We are working with partners to bring new suburban services and more stations across the West of England.
Transforming rail travel in Bristol and the West of England
MetroWest is a West of England Combined Authority programme of railway upgrades aimed at improving capacity and connectivity in the region, generating over a million new rail journeys and giving 80,000 more people access to train services across the four local authority areas:
- Bath and North East Somerset
- Bristol
- North Somerset
- South Gloucestershire
What are the benefits?
The programme aims to increase the frequency of services on existing suburban routes as well as introducing new services and stations across the region. Highlights of the programme include:
More services
Increase in services between;
- Bristol Temple Meads and Severn Beach (achieved December 2021)
- Bristol and Westbury
- Bristol and Yate, and on to Gloucester
New services
New passenger services between:
- Bristol Temple Meads and Portishead
- Bristol Temple Meads/Bristol Parkway and Henbury, via North Filton
New stations
There will be six new stations at:
- Ashley Down
- Henbury
- North Filton
- Portway Park & Ride (in progress)
- Pill
- Portishead
There are also separate plans for a new station at Charfield in South Gloucestershire.
These upgrades are partly enabled by improvements made to the existing network in recent years, including the resignalling of Bristol Temple Meads, the installation of two new railway lines between Bristol Temple Meads and Filton Abbey Wood, and the upgrade of Bristol East Junction at Bristol Temple Meads.
Bristol West Junction, on the Bedminster side of Bristol Temple Meads is due for renewal and will support the delivery of the MetroWest programme.
Phases of development
MetroWest is being delivered in two main phases.
MetroWest 1
- Increase in services on the Severn Beach line (hourly between Bristol Temple Meads and Severn Beach and half-hourly between Bristol Temple Meads and Avonmouth) – achieved December 2021
- Creation of a new railway station at Portway Park & Ride, Bristol – due to open to the public in early 2023.
- Increase in services between Bristol and Westbury – timetable planning underway.
- New hourly passenger service between Bristol Temple Meads and Portishead, with stations at Pill and Portishead – planning decision from the Department for Transport due by February 2023.
MetroWest 2
- New hourly passenger service between Bristol Temple Meads and Henbury, with stations at Ashley Down, North Filton and Henbury.
- Increase to half-hourly services between Bristol Temple Meads and Yate, and on to Gloucester.
For more information on projects, please search the TravelWest website.
Get in touch
If you have any questions about the work taking place in your area please call our dedicated 24-hour National Helpline on 03457 11 41 41 or visit our contact us page.