This article lists proposed developments to transport in Bristol, England.
In 2018, expansion of Bristol's MetroBus network was under consideration by the West of England Combined Authority. [1]
Plans to increase the airport's capacity from 10 million passengers per year to 12 million were refused permission by North Somerset Council in 2020, among criticism of effects of the proposals on the environment. [2]
The MetroWest scheme, previously known as The Greater Bristol Metro, is a proposal to improve the rail services in Greater Bristol. It was first proposed at First Great Western's Stakeholder Event in March 2008, and received political backing in 2012. The scheme includes the reopening of the Portishead Line, and increasing train frequency on the Severn Beach Line as part of phase 1; [3] and the reopening of the Henbury line and increasing train services to Yate in phase 2. [4]
In November 2016, the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership began a consultation process on their Transport Vision Summary Document, outlining potential light rail/tram routes from the city centre to Bristol Airport, the eastern and north west fringes of the city, and a route along the A4 road to Bath. [5]
In July 2017, a leaked draft of that document, due to be published in October 2017, suggested an underground rail network around the most built-up areas of the city as one of many solutions to congestion equating to £8.9 billion. [6] In September 2017, incumbent mayor, Marvin Rees vocally supported the creation of an underground line in the city. The service would run from Bristol Airport to Temple Meads, the centre and north of Bristol and then to Cribbs Causeway, and would cost an estimated at £2.5bn. [7] The city council commissioned a £50,000 study to determine the financial viability of the project and Rees has suggested £3 million for a geological survey. [8] [7]
As of 2019, four mass transit lines are proposed (with technology type and exact routes to be determined): [9]
It has been long proposed for there to be a motorway junction linking the A4174 Avon ring road to the M4 motorway near to Emersons Green as they pass very close. In 2010, this attracted support from the Kingswood MP. [10]
The first plans to electrify the Great Western line, announced in 2009, included the route to Temple Meads via Chippenham as well as the connecting line between Temple Meads and the South Wales Main Line at Bristol Parkway. [11] [12] Electrification of the South Wales line as far as Cardiff was completed in 2019, but in 2016 the government indefinitely delayed work on the Chippenham route and the Parkway connecting line. [13] [14]
There have been several proposals to extend the ring road from the junction with the A4 at Hicks Gate, Keynsham, along the southern edge of Bristol as far as the A370 at Long Ashton.
The 2005 Greater Bristol Strategic Transport Study, commissioned by the regional government office, recommended construction of the new southern route to tackle congestion. The proposals follow the route set aside west from Hengrove Park roundabout to the A38 at Castle Farm (phase 1), and from there to the A370 near Long Ashton Park and Ride (phase 2). There are additional recommendations (phase 3) for a new Whitchurch bypass from Hengrove Park roundabout, along the base of Dundry Hill, around Stockwood and joining the A4174 at Hicks Gate roundabout on the A4. [15] Phase one and two of the ring road are the only major road building schemes adopted by the Joint Local Transport Plan, which claimed they would reduce delays across the Greater Bristol area by 6%, and lead to a 9% increase in public transport use. [16] Bristol City Council has endorsed all three phases, and was hoping to begin construction of the first two phases in 2010 and 2011, and the third phase some time after 2016. [17] However, the plan had not been approved by the Department for Transport. [18]
In January 2015, the Department for Transport approved plans for the construction of the South Bristol Link road, [19] as part of the MetroBus rapid transit scheme. Construction began in late 2015 and was completed in early 2017. [20]
The M32 is a 4.42 miles (7.11 km) long motorway in South Gloucestershire and Bristol, England. It provides a link from the M4, a major motorway linking London and South Wales, to Bristol city centre and is maintained by National Highways, the national roads body.
Proposals for expansion of the Melbourne rail network are commonly presented by political parties, government agencies, industry organisations and public transport advocacy groups. The extensions proposed take a variety of forms: electrification of existing routes to incorporate them into the suburban rail system; reconstruction of former passenger rail lines along pre-existing easements; entirely new routes intended to serve new areas with heavy rail or provide alternative routes in congested areas; or track amplification along existing routes to provide segregation of services. Other proposals are for the construction of new or relocated stations on existing lines, to provide improved access to public transport services.
The city of Glasgow, Scotland, has a transport system encompassing air, rail, road and an underground light metro line. Prior to 1962, the city was also served by trams. Commuters travelling into Glasgow from the neighbouring local authorities of North and South Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, and East and West Dunbartonshire have a major influence on travel patterns, with tens of thousands of residents commuting into the city each day. The most popular mode of transport in the city is the car, used by two-thirds of people for journeys around the city.
