Alistair Lindsay, aged 22, of Clevedon, said the site near junction 19 of the M5 could be used for a car park to serve a station at Portbury.

The rail enthusiast believes it would be easier to get funding to reopen the railway in stages, starting with a link between Portbury and Ashton Gate.

That would be followed by re-laying three miles of track and building a station in Portishead, followed by extending services into central Bristol, possibly to Wapping Wharf, near the Industrial Museum and ultimately to Temple Meads.

The land at Portbury was controversially removed from the Green Belt in November on the assumption it would be designated for the expansion of Royal Portbury Dock.

But Alistair said if it was going to be used to park cars it would be better off being used to take cars off the road and provide the impetus to get the rail project off the ground.

Alistair, who works in insurance, says he has been presenting his work to a number of transport groups and reopening the branch line between Portishead and Bristol is now on Transport 2000's manifesto.

He said: "The problems of getting out of Portishead in the morning are well documented and running the railway into the heart of Portishead is the best solution.

"But getting the funding for the whole project has been a major stumbling block.

"If we start small and have stations at Portbury, Pill and Ashton Gate we will immediately take cars off the road and, once part of the route is operating, it will be easier to get investment to reopen the whole line."

Alistair thought the first phase would cost less than half of the projected cost of £13 million to open the whole line.

The advantages of initially running from Portbury to Ashton Gate are that the track is already in place and expensive upgrading of signalling at Parsons Street and Temple Meads won't have to be made.

Alan Matthews, chairman of Portishead Railway Group, said he thought there was a lot of merit in Alistair's plan, if all the stages could be delivered.

He said: "Fundamentally our group wants the railway to run from the centre of Portishead to the centre of Bristol.

"But if this helps us to reach that goal then we would be happy to back it."

Alistair, who is responsible for transport policy within the North Somerset Labour Party, added that plans were at an early stage and extensive talks would be needed with the Portbury Dock freight operator EWS, Network Rail, First Great Western, councils and other stakeholders.

He said: "There is obviously a lot of work to do but there is vast potential for the line and it urgently needs to be reopened."

See also:

Write to your Council to re-open Portbury-Bristol line

The Weston Mercury: 17 January 2007

CAMPAIGNERS fighting for the re-opening of the Portishead railway line are urging local residents to write to council chiefs to highlight the daily traffic chaos getting in and out of the town.

The Portishead Railway Group has been lobbying for the re-opening of the final section of line, which currently runs from Bristol to Portbury Docks.

The line to the docks was refurbished for freight use at a cost of £21 million, but a further 3.25 miles needs to be upgraded to continue the link to Portishead.

Land has also been reserved in the town for a possible new railway station and a car park has already been created next to the Waitrose car park.

Despite years of campaigning, problems with finding cash for the project have meant no work on revamping the line has started.

Now North Somerset Council is proposing a showcase bus route along the A369 into Bristol as a replacement for a rail link.

But the group say the bus route is not the best option and is now urging people who live in the town to write to council leaders highlighting the traffic chaos caused by people trying to get out of Portishead each day.

Some mornings it can take up to 35 minutes to travel from Portishead town centre to the motorway junction. A Portishead Railway Group spokesman said: "The best business case can be made by integrating the Severn Beach and Portishead branches, linked at Temple Meads to the benefit of both lines.

"The same rolling stock could then run continuously from Severn Beach to Portishead and back, enhancing transport for a large part of the Bristol area."

"We now need residents of Portishead, Portbury, Pill, Easton-in-Gordano and Abbots Leigh to write to both North Somerset Council and Bristol City Council to inform the councils of their problems with the traffic and transport around Portishead to support the rail initiative.

"We believe that the councils are not fully aware of the problems that residents have with the existing public transport and the extent of the delays caused by traffic congestion."

Residents are being urged to write to Cllr Dr Dennis Brown, executive member transport executive, Bristol City Council, The Council House, College Green, Bristol, BS1 5TR or Cllr John Crockford-Hawley, executive member for planning and transport, North Somerset Council, Town Hall, Walliscote Grove Road, Weston-super-Mare, BS23 1UJ.