Delays due to the coronavirus crisis mean the first trains on the reopened Portishead line will not run until December 2024.
Previously billed to launch a year earlier, the pandemic forced the public examination to be pushed back, causing knock-on issues.
Funding of £116million has already been secured for the long-awaited MetroWest project, which has been years in the making and will create new stations in Portishead and Pill.
It is not yet clear what the full impact Covid-19 will have on its progress but it could add £4.8million to the costs.
Councillor James Tonkin, North Somerset Council ’s executive member for transport, told the full council meeting on November 10: “The MetroWest project has been a long-standing commitment from North Somerset Council and the region it is very well supported locally and nationally.
“It has significant benefits for the area and will contribute significantly to the economic revival of the area.
“This is still a distance to go but we have never been closer to the delivery of this project.
“The development consent order examination for MetroWest phase one has commenced five months later than expected, causing a knock-on delay to the overall delivery program timescales.”
More than £21million has been spent on the project so far.
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Leaders have applied for a development consent order, with a decision expected from the secretary of state by December 2021.
Once completed, 958,980 passenger trips are expected to be completed by rail in the opening year.
The scheme will also bring more than 50,000 people within the immediate catchment area of the two new stations at Portishead and Pill and provide better access to employment and educational opportunities.
It is estimated that more than 500 permanent and temporary jobs will be created during the construction of the rail line and that the scheme will bring an additional £284million into the local economy during its first 10 years.
