Two growing parts of Bristol could soon be connected by trains as transport planners will take another look at the Henbury Loop. Campaigners have long called for passenger train services running from north Bristol over to Avonmouth, effectively creating a circle line around the city.
Over the next few years the Henbury line will be reopened for passengers with new stations built in Henbury and North Filton near the YTL Arena. These will allow gig-goers and local residents to catch the train into Temple Meads. But at Henbury the trains will simply turn around.
However there is already an existing railway line that runs from Henbury west to Avonmouth, connecting up with the Severn Beach line. This is only used by freight trains at the moment. A decade ago the region's leading politicians ruled out reopening this for passengers.
Stephen Peacock, chief executive of the West of England Combined Authority, said reopening this line could form part of an upcoming transport strategy. Speaking to councillors on the overview and scrutiny committee, on Monday, October 13, he said poor transport links are impeding the region's economic growth.
He said: "That Henbury Loop is a slightly complex one and probably quite expensive. But we will be looking at it as part of our overall delivery planning. The area that is broadly speaking that part of South Gloucestershire across to Avonmouth, there's huge potential economically, and for housing and the visitor economy. But it's obviously held back by a lack of infrastructure.
"So our strategy is deliver, tell the story, and then go back for more investment once you've wisely invested the first tranche. It's definitely in the list of projects, Henbury Loop, but it's something we'll have to come back to in the course of next year."
Earlier this month, South Gloucestershire Council granted planning permission for the new Henbury station which is due to open in 2028. North Filton station is due to open in 2026 or 2027. These are part of the West of England's MetroWest Phase Two project of improving suburban train services in the wider Bristol region, which also includes the Portishead station.
Back in 2015, transport planners said the Henbury Loop would be too expensive to reopen for passengers and too few people would actually use the service to make it viable. But since then there has been a renewed priority across the country in investing in local train services, with several stations opening up and the government more keen to spend money than before.
Conservative Councillor Mark Weston, who represents Henbury and Brentry, has long advocated for the Henbury Loop to be reopened. He said the connection would help link up new housing estates in Henbury and the former Filton Airfield with jobs and industry in Avonmouth. One problem is the Bristol Port, which would be affected by sharing the railway with passengers.
He added: "I'm delighted to hear that you're going to be coming back to it. I can assure you that I'll be coming back to the Henbury Loop repeatedly, to the point that my colleagues will probably throw heavy objects at me.
"If we're working with the port to deliver on their aims of offshore wind, then they can work with us on delivering our aims on the rail. This needs to be a symbiotic relationship, and it sometimes can feel a little one-sided."
Trains on the new Henbury line will only run once an hour to begin with, and potentially every half hour when big concerts are taking place at the YTL Arena. Running services every 15 minutes can't happen until the signalling infrastructure is upgraded. But these upgrades could be paid for by the Transport for City Regions funding, a huge grant from the government.
In June the Department for Transport announced that £15.6 billion would be given to city regions, to help large cities shift people away from driving cars by improving public transport. Congestion is holding back Bristol's economy as journeys can often take ages due to the huge amount of traffic on the roads.
Politicians hope that better trains and buses could help ease this congestion, by providing an alternative to driving. The West of England will get £752 million from the Transport for City Regions grant, and some of this money could likely be spent on increasing the services on the Henbury line to four an hour. But the details are still being worked out, with timescales unclear.
