Bristol Portway railway station due to open this summer

A new multimillion-pound train station is expected to open to passengers this summer after many delays.

Bristol City Council said the Portway Park and Ride railway station will be the first to open in the city for almost 100 years.

Plans were first outlined more than a decade ago, with the £4.2m project set to begin operating last summer before it was delayed to "early this year".

The authority has yet to confirm the exact opening date.

The scheme's delays last year were blamed on electrical supply and cabling.

Portway Station will take passengers every 30 minutes from the park and ride close to Junction 18 of the M5 motorway, along the Severn Beach railway line to Bristol Temple Meads, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The station has been paid for with funding from Bristol City Council, the Department for Transport and the West of England Combined Authority (WECA).

The cost to the council has risen a further £1.4 million due to the delays, but it said it would ask the combined authority to cover the difference.

City Hall leaders hope it will encourage commuters to leave their cars behind and switch to public transport, as part of a push to cut congestion, air pollution and carbon emissions.

A cabinet report said: "The Portway Park and Ride rail station is now substantially complete and due to open by summer 2023... with the testing, commissioning and safety validation processes currently under way.

"The station will widen access to the rail network and encourage modal shift from private car trips."

The Park and Ride car park is being expanded, with works due to finish at the end of March.

Transport planners are also exploring how to improve the journey along the Portway for buses, bicycles and pedestrians, although few details are currently available.

The last railway station to open in Bristol was on Parson Street in 1927.

A progress report will be given to councillors on 7 March.

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