Ashley Down station construction updates

[Ashley Hill]

Moderator note - split from:

New Station calendar

Thank you to my predecessors for initially creating and then taking on the updating of this thread. This first post lists only those stations considered to have a good chance of being delivered in a reasonable timescale. I have taken the list ‘as is’ at December 2020 and will update it when...

www.railforums.co.uk

According to the BBC construction will start on Ashley Down station early this year.

Construction of new railway station to begin early 2023 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-64077517

The station, at Ashley Down, will be between Temple Meads and Filton Abbey Wood, with services eventually running to the new YTL Arena in Filton.
It will be built on Station Road, just south of the Ashley Down allotments and should be completed in 2024.

Passive provision was made during the quadrupling of Filton Incline. It will be interesting to see whether platforms are provided for all lines or just the reliefs.
Shame they won’t use its old name though

 

[davetheguard]

Shame they won’t use its old name though

I thought you'd already copyrighted it!

 

[pdeaves]

It will be interesting to see whether platforms are provided for all lines or just the reliefs.

Platforms will be on the relief lines only.

 

[Revilo]

Platforms will be on the relief lines only.

Further information can be found on Bristol City Council’s planning application website, reference 21/03523/RA.

 

[lachlan]

According to the BBC construction will start on Ashley Down station early this year.

Construction of new railway station to begin early 2023 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-64077517

Passive provision was made during the quadrupling of Filton Incline. It will be interesting to see whether platforms are provided for all lines or just the reliefs.
Shame they won’t use its old name though

The funding for Ashley Down is set to be confirmed at a meeting later this month.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Details of this proposed station can be seen here.

Ashley Down station​

Part of Henbury rail line: MetroWest Phase 2​

The proposed new station at Ashley Down is part of a wider MetroWest 2 project which will re-open the Henbury Line, between Bristol Temple Meads to Henbury, to passenger traffic.
The MetroWest 2 project, includes construction of three new railway stations – Ashley Down, North Filton and Henbury – and introduction of new services to Henbury and Gloucester. This project forms part of the wider MetroWest rail programme which represents an irreplaceable element of the Combined Authority’s economic growth strategy and efforts to de-carbonise the transport network in our regions, including encouraging a modal-shift from roads to trains.
Should the project be fully funded and constructed, the following are the anticipated benefits of the scheme:

• The new stations will support the development of over 8,500 new homes.
• 7 million minutes of travel time will be saved each year through more efficient journeys
• By 2030 MetroWest 2 is expected to be remove 3 million kilometres from the road network, based on an average petrol car today this is equivalent to 500 tons of C02 each year.
• 1.3 million people will travel on the new services each year

Ashley Down Station is the first of the three new stations that are planned to be built. Funding for the project is being sought in January 2023. Design works are nearly complete and in summer 2022 the station received ‘prior approval’. This is the planning consent process by which Network Rail receive permission to reopen previously closed stations. Works to construct the station will commence in early 2023 and are currently programmed to be complete in 2024.
The project partnership includes the West of England Combined Authority working with Bristol City Council, Network Rail, Great Western Railways and contractors BAM Nuttall. Works will be carried out by accredited contractors on behalf of Network Rail and Bristol City Council.

 

[davetheguard]

Shame they won’t use its old name though

I don't know this part of Bristol, but I note from the map linked to by Baxenden Bank above, that the area is called "Ashley Down" & the road through it is called "Ashley Down Road".

It makes you wonder why the old station was called "Ashley HILL" in the first place; just the railway being the railway I suppose.

 

[Ashley Hill]

The area is quite hilly and Ashley Hill station was built on the side of a small valley Just down the line is also Narroways Hill Junction.

 

[Annetts key]

Part of the B4052 road that is not very far away is called Ashley Hill. It’s very likely that the area was less built up when the original station opened. There could have been name changes to the roads as well.

 

[D6975]

Interesting map.
According to this map, trains make a quick trip to France and back between Stapleton Rd and Redland!!!
Montpelier is in Bristol.
Montpellier is in France.

Details of this proposed station can be seen here.



