The Mayor of the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority and Cllr Don Alexander BCC’s Cabinet Member for Transport were joined by the Secretary of State for Transport along with project partners to open Bristol’s first new railway station in almost a century.
The new £5.8 million Portway Park & Ride station, which was primarily funded by the Mayoral Combined Authority, was launched today (Monday 31 July), ahead of its opening to the public tomorrow (Tuesday 1 August).
A small crowd assembled to see invited guests step off the train from Bristol Temple Meads onto the new platform, having ridden the first train to pull into Portway Park & Ride.
The single platform station, between Shirehampton and Avonmouth, connects the existing park and ride site with the Severn Beach railway line.
It is the first station to be opened as part of the first phase of the Mayoral Combined Authority’s ambitious multi-million-pound ‘MetroWest’ programme, which is enhancing the local rail network for Bristolians and other West of England residents. This will include opening seven new railway stations, re-opening train lines and enhancing cross-Bristol services.
When the station opens to the public, passengers will be able to access half-hourly services between Bristol Temple Meads and Avonmouth, and an hourly service to Severn Beach.
It complements the existing park and ride bus service and will be a useful extra transport option for the local community, as well as providing park and ride users from further afield a rail option to destinations along the Severn Beach line or for onward travel on the wider rail network from Bristol Temple Meads.
On the day Bristol City Council also took the opportunity to launch its newly expanded park and ride facility, which has seen the total number of free parking spaces increase from 555 to 792. Plans are also in the pipeline to reconfigure the entrance to the site so more buses can access it from both directions.
The Portway Park & Ride station project was led by Bristol City Council working with the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority, Network Rail, GWR and the Department for Transport.