[6] Just to the west of the station is Parson Street Junction,[Note 3] where the Portishead Branch diverges from the main line, heading north.

[5] As of the December 2011 timetable, the basic service from Monday to Friday consists of one train in each direction per hour, between Bristol Parkway and Weston-super-Mare, calling at all stations.

Some trains working between Cardiff and Taunton or Exeter St Davids call at peak hours and in the evening.

On Saturday there is a similar pattern, but with no services beyond Bristol Parkway or Weston-super-Mare except during the early morning and late evening.

When Parson Street opened in 1927, there were 21 services each weekday along the branch, operated by the Great Western Railway at half-hour intervals from Temple Meads.

[20][21] With the closure of the branch, Parson Street lost its interchange status, and in January 1971 the station buildings were demolished.

Local services were franchised to Wales & West when the railway was privatised in 1997,[22] which was in turn succeeded by Wessex Trains in 2001.

[28][Note 4] The campaign group Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways held a celebration in 2009 to mark the increase in passenger numbers.

[31] The Severnside CRP also installed plant displays in 2008,[32] and in 2011 distributed leaflets advertising train services to local residents, in association with Bristol City Council and Passenger Focus.

[21] In 2010, another section of track was reinstated to allow the reopening of South Liberty Lane depot to handle Trans Ocean's wine import business, reducing road traffic.

[35][36] As part of this scheme, the Portishead Branch Line, which runs along the south side of the River Avon from a junction just beyond Parson Street, will be reopened.

[37] The line was built in the 1860s, but closed to passenger traffic in 1964, leaving Portishead as one of Britain's largest towns without a railway station.

[38][39] The scheme was given the go-ahead in July 2012 as part of the City Deal, whereby local councils would be given greater control over money by the government.

[37] A consultation on the plans was held between 22 June and 3 August 2015 to gather views from the community and stakeholders before moving on to detailed designs.

Due to the additional capital costs, the line will not be electrified, however the design will include passive provision for future electrification.

[40] The Down Relief line between Bristol Temple Meads and Parson Street is to be partially reinstated as part of the MetroWest scheme in order to ease congestion.

[40][41] According to the Great Western Route Utilisation Strategy, in the December 2007 timetable period, the line through Parson Street was running at over 75% capacity in the morning peak between 8 and 9am.

[42] While the three tracks could cope with traffic generated by the reopening of the Portishead Line, campaigners note it would leave little room for growth.

On 19 November 2002, a Wessex Trains diesel multiple unit suffered an axle problem near Parson Street while operating a westbound service, causing the line to be blocked for four hours.

[44] Delays all along the line to Taunton have been caused by trackside cabling being stolen, affecting signalling between Nailsea & Backwell and Bedminster.

[48] Another person was struck by a train and killed at Parson Street in an unrelated incident on 26 August 2019; this was also treated by police as non-suspicious.