New name for station: Bristol Brabazon
March 20th, 2026The new railway station being built in North Filton has today been officially named: Bristol Brabazon. The new station is one of five already coming down the track in the West.
It is set to serve the new Aviva Arena at YTL Live as well as the surrounding West Innovation Arc Growth Zone, including Brabazon and some of the region’s world-leading engineering and technology companies. This area is the fastest growing part of the country’s fastest growing region economy.
This new station on the Henbury Line is one of five already in the pipeline for the region’s growing rail network. Work is already well underway on site by contractors BAM Nuttall, with track and the first platform blocks installed over Christmas.
When complete, Bristol Brabazon will see the first regular passenger services on the Henbury Line since 1964. A second construction phase will then follow to increase the capacity of the station to support the 20,000-capacity Aviva Arena being built, which will be the third largest in the country when it opens in 2028.
Local residents are invited to attend a drop-in session on Wednesday 1 April at the Spitfire Hangar any time between 4pm and 7pm, where members of the project team will be available to answer questions about the circa £50 million investment in both phases of new station and the station building.
In Pill and Portishead, people have been invited to attend events later this month to find out more about the restoration of the Portishead Line, ahead of construction working starting this spring. The Portishead Line will connect directly onto the Henbury Line via Bristol Temple Meads.
The Mayor and council leaders set out an ambition last month to secure private investment to help deliver a transport network that you can trust – with rail a major part of that new transport vision for the future, both in terms of new stations and improved frequency.
Project partners are working collaboratively to ensure that infrastructure improvements are fully funded and delivered. YTL UK Group has already invested more than £16 million in this area through contributions via South Gloucestershire Council and direct delivery on site, with a further £40 million planned over the next decade, to help ensure that Brabazon is one of the best connected new towns in the country.
Local transport network improvements on and around the historic former Filton Airfield will include the new railway station, Metrobus routes, dedicated cycle paths, and improvements to signalling and junctions across the major road network.
Further private investment would add to the more than £400 million already being invested in rail by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority, Department for Transport, North Somerset Council, South Gloucestershire Council, Bristol City Council, and partners including Network Rail and Great Western Railway.
In October, Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer highlighted almost £40 million of investment from the regional authority towards Bristol Brabazon and Henbury.
Plans have already been approved for three new schools, a new park, and 6,500 new homes – and the site has been shortlisted to be one of the Government’s new towns. More than 500 residents have already moved in at Brabazon, with many of the new homes already inhabited and Bristol Brabazon station due to open in the autumn.