Transport 21 was an Irish infrastructure plan, announced in November 2005. Its aims were to greatly expand Ireland's transport network. A cost estimate of €34 billion was attached to the plan at the time.
The A4174 is a major ring road in England which runs around the northern and eastern edge of Bristol, mainly in South Gloucestershire, and through the southern suburbs of the city. When it was first conceived it was planned to circle the whole of Bristol, and is commonly referred to as the "Avon Ring Road", or less accurately the "Bristol Ring Road", on road signs. The road does not circle the whole city, instead covering roughly half of the route. It is broken in part where it is concurrent with the A4.
The Portishead Railway is a branch line railway running from Portishead in North Somerset to the main line immediately west of Bristol, England. It was constructed by the Bristol & Portishead Pier and Railway Company, but it was always operated by its main line neighbour, and was more usually thought of as the Portishead branch or the Portishead railway.
Bristol is a city in south west England, near the Bristol Channel coast, approximately 106 miles (170 km) west of London. Several factors have influenced the development of its transport network. It is a major centre of employment, retail, culture and higher education, has many historic areas, and has a history of maritime industry. The city has a population of 450,000, with a metropolitan area of 650,000, and lies at the centre of the former County of Avon, which includes many dormitory towns, and has a population of one million.
The A370 is a primary road in England running from the A4 Bath Road, near Bristol Temple Meads railway station to Weston-super-Mare before continuing to the village of East Brent in Somerset. A more direct route from Bristol to East Brent is the A38.
Hengrove is a suburb and council ward of Bristol, England, situated between Whitchurch, Knowle and Bishopsworth, running along both dual carriageways, Wells Road (A37) and Airport Road (A4174). The area of Knowle it adjoins is known as Knowle West.
The majority of public transport users in the Bristol Urban Area are transported by bus, although rail has experienced growth and does play an important part, particularly in peak hours. There were plans for a light rail system, however this has now been dropped although it remains in the long-term local transport plan.
Rail services in the West of England refer to passenger rail journeys made in the Bristol commuter area. 17 million passenger rail journeys were made in 2019-20 within the Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bristol/Bath region.
In the 2010s Network Rail modernised the Great Western Main Line, the South Wales Main Line, and other associated lines. The modernisation plans were announced at separate times but their implementation overlapped in the 2010s.
MetroWest, formerly known as the Greater Bristol Metro, is a project to improve the rail services in Bristol, England, and the surrounding region. It was first proposed at First Great Western's Stakeholder Event in March 2008. The aim of the project is to develop half-hourly services through central Bristol which will also serve the surrounding West of England region. Transport campaigning groups Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways (FoSBR) and Transport for Greater Bristol are actively supporting the proposal, as are the three unitary authorities under the West of England Combined Authority and North Somerset Council.
Bristol Supertram was a proposed light rail system for the Bristol and South Gloucestershire regions of England. In 2001, the project was given backing from the government to build a line that would link the city centre with the North Bristol region, but the project was cancelled in 2004.
The South Wales Metro is an integrated heavy rail, light rail and bus-based public transport services and systems network currently being developed in South East Wales around the hub of Cardiff Central railway station. The first phase was approved for development in October 2013. Works are currently under way, with a new depot under construction at Taff's Well and new trains being built by Stadler Rail in Switzerland. The development will also include the electrification of the core Valley Lines and new stations. All nine lines will be electrified, and the service is expected to be in operation by the end of 2024.
MetroBus is a bus rapid transit system in Bristol, England, created as a joint project between Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire councils. The first route, service m3, began operations on 29 May 2018, followed by m2 on 3 September 2018, m1 on 6 January 2019 and m4 on 22 January 2023.
The Bristol airport rail link is a proposed light or heavy rail line to serve Bristol Airport in southwest England. The project is currently under consideration by the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership as a means to address "poor connectivity between North Somerset, Bristol Airport and Bristol".
Kolkata Metro Line 6 or the Orange Line of the Kolkata Metro, in the Indian state of West Bengal, is a rapid transit line that will connect New Garia with Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport via two satellite towns Salt Lake and New Town. It currently operates between Kavi Subhash and Hemanta Mukhopadhyay. This stretch will be one of the most important stretches of the metro because it will connect the southern and the eastern parts of the city with Kolkata Airport. The total distance of this route will be 29.87 km (18.56 mi).
The city of Bristol in the United Kingdom has included a light rail transport system in its plans from the 1980s onwards. There has been no light rail in the city since the closure of Bristol Tramways in 1941.