Work has started on a new train station in the city which is set to open in autumn 2026. Dan Norris, the Mayor of the West of England, visited the Brabazon development on Friday (March 14) as work started.
Brabazon is the new neighbourhood for Bristol being built on the historic former Filton Airfield. The new station will serve the new urban community, and the planned 19,500-capacity YTL Arena Bristol.
Once complete, potentially as soon as autumn 2026, the station should connect Brabazon to Bristol Temple Meads in less than 15 minutes. BAM, which constructed Ashley Down station – which opened last year – is building the station.
Representatives of project partner YTL Developments, the developer behind Brabazon, Network Rail and Great Western Railway were joined by the Mr Norris; Filton MP Claire Hazelgrove and leader and co-leader of South Gloucestershire Council Councillors Maggie Tyrell and Ian Boulton.
Mr Norris said: “Work is now under way 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 West of England Mayoral Combined Authority said in a statement: “The start of work on the new station is a critical milestone in the delivery of the new urban community at Brabazon. Designed to live up to the legacy of this former airfield’s pioneering past, the approved plans for Brabazon include thousands of new homes, creative workplaces to support up to 30,000 jobs, as well as the largest new urban public park in the South West for over 50 years, equivalent in size to Bristol’s Castle Park.
“Brabazon is one of the largest parcels of urban brownfield land in the country, perfectly placed to address the acute need for new homes across the West of England. It is also located on existing road, rail, bus and active travel links, making it ideally suited to become the most sustainable examples of urban regeneration in the UK.”
The start of work on the station comes after the 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.”
GWR 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.”
Western Route director at Network Rail Marcus Jones 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.”