A growing campaign is calling on North Somerset Council to reopen the long-forgotten Uphill railway station in Weston-super-Mare. The town currently has active stations at Weston-super-Mare and Weston Milton on the Bristol to Exeter main line loop, but activists say reinstating Uphill station could significantly enhance local transport options.
The Bristol Rail Campaign highlights that a reopened Uphill station would serve key local destinations including Weston Hospital, Weston College’s Loxton campus, nearby residential areas, Uphill Beach, and popular local walking routes. Campaign lead Christina Biggs presented the proposal to a North Somerset Council scrutiny panel on February 26, urging the council to lobby the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) for funding to conduct a feasibility study.
Historically, Uphill station opened in 1871 near Devil’s Bridge, with a nearby Uphill Junction established in 1884. The campaign suggests positioning a new station slightly differently, placing it on the existing loop line that stops at Weston Milton, Worle, and Weston-super-Mare, to avoid disruption to mainline services.
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Ms Biggs explained, “The idea is that local trains serving Weston Milton, Worle, and Weston-super-Mare would stop at the new Uphill station, ensuring no delays to mainline traffic.”
North Somerset Council is set to join WECA by late 2024 or early 2027, with a public consultation open until April 10 regarding the move. WECA holds millions in transport funding, and the campaign believes part of this should be allocated to evaluate reopening Uphill station as an accessible, cost-effective project.
Unlike larger projects such as the Portishead Railway reopening—also supported by WECA and scheduled for 2028—Uphill’s location on an existing line makes it a simpler prospect, says Ms Biggs: “Uphill is a fairly minor project since it uses an existing line and avoids the complexities faced by the Portishead line.”
As of now, North Somerset Council has not formally discussed or approved the proposal to reopen Uphill railway station, but campaigners remain hopeful that the idea will gain traction in coming months.