The pier at Black Rock, near Portskewett, was the Welsh side of the New Passage Ferry across the River Severn.

The ferry linked rail services between Bristol and South Wales, avoiding the previous long detour through Gloucester.

The ferry service lasted for nearly twenty five years, from 1863 to 1886, until the opening of the railway tunnel beneath the river.

[1] This passes between New Passage Pier in Gloucestershire and Black Rock in Monmouthshire, approximately the line of the Second Severn Crossing.

The other crossing in the area is upstream at the Old Passage Ferry, from Aust to Beachley, approximately the line of the earlier Severn Bridge.

The pier and station would be built at Black Rock, the landing point of the New Passage Ferry, rather than Portskewett village.

A locomotive was hired in September to work the branch but it was not ready for inspection by the Board of Trade until late November.

[11] This tunnel faced a number of difficulties though and its construction was delayed for some years by water entering from the 'Great Spring' on the Monmouthshire side.

The effect on passenger traffic was immediate, travel by the tunnel now taking 75 minutes from Cardiff to Bristol, around half of a typical crossing by two trains and the ferry.