View attachment 126962

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Interesting map.
According to this map, trains make a quick trip to France and back between Stapleton Rd and Redland!!!
Montpelier is in Bristol.
Montpellier is in France.

It also shows Portishead and Pill as existing stations, which will be a pleasant surprise for commuters on Monday morning.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

The BBC reports here that construction has commenced.

Construction work on a new train station in Bristol has got under way, the region's metro mayor says.
The station, at Ashley Down, will be between Temple Meads and Filton Abbey Wood, with services eventually running to the new YTL Arena in Filton.
It will be built on Station Road, just south of the Ashley Down allotments and should be completed in 2024.
Dan Norris described the reopening as "reverse Beeching", referring to cuts in the 1960s which saw stations close.
"The last time there was a station here, man hadn't yet stepped on the moon," he added.
"Improving public transport is so important to help people get from A to B in the West of England, and to meet our ambitious net-zero targets locally."
The site used to be home to Ashley Hill Station, which closed in 1964 as part of the Beeching cuts, which saw roughly 5,000 miles of track closed and more than 2,300 stations axed in the 1960s, mainly in rural areas.
Ashley Down station is part of the MetroWest Phase 2 project, which will also see new train stations built at North Filton next to the new arena, and at Henbury.

I notice in the accompanying graphic that the BR double arrow symbol on the far platform is the wrong way round!

 

[Ashley Hill]

It’s not the most flattering is designs.

 

[rower40]

Does the tower on the other platform say “Ashley Up”?

 

[Sean Emmett]

Concorde Way cycle/foot path was duly closed on Monday to allow the works to begin.

Quick for the record photos, will get better views as things progress.

 

[Annetts key]

Yeah, some campaigners are already excited about the cycle way/footpath division, as Muller Road is a very busy road.
Also, looking at the photos, will the contractors do their normal thing of hampering access to the operational railway to Network Rail staff (there is an official access point there). That’s caused access problems before, delaying response to infrastructure failures.

 

[lachlan]

Yeah, some campaigners are already excited about the cycle way/footpath division, as Muller Road is a very busy road.
Also, looking at the photos, will the contractors do their normal thing of hampering access to the operational railway to Network Rail staff (there is an official access point there). That’s caused access problems before, delaying response to infrastructure failures.

I suppose anyone concerned about safety can use the pavement. As a partially sighted person I know I would if I had been used to cycling on a car-free route.

I can confirm having walked along the diversion there has been some works to improve the surface of the route

 

[D6130]

Are those 'hippies', for want of a better word, still living 'off-grid' in the partially-concealed yurts at the bottom of the valley on the Down side? If so, they're going to find their privacy rudely interrupted with the commencement of the station construction works.

 

[lachlan]

Are those 'hippies', for want of a better word, still living 'off-grid' in the partially-concealed yurts at the bottom of the valley on the Down side? If so, they're going to find their privacy rudely interrupted with the commencement of the station construction works.

There was some sort of camp and a sign for "glamping" if I remember correctly - looked anything but

 

[geoffk]

Yes one "L" in Montpelier, also St. Andrews ROAD. Not been in the area for ages but it appears that trains from the Bristol Parkway direction can serve stations with platforms only on the relief lines (i.e. Stapleton Road and Lawrence Hill).

 

[rapmastaj]

There was some sort of camp and a sign for "glamping" if I remember correctly - looked anything but

The glamping site is closed now. It used to be managed by the guy who sells the Big Issue outside Better Foods in St Werburghs. If you ever get chatting to him, he's a really interesting guy!

 

[Sean Emmett]

Update from walk past the site this evening
- view from public road
- view through the fence across the Concorde Way access
- notice board.

Note only 1tph planned, except at peak times. Hugely disappointing not to have direct services to Bristol Parkway!

