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Railway line back on track?

29 June 2008

RAIL campaigners in Portishead believe there could be a light at
the end of the tunnel after a study found a rail link to Bristol
would be feasible.

The study was carried out for North
Somerset Council by infrastructure development experts Halcrow and
shows the railway could be viable with no show
stoppers.

Frustrated commuters who sit in traffic for hours
at peak times every day are among those who have been campaigning to
re-open the old railway line in an attempt to alleviate some of the
congestion problems experienced in a town described by Woodspring MP
Liam Fox as 'the biggest cul-de-sac in the country'.

The
study looked at several different options based on one train per
hour between Portishead and Bristol Temple Meads.

It also
evaluated the cost of building the necessary infrastructure
including a new station for Portishead, west of Quays Avenue, and
re-laying track between the town centre and the existing Portbury
Dock spur.

Detailed calculations show that building the
infrastructure is likely to cost £7.5-£15 million, while annual
operating costs would be £1.6-£2.4million.

Identifying the
funding for the infrastructure and an operating subsidy is now being
investigated.

Cllr Elfan Ap Rees, North Somerset Council's
deputy leader with responsibility for transport, said:
"Investigating a Portishead rail link was one of the priorities the
new Conservative administration set itself when we took over last
year and I am delighted that this report shows that the idea is not
only feasible but would positively contribute to reducing road
traffic on the A369 through to the M5 junction 19 and have economic
benefits, too for the town.

"We hope now that the Government
will support the plan and help us find the funding needed to bring
this to fruition, either through the Transport Innovation Fund
process or, if that should prove unworkable for some reason, through
alternative transport bids."

If the railway does not re-open,
it is believed Portishead will be the largest town in the country
without a rail link when the current house building programme is
complete.

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