Rail line to be cleared ahead of construction starting

WORK is beginning this week to clear away trees and vegetation along the Portishead Railway so that construction to reopen the disused railway can begin early next year.

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How the new Pill station on the Portishead railway line could look and, inset, North Somerset MP Sadik Al-Hassan

It is the final stage of “enabling works” to prepare for the actual work to reopen the railway. In 2023, a new “bat corridor” was created for wildlife away from the railway line and, in 2024, the old railway tracks themselves were removed last year and donated to the Avon Valley heritage railway.

The vegetation work is beginning in Portishead and will proceed along the line to Pill. Marcus Jones, the Western route director at Network Rail, said: “This project has been a longstanding ambition and we're excited to now be at the delivery phase.”