The Henbury Loop Line, also known as the Filton to Avonmouth Line, is a railway line following the boundary between

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

and

South Gloucestershire South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Kingswood, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke. The southern p ...

between the Severn Beach Line at Hallen Marsh Junction,

Avonmouth Avonmouth ( ) is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, on the north bank of the mouth of the River Avon and the eastern shore of the Severn Estuary. Part of the Port of Bristol, Avonmouth Docks is important to the region's maritime eco ...

and the

Cross Country Route The Cross Country Route is a long-distance railway route in England, which runs from to via , , and or . Inter-city services on the route, which include some of the longest passenger journeys in the UK such as to , are operated by CrossC ...

South Wales Main Line The South Wales Main Line (), originally known as the London, Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway or simply as the Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway, is a branch of the Great Western Main Line in Great Britain. It diverges from the co ...

Filton Filton is a town and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England, north of Bristol. Along with nearby Patchway and Bradley Stoke, Filton forms part of the Bristol urban area and has become an overflow settlement for the city. Filton has la ...

. It is currently only used for freight.

History

The line was opened on 9 May 1910, as a more direct route to Avonmouth docks, and was initially known as the Avonmouth and Filton Railway. Although the line was mainly intended for freight services, passenger services were also provided until 1915, with stations at Filton Halt, Charlton, Henbury and Hallen. In 1917 a small station was opened at Chittening Platform to serve a new factory. The line was fully reopened to passenger traffic in 1922. Filton Halt, Charlton and Hallen stations did not reopen, but in 1926 a new station, North Filton Platform, was opened on the site of Filton Halt. The line closed to passenger traffic on 09/05/1986. In 1971 a curve was opened to link the line to the South Wales Main Line at

Patchway Patchway is a town and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England, situated north-north west of central Bristol. The town has become an overflow settlement for Bristol and is contiguous with Bristol's urban area, along with the nearby towns ...

. This was to facilitate traffic to and from South Wales, including zoo excursions to

Clifton Down Clifton Down is an area of public open space in Bristol, England, north of the village of Clifton. With its neighbour Durdham Down to the north and east, it constitutes the large area known as The Downs, much used for leisure including walki ...

Reopening

Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways (FOSBR) and other local rail campaign groups support the reopening of the line to passengers, as well as the stations at and . FOSBR suggest this would help services along the Severn Beach Line, allowing a -- service, and also provide services to the north of Bristol generally, the

Cribbs Causeway Cribbs Causeway is both a road in South Gloucestershire, England, running north of the city of Bristol, and the adjacent area which is notable for its Out-of-town shopping centres in the United Kingdom, out-of-town shopping and leisure facilitie ...

shopping centre, and the redevelopment at Filton Aerodrome.

South Gloucestershire Council South Gloucestershire Council is the local authority of South Gloucestershire, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England, covering an area to the north of the city of Bristol. The council is a unitary auth ...

planning committee recommended in 2011 that the line be re-opened for passenger services. A consultation document produced for the West of England Partnership by the

Halcrow Group Halcrow Group Limited was a British engineering consultancy company. It was one of the UK's largest consultancies, specialised in the provision of planning, design and management services for infrastructure development worldwide. With interests ...

suggested passenger services use the line as a spur. Campaigners objected that the suggested services would not call at stations such as and . A one-off service, operated by

First Great Western First Greater Western, trading as Great Western Railway (GWR), is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that provides services in the Greater Western franchise area. It manages 197 stations and its trains call at over 270. GWR ...

, ran on the line on 27 July 2013. The train operator hoped to use the service to demonstrate the feasibility of running services over the line, and to make the case for suitable funding. and depends in part upon the four-tracking of

Filton Bank Filton Bank is the name given to a section of the Bristol to Birmingham line in Bristol, England, roughly between and stations. Description The line runs from Dr Days Junction where the Great Western Main Line branches off from the Bristo ...

to allow more trains to operate the line from to . Work on restoring four-track use on Filton Bank was completed in late 2018. In October 2022 the opening of a new station, North Filton, on the line was pushed back to 2026. In March 2023 construction work began on Ashley Down station, which, along with Filton Abbey Wood and new stations at North Filton and Henbury, will serve a planned new route along part of the Henbury Loop Line. The new Ashley Down station opened to passenger traffic on 28 September 2024. This line has been identified by Campaign for a Better Transport as a Priority 1 candidate for reopening.

References

{{Transport in Bristol Rail transport in Bristol Transport in South Gloucestershire District Railway lines in South West England Standard gauge railways in England