News / Transport
Portishead railway costs now almost £200m
Government ministers have had to approve an additional £14.69m for the project to reopen the railway between Bristol and Portishead.
The scheme is already well underway, with vegetation cleared along the three-mile route and work beginning on the construction compounds for the new stations in Pill and Portishead.
The cost of the scheme has increased by almost £50m since January 2025.
The restored railway will provide an hourly direct train from Portishead to Bristol Temple Meads in around 25 minutes – image: Network Rail
The scheme had been set to cost £152.01m but inflation and rising costs saw this increase to £182.21m as of July 2025.
Now, following the tender process and negotiations to appoint the contractors to deliver the track infrastructure, civil engineering, and signals and controls, the price tag has risen again to £196.9m.
The Portishead line was closed to passengers in 1964 but is being reopened after a decades long-campaign.
After the project was placed under review, WECA and North Somerset Council agreed to cover the £30m budget gap which had emerged to bring the funding for the project up to £182.21m.
The government agreed in July 2025 to continue funding the project and cover any cost increases going forward, with the £14.69m which the Department for Transport is covering the first major cost increase since this agreement.
It brings the government’s total contribution to the project to £62.17m.
WECA has contributed £66.34m from various sources while North Somerset Council has put up £68.39m.
North Somerset Council’s contribution is not funded through council tax which cannot be used for infrastructure projects, but mainly through long-term borrowing.
Most of the borrowing is through the economic development fund which means the cost of the borrowing will not fall on the taxpayer.
The Portishead line is phase one of the wider Metro West project to improve rail links in Bristol and surrounding areas – image: Network Rail
The costs are set out in a report going before a full meeting of North Somerset Council on April 21.
Although the cost increase is being covered by the Department for Transport, councillors need to officially vote to recognise that in the capital budget for the scheme.
In recent weeks, the Network Rail team running the Portishead line project have held public information events in Portishead and Pill so local residents can learn more about the works which are getting underway.
Trains will run hourly between Portishead and Bristol Temple Meads once train services begin, currently expected to happen in 2028 or 2029.
Main photo: Martin Booth
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