 

[jazzy]

An update on Twitter from Network Rail, it sounds like we'll see some obvious progress in June (although possibly not from nearby with the high hoardings they've erected!):

We've a full weekend of work on Ashley Down station in Bristol, before we start 16 solid days of construction, 3 - 19 June. So far we've been doing ground work. Next month it's track work and platform construction. Project Manager Mark Radford explains..
https://twitter.com/networkrailwest/status/1662352939963547648?s=46&t=poiwm-OC9QVNXOEEA9MsKw

 

[Snow1964]

Platforms will be installed 3-19 June, along with bases of lift towers

“We’ll be working 24/7 for 16 days from Saturday 3 June, removing and realigning the track before installing the two new platforms, constructed from pre-fabricated blocks. During this period we’ll also be working on the foundations for the footbridge and lifts that will be installed in follow up shifts later this year.

Work on Bristol’s new railway station steps up a gear, as platform construction begins at Ashley Down

Network Rail is set to begin a more intensive phase of the construction of the brand-new north Bristol station at Ashley Down, with a solid 16-day period from Saturday 3 June to Monday 19 June, when teams will be working around the clock to install two new platforms.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk

 

[The exile]

Platforms will be installed 3-19 June, along with bases of lift towers

Work on Bristol’s new railway station steps up a gear, as platform construction begins at Ashley Down

Network Rail is set to begin a more intensive phase of the construction of the brand-new north Bristol station at Ashley Down, with a solid 16-day period from Saturday 3 June to Monday 19 June, when teams will be working around the clock to install two new platforms.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk

Almost looks as if they’re trying to overtake Portway Park & Ride!

 

[Snow1964]

Almost looks as if they’re trying to overtake Portway Park & Ride!

Looks like work is happening whilst Severn Tunnel is closed to replace ballast and sleepers with tin covered ones.

Presumably with fewer trains, can close 2 of the 4 lines to allow the realignment and insert the platform edges.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Almost looks as if they’re trying to overtake Portway Park & Ride!

It was reported that there was an urgency to fit construction works into an existing line closure, thus either cutting £millions from the cost, or avoiding £millions extra cost if an additional closure, just for Ashley Down was required. I think it was one of the West of England Combined Authority reports seeking authority to begin works that mentioned it.

Found it:

WEST OF ENGLAND COMBINED AUTHORITY COMMITTEE
27th January 2023
TRANSPORT PAPER

Accelerating the scheme allows the project to utilise a unique 16-day track blockade in June 2023 which will save the project £2m+ compared to a using typical closures of the railway to complete construction works.

 

[The exile]

It was reported that there was an urgency to fit construction works into an existing line closure, thus either cutting £millions from the cost, or avoiding £millions extra cost if an additional closure, just for Ashley Down was required. I think it was one of the West of England Combined Authority reports seeking authority to begin works that mentioned it.

Found it:

An outbreak of sanity - how refreshing.

 

[AndrewE]

Looks like work is happening whilst Severn Tunnel is closed to replace ballast and sleepers with tin covered ones.

Presumably with fewer trains, can close 2 of the 4 lines to allow the realignment and insert the platform edges.

?Que? Simple steel sleepers may be a bit cheap and quite nasty, but I've never heard of tin-covered! Plain (rusting) steel is the norm as far as I am aware, and I can't find any reference to coated steel ones online.
Can you give us a reference to tin-[plated] ones? In fact most coated steel is done with zinc, hot-dipped or electro-plated. "Real" tin-plate is quite rare now, if it even exists...

 

[Snow1964]

?Que? Simple steel sleepers may be a bit cheap and quite nasty, but I've never heard of tin-covered! Plain (rusting) steel is the norm as far as I am aware, and I can't find any reference to coated steel ones online.
Can you give us a reference to tin-[plated] ones? In fact most coated steel is done with zinc, hot-dipped or electro-plated. "Real" tin-plate is quite rare now, if it even exists...

Engineers will replace 3.2km of old track, as well as 5,200 sleepers (track supports) and 14,000 tonnes of ballast (supporting stone) over a ten-day period.

Salt-water makes for a corrosive environment inside the tunnel and track that would usually last 25 years needs to be replaced every ten. The new sleepers will be coated in tin to extend their life.

Passengers between South Wales and Bristol reminded to check before travelling ahead of essential upgrade works in the Severn Tunnel

Trains will be diverted or replaced by buses between Friday 9 and Sunday 18, and on Sunday 25 June, as Network Rail works around the clock to renew the tracks in the Severn Tunnel.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk