Opening date announced for Bristol Brabazon station
Bristol Brabazon, the West of England’s newest railway station, will open to passengers on Monday 23 November 2026.
Funded by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority and the Department for Transport, and delivered by Network Rail and partners, the new station will restore passenger services to the Henbury Line for the first time since 1964. The station will also play a key role in serving the emerging new town at Brabazon and the 20,000 capacity Aviva Arena.
Great Western Railway (GWR) will initially operate an hourly service connecting Bristol Brabazon with Bristol Temple Meads and the wider rail network, with plans to enhance the frequency as Aviva Arena and further development progresses at Brabazon. The first passenger service to depart from Bristol Brabazon on Monday 23 November will be the 07:10 service to Bristol Temple Meads.
The opening of Bristol Brabazon marks the end of the first phase of the station’s development. The station now features accessible parking, cycle storage, and an accessible bridge linking two platforms, while there is car parking for station users at the heart of Brabazon.
While passengers will be able to use the station from day one, construction will continue through to 2028 on a second phase of improvements.
Working collaboratively with YTL UK, it will include a second footbridge with ramps, a staffed station ticket office incorporating ticket gates, toilets, a ticket sales desk and staff facilities, together with a new public square designed to accommodate the high volumes of passengers expected to travel to Aviva Arena and the surrounding area.
Bristol Brabazon will serve one of the UK’s largest new urban developments, as the first of two new stations in the West Innovation Arc Mayoral Development Zone, supporting the continued growth of the region’s world-leading engineering, technology and aerospace sectors.
The station is one of five new railway stations planned across the West of England over the next two years as part of a wider £600 million investment in improving rail connectivity across the region. Following the recent openings of Portway Park & Ride and Ashley Down, Bristol Brabazon is the latest milestone in expanding the region’s rail network. Services on the Portishead line will connect directly onto the Henbury Line when that opens in winter 2028/29, further strengthening rail connections.
The Mayoral Combined Authority has invested £50 million into both phases of the station’s construction and connection to the network. YTL UK has also invested more than £24 million in this area through contributions via South Gloucestershire Council and direct delivery on site, with a further £80 million planned over the next decade, to help ensure that Brabazon is one of the best-connected places in the country.
The station is also served by the m4 metrobus route, providing connections to Cribbs Causeway, Bristol Parkway and surrounding communities, and also connecting people to attractions like Aerospace Bristol.
Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, said:
“The opening of Bristol Brabazon station will be a major milestone for the West of England and another step towards building a better-connected region, with record transport funding secured to invest in the years to come.
“For the first time in more than 60 years, passengers will be able to travel on the Henbury Line, making it easier for people to get to work, education and leisure opportunities – with more work planned to enhance the station before the Aviva Arena opens.
“This station will strengthen connections for people living in Brabazon and across our West Innovation Arc Mayoral Development Zone.
“We are also progressing new train stations at Charfield, Portishead, Pill and Henbury, helping more people across the West of England to be able to choose public transport.”
Marcus Jones, route managing director for Network Rail’s Great Western Route, said:
“We’re extremely proud to have built this fantastic new station and to have done so at record speed. Work began in July 2025 and, just 16 months later, we’re all set to welcome the first passengers to Bristol Brabazon. It’s a great example of what can be achieved through close partnership working.
“Following the openings of Portway Park and Ride and Ashley Down, another new station for Bristol adds to the real momentum we’re seeing across the West of England. With work also well underway to reopen the Portishead line, we’re continuing to expand the railway and give more communities access to the railway.”
Research published by GWR, Growing Places, shows that growth around railway stations across the South West could unlock 238,000 jobs and £14.25 billion by 2035. Over the next five to 10 years the annual value of economic output generated by the occupation of new developments close to selected GWR stations is expected to increase by a further £2.9 billion per year.
Nearly three-quarters of this additional contribution (£2.1 million per year) is associated with the implementation of the masterplan for Bristol Brabazon.
GWR Managing Director Mark Hopwood said:
“We’re delighted Bristol Brabazon station is complete, and we’re looking forward to welcoming customers on the Henbury line for the first time in more than 60 years.
“As our Growing Places research shows, stations are catalysts for new homes, jobs and investment. Bristol Brabazon will connect the growing Brabazon community and in time the new Aviva Arena to Bristol and beyond.
“With work continuing to reopen Portishead and Pill, this is about more than track and trains. It’s about unlocking access to jobs, education and opportunity, and giving a real boost to the wider regional economy.
“We’re grateful to the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority, South Gloucestershire Council and Network Rail for their partnership in reaching this milestone.”
YTL UK Group CEO, Colin Skellett, said:
“The opening of Bristol Brabazon station is a landmark moment for Brabazon New Town and the wider area. It connects people to homes, jobs and opportunities, supports investment and helps unlock sustainable economic growth. We are pleased to be working with The Mayoral Combined Authority to enable Brabazon and the wider West Innovation Arc to become a key component of the long-term sustainable growth of the West of England.”
Councillor Maggie Tyrrell, Leader of South Gloucestershire Council and Councillor Ian Boulton, Co-Leader of South Gloucestershire Council, said:
“The opening of Bristol Brabazon station is a landmark moment for South Gloucestershire and the West of England.
“For the first time in more than 60 years, passenger trains will return to the Henbury Line, connecting people to jobs, education and opportunity.
“Just as importantly, this is infrastructure delivered ahead of growth, not years after it. Bristol Brabazon shows what can be achieved when we have the ambition to invest early, creating sustainable communities where homes, jobs and public transport grow together.
“This station is not just serving one of the UK’s most significant new developments. It is helping set the standard for how we build the communities of the future.”
Tony Dyer, Leader of Bristol City Council, said:
“I’m thrilled to see the opening of the new station at Bristol Brabazon, marking the welcome return of passenger rail services to the Henbury Line and another major step towards a better-connected West of England. This development will make it easier for people to travel for work, education and leisure, while helping to further unlock the potential of one of the UK’s largest new urban developments.
“This is the third new railway station to open in Bristol in just a few years, following the opening of the Portway Park & Ride and Ashley Down. Together, these investments are helping to reconnect communities, expand sustainable travel choices and support Bristol’s growth.
“I look forward to seeing the station in action and want to thank the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority and our partners for helping bring this project to life.”
Claire Hazelgrove, MP for Filton and Bradley Stoke, said:
“It is great news for our community that our new local train station, Bristol Brabazon, is opening very soon. This new station will be vital locally for everyone living, working and visiting Brabazon – be that for the Aviva Arena, to meet friends at Mokoko Bakery, or for a walk around the new green spaces and lake that will be part of our new local town.
“I know the train station will also be well used by those working in our nearby businesses, hopefully giving more people confidence to leave their car at home, too, helping ease our roads.
“I’ve long said – including in my very first question in Parliament – that it’s crucial we have the infrastructure we need as our community grows, and I was glad to help break ground on this station last year, too. Thank you to everyone involved in helping make this a reality.”
Darren Jones, MP for Bristol North West, said:
“Before the final decision was even made to build the new arena just north of my constituency, I have pushed for good public transport links. The new train station at Ashley Down will have direct links to the new Bristol Brabazon station and I’ve also called for a station in Henbury. And, as I first proposed in my North Bristol Transport Plan, back in 2019, the new Portway Park & Ride station will be a fantastic transport hub, connecting everyone along the Severn Beach line to the arena via a shuttle bus.”
Bristol Brabazon will initially open as an unstaffed station, with a staffed ticket office to follow on the ground floor of The Interchange, an eight-storey Prime office building currently being built by YTL Construction UK.
Original press release by the West of England Combined Authority
