Rail services in the West of England

"Bristol Metro" redirects here. For the pressure group, see MetroWest (Bristol). For the proposed rapid transit system, see Light rail in Bristol.

Rail services in the West of England refer to passenger rail journeys made in the Bristol commuter area. 17 million passenger rail journeys were made in 2019-20 within the Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bristol/Bath region.^[1]

v t e Railways in the Bristol area
Legend
Cross Country Route Thornbury branch line Yate South Wales Main Line New Passage Pier Westerleigh Junction New Passage Halt Cross Hands Halt South Wales Main Line via Severn Tunnel Pilning Severn Beach Coalpit Heath Severn View Industrial Park Winterbourne Chittening Industrial Estate Bristol Parkway Patchway Smoke Lane Industrial Estate Ram Hill Colliery Chittening Platform Hallen Halt Avonmouth Docks Henbury St Andrews Road Charlton Halt Avonmouth (BPR&P) North Filton Platform Avonmouth (Royal Edward) Stoke Gifford depot Avonmouth Docks Westerleigh Goods Depot Avonmouth Avonmouth Light Railway Filton Junction Avonmouth Docks Filton Portway Park & Ride Filton Abbey Wood Shirehampton Horfield Ashley Down Sea Mills Ashley Hill Clifton Down Tunnel Mangotsfield (1845–1869) Clifton Down Mangotsfield (1869–1966) Redland Staple Hill Montpelier Fishponds Hotwells Halt Warmley Hotwells Narroways Hill Junction Stapleton Road sidings Grey line represents Stapleton Road boundary of Bristol Oldland Common unitary authority area Avon Valley Railway Lawrence Hill Waste depot Bitton Bristol St Philip's Barton Hill Depot St Mary Redcliffe tunnel Avon Riverside Bristol Temple Meads Bristol Temple Meads Princes' Wharf Kelston Bristol Harbour Railway St Philip's Marsh T&RSMD SS Great Britain East Depot Bristol Docks (North) Bedminster Bristol Docks (South) Parson Street CREATE Centre Mangotsfield to Bath line South Liberty Lane Depot Ashton Gate St Anne's Park Clifton Bridge Brislington Nightingale Valley Halt Long Ashton Ham Green Halt Bristol–Exeter line Pill Whitchurch Halt Portbury shipyard Keynsham Royal Portbury Dock Bristol & North Somerset Rly Portbury Shipyard Saltford Portbury Great Western Main Line (1954–1964) Portishead Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway (1879–1954) Portishead Portishead Pier

Services in the West of England

CrossCountry (XC)

• Bristol Temple Meads - Manchester Piccadilly (Extensions to Paignton)
• Plymouth - Edinburgh Waverley (Extensions to Glasgow and Aberdeen)

Great Western Railway (GWR)

• South West/Bristol Temple Meads - London Paddington (via Bath Spa)
• Swansea/Cardiff - London Paddington (via Bristol Parkway)
• Bristol Parkway - Weston-super-Mare
• Great Malvern/Gloucester - Westbury/Weymouth
• Cardiff Central - Portsmouth Harbour
• Cardiff Central - Taunton
• Bristol Temple Meads - Avonmouth/Severn Beach

South Western Railway (SWR)

• Yeovil Junction/Frome - Salisbury/London Waterloo

Main destinations

There is usually a direct weekday service from Bristol Parkway & Bristol Temple Meads to these destinations:

