Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Work starts on eastern entrance at Temple Meads
WORKS have begun to build a new entrance at Temple Meads to open it up to people in the east of Bristol.
The project is funded via £94.7m of central government cash as part of the huge Temple Quarter regeneration around the station.
The entrance will open directly into the University of Bristol’s new £500m enterprise campus, for which building works started earlier this year. Marcus Jones, Network Rail’s Western route director, said the new additions to the station will help to bring it into the ‘heart’ of Bristol.
He said: “It’s almost 100 years since the last major developments at Bristol Temple Meads. The work we’re doing with the Eastern entrance, roof renovation, and the £94m major redevelopment of Temple Meads will revolutionise the experience for passengers and Bristolians alike, putting the station right at the heart of the community.
“Just as Brunel planned when the station opened 183 years ago, Temple Meads has evolved over time – from the original station of the 1840s, to the main arch of the 1870s-1890s, to the additional platforms of 1920s-1930s. We’re now taking the station firmly into the future.”
It will be the first major piece of infrastructure delivery under the regeneration programme, which will see three new entrances delivered to the east, south and north of the station. The Temple Quarter regeneration programme is a joint effort between Bristol City Council, the West of England Combined Authority (WECA), Homes England and Network Rail, which will transform 130 hectares of land around the station.
It will deliver 10,000 new homes and thousands of new jobs, alongside new public spaces, low-carbon infrastructure and commercial uses. Initial works to prepare for the delivery of the new entrance were carried out in 2021, with £22m of WECA funding.
A statement issued by the Bristol Temple Quarter Joint Delivery Team said this was to “keep the programme on track before the government grant was made” and had “saved time and money” as well as reducing disruption to rail passengers.
Over the coming months, work will include piling to support the creation of the new entrance in the existing retaining wall, followed by breaking through the wall and excavation works to create a tunnel through to the subway inside the station. In early 2024, construction on the new entry itself will begin.
The new entrance is expected to take 13 months to build, but it won’t be ready for use for years yet. Once complete it will be covered until September 2026, until the development of the new university campus and public space outside the entrance is completed. Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol, added: “Breaking ground on the Eastern entrance is another step on the journey we’ve been on with Temple Quarter since 2017. Working in partnership and supported by the government funding we secured in 2022, we are now into delivery on the transformation of Temple Quarter.”
ALMOST 9,000 extra seats will be provided on Great Western Railway services to cater for what is expected to be a busy weekend in Bath – but travellers have been issued a warning.
The additional seats will be made available on services to Bath tomorrow due to the number of runners and supporters expected to attend the city’s half marathon. But while services will be bolstered, GWR warns they’re expected to be busy immediately before and after the event.
GWR will operate 15 more trains on top of the usual Sunday timetable, which it describes as a “whopping” 50 per cent increase in services between 8.30am and 3.50pm.
Bath Spa Station manager Oana Apetroaie said: “We’re delighted to welcome Bath Half runners and supporters alike to our world-famous city, helping to take the strain out of travelling on the day. While our friendly staff will be on hand to help keep people moving as they return to the station, I urge customers to allow time for their journeys as the city, and our trains, will be extremely busy immediately before and after the race.”
Half marathon entrants have been allocated one of three waves, according to the predicted finish time selected, with the fastest runners setting off in the first wave at 10.20am, followed by a second wave at 10.40am and a final wave at 11.00am. The race will start at a new location on Royal Avenue, in the heart of the World Heritage City, and loops around the city.