.uk)
^{^} North Filton (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
^{^} closed off for at least a year (www.bristolpost.co.uk)