Long Ashton railway station

The Bristol and Exeter Railway was opened between Bristol Temple Meads and Bridgwater on 14 June 1841, engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and build originally as 7 ft (2,134 mm) broad-gauge. A station named "Ashton", serving the nearby village of Long Ashton, was located on an embankment 3 miles 52 chains (5.87 km) from Bristol Temple Meads and 122 miles 3 chains (196.40 km) from the Great Western Railway terminus at London Paddington.[1][2][note 1] Quite when the station opened is uncertain – Butt's Directory of Railway Stations states that the station opened with the line in June 1841,[3] but Quick's Railway Passenger Stations states it only opened in June 1852.[4] Both sources agree that the station closed in January 1856,[3][4] however other sources such as Oakley's Somerset Railway Stations contain no reference to Ashton at all.[5] If the earlier date is correct, services would have originally been provided by the Great Western Railway on behalf of the Bristol & Exeter. The Bristol & Exeter took over passenger operations on 1 May 1849.[6]

The line through Ashton remained open after the station closed. In 1871, the Bristol & Exeter opened another station called Ashton, closer to Bristol, this station was later renamed Bedminster.[3] The line had been reconstructed as mixed-gauge by 1 June 1875 to accommodate local traffic. A year later in 1876, the Bristol & Exeter was amalgamated into the Great Western Railway, which took over services. Broad-gauge trains ceased operation on 20 May 1892.[6]

The station was reopened by the Great Western Railway in 1926, now called Long Ashton Platform; Ashton by then was the name of a station on the Teign Valley Line in Devon. Again, the exact date of opening is disputed: most sources state 12 July 1926,[5][7][8] but some say 20 September the same year.[9] It was located on the same site as the first station.[2]

The station was a basic halt, and had two 400 × 10 feet (121.9 × 3.0 m) platforms. A corrugated iron shelter and lamp hut were provided on the westbound platform, and a small booking office was present on the road to the platform. The estimated cost of construction was £1,930.[5]

The station was renamed Long Ashton on 23 September 1929, and closed on 6 October 1941.[5][7] There is now no trace of it left,[5] and the site is now partly under the A370 Long Ashton Bypass causeway.[10]

Plans were submitted in 2010 to reopen the station as part of the University of Bristol's Fenswood Farm development, which, if granted planning permission, will comprise some 1,200 houses, businesses and a school spread over 35 hectares (86 acres).[11] The new station would be up to 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the original location. The University notes that there is positive support for the station, but that it alone cannot guarantee its construction.[12] Long Ashton parish councillor Anthony Butcher opposes the development, but supports the reopening of the station.[13] The station could be reopened as part of the Greater Bristol Metro scheme,[14] a rail transport plan approved in July 2012 which aims to enhance transport capacity in the Bristol area.[15]

The Bristol to Exeter line through Long Ashton is not currently electrified. The 21st-century modernisation of the Great Western Main Line will see the line from London to Bristol electrified, but electrification will not extend beyond Bristol to Weston-super-Mare.[16][17] The group Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways supports the electrification continuing to Weston,[18][19] as does Member of Parliament for Weston-super-Mare, John Penrose.[17][20]