New Bristol railway station opening date announced

BBC View of Brabazon Station from the outside. The platforms on each side are in view, but because it hasn't opened yet, there is a metal fence blocking the footpath.BBC
The new Bristol Brabazon Station will have an hourly service to Bristol Temple Meads

The opening date for a new railway station in Bristol designed to serve the new town Brabazon and the future Aviva Arena has been announced.

Bristol Brabazon Station - near the site of the former North Filton Station - will welcome its first passengers with an 07:10 service on Monday 23 November marking a return to passenger trains on the currently freight-only Henbury Line.

An hourly service will run between Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Brabazon, also calling at Lawrence Hill, Stapleton Road, Ashley Down and Filton Abbey Wood.

There are further plans for a new station at Henbury, which is expected to open in 2028.

The 23 November will mark the first time passenger trains have used the Henbury Line since 1964.

The Mayor of the West of England, Helen Godwin, is responsible for transport in Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Bath and North East Somerset.

She said the opening of the station would be "a major milestone" for the region.

"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," she said.

Great Western Railway managing director Mark Hopwood said the station was key to further development.

"Stations are catalysts for new homes, jobs and investment," he said.

"Bristol Brabazon will connect the growing Brabazon community and in time the new Aviva Arena to Bristol and beyond."

He added: "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."

Bristol Brabazon station will open in two stages and will be unstaffed initially with two platforms, while the station building will come into use when the Aviva Arena opens.

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