West of England Mayor visits work on new Brabazon Railway Station
The station will serve the Brabazon housing development and YTL Arena
West of England Regional Mayor Dan Norris has paid a visit to Filton to see the start of work on another new train station, which will serve the Brabazon housing development and upcoming YTL Arena music venue.
Enabling works have begun for the station on the site of the former Filton Airfield, which it's hoped could open in the Autumn of 2026. It will offer journeys to and from Bristol Temple Meads in 15 minutes.
Representatives of project partners YTL Developments, as well as Network Rail and Great Western Railway (GWR) were joined by the Mayor, local MP Claire Hazelgrove and the leader and co-leader of South Gloucestershire Council, Councillors Maggie Tyrell and Ian Boulton to mark the start of work on site on Friday 14th March.
Dan Norris, the Mayor of the West of England, said: “Work is now underway on yet another new train station for the West of England.
"I’m proud to have opened two new stations in as many years, including the first new one in Bristol in almost a century, but there’s plenty more coming down the track for our region.
“My Mayoral Combined Authority is going full steam ahead to open this station too – serving the new town at Brabazon and helping people get to the new arena. The West of England is continuing to secure major investment to create new jobs and economic growth now and over the coming years.”
The Brabazon housing development is one of the largest in the country, with plans for thousands of new homes, workspaces which will support up to 30,000 new jobs and a new park equivalent in size to Bristol's Castle Park.
The YTL Arena meanwhile, will boast a 19,500 capacity, with building work on the railway station coming as YTL Group confirmed in January that it would be investing £4 billion across its UK businesses over the next five years.
Colin Skellett, YTL’s UK Group Chief Executive said: “Brabazon is where the pioneers of aerospace created the future. Today the next generation of pioneers are shaping the way we will live, work and play in the 21st century.”
"The West of England faces a housing crisis, so Brabazon, the region’s largest Brownfield site, is part of the solution.
"Less than five miles from the centre of Bristol, at the heart of a world leading cluster of aerospace, engineering and technology companies and with a rail line, metrobus route and cycle paths.
"The new train station is essential to our shared vision to create the UK’s most sustainable New Town.”
Great Western Railway Managing Director, Mark Hopwood, said: "We’ve introduced more new stations than any other train company in recent years, and it’s fantastic that work has now begun on another one, further strengthening our award-winning partnership with the Mayoral Combined Authority and Network Rail.
"The development of Brabazon New Town and its new station highlights the crucial role that rail infrastructure plays in enabling growth, creating jobs, and providing much-needed housing.
"We are excited to see similar progress at Henbury and Portishead in the near future."
Marcus Jones, Western Route Director at Network Rail, said: “In the last two years, we’ve built two new stations at Ashley Down and Portway Park & Ride, which are now being well-used by passengers.
"It’s fantastic to see the new station in north Filton moving forward.
"This will bring access to the railway to a whole new community at Brabazon and link people from elsewhere in Bristol, and further afield, to this exciting new town development and the eagerly awaited arena.”
You can find out more about the Brabazon housing development here.