Destination	Time from Bristol Temple Meads	Time from Bristol Parkway	Operator(s)
Avonmouth	23 – 35 minutes	N/A	GWR
Bath Spa	11 – 19 minutes	28 – 47 minutes	GWR
Bristol Parkway	8 – 21 minutes	N/A	CrossCountry / GWR
Bristol Temple Meads	N/A	9 – 20 minutes	CrossCountry / GWR
Birmingham New Street	83 – 122 minutes	71 – 93 minutes	CrossCountry
Cardiff Central	47 – 63 minutes	35 – 66 minutes	CrossCountry / GWR
Cheltenham Spa	38 – 68 minutes	29 – 57 minutes	CrossCountry / GWR
Edinburgh Waverley	393 – 399 minutes		CrossCountry
Exeter St Davids	56 – 112 minutes	69–109 minutes	CrossCountry / GWR
Glasgow Central	461 – 471 minutes	456–464 minutes	CrossCountry
Gloucester	38 – 57 minutes	26–44 minutes	CrossCountry / GWR
Leeds	210 – 217 minutes	202–215 minutes	CrossCountry
London Paddington	97 – 152 minutes	83–106 minutes	GWR
Manchester Piccadilly	179 – 180 minutes	168–169 minutes	CrossCountry
Newcastle	299 – 303 minutes	289 - 293 minutes	CrossCountry
Newport	30 – 47 minutes	21–23 minutes	GWR
Paignton	97 – 145 minutes	118 minutes	CrossCountry / GWR
Penzance	236 – 292 minutes		CrossCountry / GWR
Plymouth	114 – 167 minutes		CrossCountry / GWR
Portsmouth Harbour	146 – 164 minutes	N/A	GWR
Reading	68 – 123 minutes	59 minutes	GWR
Salisbury	68 – 86 minutes		GWR
Severn Beach	33 – 38 minutes	N/A	GWR
Sheffield	167 – 172 minutes	159 minutes	CrossCountry
Southampton Central	99 – 116 minutes		GWR
Swansea		80 - 85 minutes	GWR
Swindon	35 – 50 minutes	28 minutes	GWR
Taunton	30 – 75 minutes	42–49 minutes	CrossCountry / GWR
Westbury	37 – 50 minutes	68–75 minutes	GWR
Weston-super-Mare	17 – 39 minutes	47 minutes	CrossCountry / GWR
Weymouth	141 – 148 minutes	167–170 minutes	GWR
Worcester Shrub Hill	90 – 102 minutes	82–84 minutes	GWR
York	240 – 243 minutes		CrossCountry

Stations

Current stations

Station	Line(s)	Platforms	Usage 08/09 [2]	Usage 09/10 [3]	Usage 10/11 [4]	Usage 11/12 [5]	Usage 12/13 [6]	Usage 13/14 [7]	Usage 14/15 [8]	Usage 15/16 [9]	Usage 16/17 [10]	Usage 17/18 [11]	Image
Avonmouth	Severn Beach	2	61,948	68,448	83,674	88,642	97,880	111,440	119,924	129,860
Bedminster	Bristol to Exeter	3	58,690	69,898	70,006	76,420	80,262	83,242	87,542	92,868
Bristol Parkway	Cross Country South Wales	4	2,084,200	2,041,548	2,114,876	2,262,000	2,255,298	2,215,810	2,340,506	2,511,016
Bristol Temple Meads	Bristol to Exeter Cross Country Great Western Heart of Wessex Severn Beach Wessex	13	7,829,628	7,875,686	8,409,340	8,884,626	9,099,368	9,522,840	10,099,526	10,711,464
Clifton Down	Severn Beach	2	281,876	361,828	433,088	470,980	522,010	573,770	619,766	672,386
Filton Abbey Wood	Cross Country	4	536,958	598,032	679,270	771,344	852,250	988,734	1,007,780	1,021,550
Keynsham	Great Western Heart of Wessex Wessex	2		249,842	278,850	306,276	329,274	358,186	412,602	424,032
Lawrence Hill	Cross Country Severn Beach	2	67,338	74,876	93,600	102,964	124,878	136,316	150,774	157,912
Montpelier	Severn Beach Line	1	84,834	96,114		122,212	126,316	121,294	130,560	122,146
Nailsea & Backwell	Bristol to Exeter	2							450,510	476,618
Parson Street	Bristol to Exeter	2	46,670	57,374	68,840	77,720	87,932	102,654	114,458	126,636
Patchway	South Wales Main Line	2	45,280	49,812	59,474	67,422	82,198	90,404	92,540	98,296
Pilning	South Wales Main Line	1	130	166	178	146	130	88	68	46
Portway Park & Ride	Severn Beach Line	1
Redland	Severn Beach Line	1	86,234	86,426	92,966	96,904	94,984	93,176	105,610	99,732
Sea Mills	Severn Beach Line	1	36,358	41,680	49,082	51,998	58,310	58,106	64,512	61,696
Severn Beach	Severn Beach Line	1	74,712	88,504		141,712	167,078	195,824	225,658	260,784
Shirehampton	Severn Beach Line	1	34,292	35,758	42,566	43,480	50,564	51,542	52,480	56,756
St Andrews Road	Severn Beach Line	1	3,582	3,942	4,328	6,072	9,910	13,376	11,184	7,374
Stapleton Road	Cross Country Route Severn Beach Line	2	103,576	111,532		129,344	140,390	157,294	178,114	179,872
Yate	Cross Country Route	2				294,934	307,148	328,832	354,004	368,910

Heritage stations

This is a list of stations currently open on heritage lines.

