However the Portishead Branch was recommended for closure by the Beeching report, and the station was closed on 7 September 1964, although the line saw freight traffic until 1981.

Regular freight trains through the station began to run again in 2002 when Royal Portbury Dock was connected to the rail network.

The station is due to be reopened to passenger traffic as part of MetroWest, a scheme to increase rail services in the Bristol area.

[3][4][note 3] To the east, the railway passed through the village and crossed a valley on the brick-built Pill Viaduct, while to the west the line was largely through flat, open countryside.

[1] Passenger traffic was mainly commuters, to both Bristol and Portishead, as well as people who wished to use the Pill ferry across the river to Shirehampton.

[6] Freight trains continued to pass through the station, but their number decreased over time, and the line fell out of regular use after 30 March 1981.

[10][11][12] 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.

[13] A consultation on the reopening 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.

[14] In April 2019 the Department for Transport committed £31.9m to cover the shortfall in finance for MetroWest Phase 1, meaning that funding has now been secured.

[15][16] In November 2019 North Somerset Council submitted a Development Consent Order (DCO) application to the Planning Inspectorate, which seeks powers to build and operate the disused section of railway from Portishead to Pill, gain environmental consent to undertake works to the existing freight railway through the Avon Gorge and obtain powers for the compulsory acquisition of land.

Subject to final business case approval, construction work had been expected to start on the line in December 2021 and then take around two years to complete.

Trains both to and from Portishead will use the southern platform, which will be resurfaced and provided with a waiting shelter, lighting, passenger information displays and audible announcements.