Questions over how new Bristol train station will affect bus and cycling routes

from Filtonvoice July 2023

What's on in Filton ... email shane@filtonvoice.co.uk

by BBC LDRS team for Filtonvoice

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, 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 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 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 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. ”

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.

Delays have hit the planned construction of a new train station at Henbury.

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 in January.