Station	Line	Platforms	Year Closed	Year Reopened	Image
Avon Riverside	Avon Valley Railway	1	N/A	2004
Bitton	Avon Valley Railway	2	1966	1972
Oldland Common	Avon Valley Railway	1	1966	1991

Proposed stations

This is a list of proposed railway stations in the West of England. (This list includes some former stations)

Station	Line	Platforms	Year closed	Current status	Image
Ashley Down	Cross Country Route	2	1964 (as Ashley Hill)	Opened on the 28th September 2024
Ashton Gate	Portishead Railway	1	1964/1984	Proposed to reopen
Charfield	Cross Country	2	1965	Proposed to reopen
Chittening Platform	Henbury Loop	1	1964	Proposed to reopen
Long Ashton	Bristol to Exeter	2	1941	Proposed to reopen
Henbury	Henbury Loop	2	1965	Proposed to reopen
Horfield	Cross Country Route	2	1964	Proposed to reopen
North Filton	Henbury Loop	1	1986	Planning application
Pill	Portishead Railway	2	1964	Proposed to reopen
Portishead	Portishead Railway	2	1964	Proposed to reopen
Saltford	Great Western Main Line	2	1970	Proposed to reopen
St Anne's Park	Great Western Main Line	2	1970	Proposed to reopen

Former stations

This is a list of former stations in the West of England area.

Station	Line	Platforms	Year Closed	Image
Avonmouth (BPRP)	Severn Beach Line
Avonmouth Docks	Severn Beach Line
Avonmouth (Royal Edward)	Severn Beach Line
Brislington	Bristol and North Somerset Railway	1	1963
Charlton Halt	Henbury Loop	2	1915
Clifton Bridge	Portishead Branch	2	1965
Coalpit Heath	South Wales Main Line Cross Country Route	2	1961
Cross Hands Halt	Severn Beach Line	1	1964
Filton	Cross Country Route		1903
Filton Junction	Cross Country Route		1996
Fishponds	Bristol and Gloucester Railway	2	1966
Hallen	Henbury Loop	2	1918
Ham Green	Portishead Branch	1	1964
Horfield	Cross Country Route	2	1964
Hotwells	Bristol Port Railway and Pier	2	1921
Hotwells Halt	Bristol Port Railway and Pier	1	1922
Kelston	Mangotsfield Branch Line	2	1949
Mangotsfield	Mangotsfield and Bath Branch Line Bristol and Gloucester Railway	6	1966
New Passage Halt	Severn Beach Line	1	1964
New Passage Pier	Severn Beach Line		1886
Nightingale Valley Halt	Portishead Railway	1	1932
Portbury	Portishead Branch	1	1962
St Philip's	Bristol and Gloucester Railway	1	1967
Staple Hill	Bristol and Gloucester Railway	2	1966
Thornbury	Thornbury Branch	1	1944
Warmley	Mangotsfield and Bath Branch Line	2	1966
Wickwar	Cross Country	2	1965
Winterbourne	Cross Country South Wales	2	1963
Whitchurch Halt	Bristol and North Somerset Railway	1	1959

Railway lines

There are six railway lines running through Bristol.

Bristol to Exeter line

Main article: Bristol to Exeter line

The Bristol to Exeter line runs between Bristol and Exeter via the Nailsea, Weston-super-Mare, Bridgwater and Taunton. It is served by local First Great Western services, and used by Cross-Country and Intercity trains headed towards Plymouth.

Cross-Country Route

Main article: Cross-Country route

The North-East/South-West route (sometimes simply The Cross-Country Route) is the major British rail route running from South West England or Cardiff via Bristol, Birmingham, Derby and Sheffield to North-East England and Scotland. It includes some of the longest inter-city rail journeys in the UK, e.g. Penzance to Aberdeen. It remains a major freight route, although now largely usurped by the M5, M6 and M1 motorways.

The route shares parts of the Great Western Main Line, Midland Main Line, Sheffield to Hull Line, the East Coast Main Line and the core Cardiff-Bristol-Birmingham-Derby route.

In November 2018 tracks were doubled from Bristol Temple Meads through Lawrence Hill to Filton Abbey Wood stations to increase capacity, back to the original four tracks.^[12]

Great Western Main Line

Main article: Great Western Main Line

The Great Western Main Line is a main line railway in England that runs westwards from London Paddington station to Temple Meads station in Bristol.

Severn Beach Line

Main article: Severn Beach Line

The route runs from Bristol Temple Meads to Severn Beach via Lawrence Hill, Stapleton Road, Montpelier, Redland, Clifton Down, Sea Mills, Shirehampton, Avonmouth, St Andrews Road before reaching terminus at Severn Beach. The journey takes approximately 45 minutes.

Following a successful campaign by FOSBR (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railway), the Severn Beach Line is going to have an increased frequency from December 2007 to March 2010.^[13] It is hoped this will pave the way for better services across the conurbation. An additional train will operate on the line meaning services should be at the least every 40 mins.

South Wales Main Line

Main article: South Wales Main Line

The South Wales Main Line is a branch of the Great Western Main Line. It diverges from the main line at Wootton Bassett near Swindon, first calling at Bristol Parkway, after which the line continues through the Severn Tunnel into South Wales.

Wessex Main Line

Main article: Wessex Main Line

The Wessex Main Line is the railway line from Bristol Temple Meads to Southampton. Diverging from this route is the Heart of Wessex Line from Westbury to Weymouth.

Proposed light rail or rapid transit

Main article: Light rail in Bristol

In November 2016, the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership began a consultation process on their Transport Vision Summary Document, outlining potential light rail/tram routes from the city centre to Bristol Airport, the eastern and north west fringes of the city, and a route along the A4 road to Bath.^[14] By 2017, this proposal had changed to a mass transit network with potential for underground sections, linking the city centre with the northern and eastern fringes of the city and the airport.

Train operators

Current train operators

Operator	Years	Image	Major services
CrossCountry	2007–2019		Bristol to Manchester Piccadilly Plymouth and the south west to Newcastle and Scotland
Great Western Railway (GWR)	1996–2020		London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads London Paddington to Cardiff Central and Swansea via Bristol Parkway Cardiff Central to Taunton Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour Bristol Parkway to Weston-super-Mare Bristol Temple Meads to Avonmouth and Severn Beach Gloucester to Weymouth

Former train operators

Operator	Years	Image	Services
Post-nationalisation
British Rail	1948–1986		All services
Post-sectorisation
InterCity	1986–1996		London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads London Paddington to Cardiff Central and Swansea via Bristol Parkway Plymouth and the south west to the north and Scotland
Regional Railways	1986–1996		All non-InterCity services
Post-privatisation
South West Trains	2004–2017		Bristol Temple Meads to London Waterloo via Salisbury from 2004
South Western Railway (SWR)	2017-2021		Bristol Temple Meads to London Waterloo via Salisbury
Virgin CrossCountry	1997–2007		Bristol to Manchester Piccadilly Plymouth and the south west to Newcastle and Scotland
Wales & Borders	2001–2003
Wales & West	1997–2001
Wessex Trains	2001–2006		All local and non-express inter-city services.

There have also been a number of other companies pre-nationalisation, including:

• Great Western Railway
• Midland Railway
• Bristol and Gloucester Railway
• Birmingham and Bristol Railway
• Bristol Port Railway and Pier
• Bristol and North Somerset Railway
• Portishead Railway

MetroWest

Main article: MetroWest (Bristol)

MetroWest is a current initiative in the West of England area to improve local rail services by reopening disused rail lines and stations and improving existing services. Phase One includes reopening the Portishead railway line to passenger traffic and improving services to the Severn Beach Line and Bath Spa. Phase Two will see the Henbury railway line reopen, along with half-hourly services between Weston-super-Mare and Yate. The phases are due to open in 2019^[15] and 2021^[16] respectively.

The West of England Local Enterprise Partnership also produced a Key Principles Report in November 2015 discussing future potential transport projects for the West of England region, including new rail transit based options referred to as MetroWest++. The options outlined include reopening the Thornbury Branch Line, a Yate to Bath route, the use of tram train technology, a link to the city centre and a connection to Bristol Airport.^[17]

See also

• MetroWest (Bristol)
• Public transport in Bristol
• Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways