We have big plans to upgrade Bristol Temple Meads – giving you a more modern, efficient and safer transport hub.
The Bristol Temple Quarter regeneration
A bigger and better Bristol Temple Meads is at the heart of the city’s Temple Quarter regeneration programme – one of the largest regeneration programmes in Europe.
It aims to deliver 10,000 new homes, thousands of new jobs and a £1.6bn annual boost to the regional economy.
The first phase of the programme involves an investment of £95m in renovations at the station and in its surroundings – Bristol Temple Meads’ first major improvements in 100 years.
New entrances to improve your travel experience
We’re creating three new entrances as part of the regeneration. A Northern entrance, Southern gateway and a new Eastern entrance will make it easier to access the station from all parts of the city. This work will also include a multi-storey car park.
We hit a landmark last May by finishing the installation of the main structural steel frame of the £23m Eastern entrance. The frame stands at six metres high and 20 metres wide. We’re fitting it out before glazing it.
It’s due to open in 2026, at the same time as the new University of Bristol Enterprise Campus, which the entrance will connect to directly. We estimate 2.5 million people a year will use the Eastern entrance by 2030.
Daniel Round, an industry programme director at Network Rail, said: “[It] will make a real difference and really open up this part of the city to new rail passengers, as well as to our existing customers.”
A refurbished roof
We’re also refurbishing the main train shed’s vast Victorian roof and the platform canopies for a brighter welcome.
We’ve been grit blasting and inspecting metal work above platforms three and four, completing repairs and repainting. We’re also restoring the timber work and replacing glazing.
Working in phases across the roof is a painstaking process. But we’ve carefully mapped out our work to minimises its impact on the day-to-day running of the station – and your visit.
There are many more steelwork repairs needed than we’d anticipated so we’ve recently expanded our working area to speed up the process. We’ve now completed about 1,900 individual steelwork repairs and expect to finish the work in summer next year.
Improved facilities and access
We made history when Bristol Temple Meads became the first station in Britain to launch audio guides for blind and partially sighted people in 2022. But we’re not done yet.
We’re also rewiring the station to bring the electrical systems up to modern standards. This is vital work that will help prepare the station for our many other improvements.
The retail, ticket office and wayfinding signage are all set for improvements that will help make the station more accessible.
Plus, we’ll repair the roof of the Midland Shed and convert rooms in the shed into retail units.
