This first step marks the beginning of £100m investment in the area’s rail infrastructure.

A new station will be built at Portishead as a part of the project, and Pill station and 5km of previously disused railway line will be re-opened by May 2019.

The line will restore the rail link between Portishead and Bristol city centre. Enhancement works at Bathampton and Avonmouth complete the scope.

Simon Snell, Project Manager, MetroWest Phase 1 for Network Rail, said Arup would provide multi-disciplinary railway design services including track, drainage, civils, structures, telecoms, signalling power, points heating, OLE, M&E and Geotechnical engineering, plus environmental consulting.

Plans for a £43m Phase Two – delivering the long-awaited Henbury Loop or Spur – will be detailed at a later date.