Portishead Railway Track donated to the Avon Valley Railway

With the current track on the disused Portishead Railway Line being ‘Heritage’ bullhead rail, with parts dating pre-World War 2, it is not suitable for today’s modern railway which uses flat bottom rail. Because of this, the rail needs to be removed before major works start on reopening the railway line. As a charity which still uses these traditional materials, MetroWest and North Somerset council have kindly donated some of the track the Avon Valley Railway, which operates a Steam and Diesel Heritage railway on 3 miles of the historic Midland line between Bristol and Bath, based at Bitton station.

Alan Matthews, Chair of the Avon Valley Railway Company said “This generous donation in repurposing/recycling the old track, will be used to improve our railway infrastructure. This in turn will make sure our heritage locos and carriages will be able to take local people on a heritage experience for many years to come. After the track was lifted by the AVR and its contractors it was moved to our base at Bitton Station.”

Trustee Joseph Dean followed “With the donated track we are looking to launch our yard remodelling at Bitton, which will see tracks adjusted in our yard for more efficient storage but also give provision for new infrastructure. Remaining track will be used for track renewals and potentially further restoration of the historic route in the future.”

For further details regarding this press release, please contact the railway or Alan Matthews at trustheritage@avonvalleyrailway.org