Henbury’s new railway station could open as soon as 2024
A railway station which closed to passengers in 1964 looks likely to be reopened as soon as 2024 as part of a line which could one day take passengers from Bristol to the new arena at Filton.
The new single-platform Henbury station will not be exactly in the same location as the original, but Network Rail[1] have now revealed more details in a planning application to South Gloucestershire Council[2].
It will be located just east of Wyck Beck Road – the A4018 – on former agricultural land that now makes up the Fishpool Hill development which has has planning permission for more than 1000 homes.
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Access to the new Henbury station will be off Passage Road with additional pedestrian access from a ramp off the A4018 – photo: Network Rail
The reopening of the Henbury line is part of MetroWest phase 2[3] and will see new stations at Henbury, North Filton and Ashley Down (where construction has already started[4]) providing an hourly service from Temple Meads to Filton Abbey Wood and onto North Filton and Henbury, and half-hourly services between Temple Meads and Gloucester via Yate.
If planning permission is granted, Henbury’s new railway station – only a few yards from the border between Bristol and South Glos – will include a rail platform, car parking for 34 cars, cycle stands for 40 bikes and an access ramp from the A4018.
The main access to the unmanned station will be off Passage Road with additional pedestrian access from the ramp.
If and when South Glos councillors grant planning permission for the new station, construction work is expected to take 12 months, with an opening date sometime in 2024.
TravelWest estimate[5] that the cost of MetroWest phase 2 is £42.3m based on a preliminary business case and feasibility study carried out in July 2015.
The MetroWest Phase 2 project is proposing to reopen the Henbury line to an hourly spur passenger service and increase train services to Yate to a half-hourly service – image: WECA
The original Henbury line was opened by the Great Western Railway in May 1910, with a single platform with a small waiting shelter at Filton Halt – the site of the new North Filton station next to the future YTL Arena[6].
The line ran between Stoke Gifford Yard and Avonmouth and was used primarily as a freight route from the still-developing Avonmouth Docks, with a passenger service also provided at times.
Main image: Network Rail
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References
- ^ Network Rail (www.networkrail.co.uk)
- ^ in a planning application to South Gloucestershire Council (developments.southglos.gov.uk)
- ^ MetroWest phase 2 (travelwest.info)
- ^ where construction has already started (www.bristol247.com)
- ^ TravelWest estimate (travelwest.info)
- ^ YTL Arena (www.ytlarenabristol.co.uk)