Bristol Temple Meads railway station is the oldest and largest
railway stationA railway station, train station, railroad station, or station yard is a facility at which passengers may board and alight from trains, and/or where rail-transported freight may be loaded or unloaded. Historically, the term depot has also been employed in North America...
in
BristolBristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London, and east of Cardiff.With an estimated population of 416,400 for the unitary authority in mid-2007, and a surrounding urban area with an estimated 561,500 residents, it is England's sixth, and...
, England. It is an important interchange hub for
public transport in BristolThe majority of people in the Bristol Urban Area are transported by bus, although rail has experienced growth and does play an important part, particularly in peak hours. There were plans for a Light Rail system, however this has now been dropped although it remains in the Long-term local transport...
, with
busA bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. A bus seats a maximum of 8 to 300 passengers...
services to various parts of the city and surrounding districts, and a
ferryA ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
service to the city centre in addition to the train services. Bristol's other main-line station,
Bristol ParkwayBristol Parkway railway station serves the northern suburbs of Bristol, including Stoke Gifford and Bradley Stoke. It is part of the British railway system owned by Network Rail, and is run by First Great Western....
, is on the northern outskirts of the Bristol
conurbationA conurbation is an urban area or agglomeration comprising a number of cities, large towns and larger urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area...
.
It opened on 31 August 1840 as the western terminus of the
Great Western RailwayThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835, and ran its first trains three years later...
from London Paddington station. The whole railway including Temple Meads was the first one designed by the prolific British
engineerEngineers are concerned with developing economical and safe solutions to practical problems, by applying mathematics and scientific knowledge while considering technical constraints. The term is derived from the Latin root "ingenium," meaning "cleverness"...
,
Isambard Kingdom BrunelIsambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British engineer. He is best known for the creation of the Great Western Railway, a series of famous steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship, and numerous important bridges and tunnels...
. Soon the station was also used by the
Bristol and Exeter RailwayThe Bristol & Exeter Railway was a railway company formed to connect Bristol and Exeter. It was friendly to the Great Western Railway, which had been opened between London and Bristol the previous year, and the two railways operated in collaboration....
, the
Bristol and Gloucester RailwayThe Bristol and Gloucester Railway opened in 1844 between Bristol and Gloucester, meeting the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway. It is now part of the main line from the North-East of England through Derby and Birmingham to the South-West.-History:...
, the
Bristol Harbour RailwayThe Bristol Industrial Museum was a museum in Bristol, England. The museum featured exhibits documenting Bristol's maritime history, and included outdoor exhibits along Prince's Wharf on the Floating Harbour, including the Bristol Harbour Railway and a small fleet of preserved vessels.The museum...
and the
Bristol and South Wales Union RailwayThe Bristol and South Wales Union Railway was built to connect Bristol, England, with south Wales. The route involved a ferry crossing of the River Severn but was considerably shorter than the alternative route through Gloucester...
. To accommodate the increasing number of trains the station was expanded in the 1870s by
Francis FoxSir Francis Fox was an English civil engineer, who was responsible for the bridges over the Victoria Falls of the Zambesi and Sydney Harbour, the Mersey Railway Tunnel and the Liverpool Overhead Railway, and extending the London Underground....
; and again in the 1930s by P E Culverhouse. Brunel's terminus is no longer part of the operational station: instead it currently houses the
British Empire and Commonwealth MuseumThe British Empire and Commonwealth Museum was a museum in Bristol, United Kingdom exploring the history of the British Empire and the effect of British colonial rule on the rest of the world....
. The historical significance of the station has been noted, and the majority of the site is
Grade 1 listed.
Temple Meads is now owned by
Network RailNetwork Rail owns and operates Britain’s rail infrastructure. It is a British "not for dividend" company limited by guarantee whose principal asset is Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, a company limited by shares....
and is operated under a
franchiseIn economics, a government-granted monopoly is a form of coercive monopoly by which a government grants exclusive privilege to a private individual or firm to be the sole provider of a good or service; potential competitors are excluded from the market by law, regulation, or other mechanisms of...
by
First Great WesternFirst Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup, which operates services in the west and south west of England and South Wales....
who provide the majority of trains to London, along with local services and inter-urban routes to destinations such as
CardiffCardiff Central railway station is a major British railway station on the South Wales Main Line in Cardiff, Wales.It is the largest and busiest station in Cardiff itself and in Wales...
,
SouthamptonSouthampton Central railway station is a main line railway station serving the city of Southampton in Hampshire, southern England. It is on the Wessex Main Line, the South Western Main Line and the West Coastway Line...
,
PortsmouthPortsmouth Harbour railway station is a railway station in Portsmouth, England. It is situated beside Gunwharf Quays in the city's harbour, and is an important transport terminal, with a bus interchange and ferry services to Gosport and the Isle of Wight. The station currently has four platforms,...
and
WeymouthWeymouth railway station is a railway station serving the town of Weymouth, Dorset, England. The station is the terminus of both the South Western Main Line from London Waterloo and the Heart of Wessex Line from .-History:...
. Long-distance services are provided by
CrossCountryCrossCountry is the brand name of XC Trains Ltd., a British train operating company owned by Arriva. The company operates a network of express and long-distance train services between a variety of towns and cities outside London.- Formation :...
to destinations as diverse as
PlymouthPlymouth railway station serves the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. It is situated on the northern edge of the city centre close to the North Cross roundabout...
and
PenzancePenzance railway station serves the town of Penzance, Cornwall, UK. The station is the western terminus of the Cornish Main Line from London Paddington. The current journey time to or from London is about five hours....
in the South-West of England,
Manchester PiccadillyManchester Piccadilly station is the principal railway station of Manchester in England. It serves intercity routes to London Euston, Birmingham New Street, South Wales and the south coast of England, Edinburgh and Glasgow Central in Scotland, and routes throughout northern England...
and
YorkYork railway station is a main-line railway station in the historic city of York, England. It lies on the East Coast Main Line north of London's King's Cross station towards Edinburgh's Waverley Station...
in the North, and
EdinburghEdinburgh Waverley railway station, commonly called "Waverley", is the main railway station in the Scottish capital Edinburgh. Covering an area of over 25 acres in the centre of the city, it is the second-largest main line railway station in the United Kingdom in terms of area, the largest being...
and
AberdeenAberdeen railway station is a railway station in Aberdeen, Scotland, UK.- History :The station currently standing was built as Aberdeen Joint Station between 1913-16, replacing an 1867 structure of the same name, on the same site...
in Scotland. A few trains to London Waterloo station are provided by
South West TrainsSouth West Trains is the trading name of a train operating company operating in the United Kingdom, providing train services to the south-west of London, chiefly in Greater London and the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Berkshire, Wiltshire and the Isle of Wight, the area...
.
More than 7 million people entered and left the station in the twelve months to March 2007, an increase of nearly 2 million in six years. This makes it the 38th most-used Network Rail station and the 16th-busiest outside the London area. In addition, it was estimated that more than 845,000 people used the station to change trains.
The
platformsA railway platform is a section of pathway, alongside rail tracks at a train station, metro station or tram stop, at which passengers may board or alight from trains or trams. Almost all stations for rail transport have some form of platforms, with larger stations having multiple platforms...
are numbered from 1 to 15, but passenger trains are confined to just eight tracks. The numbering system means that most are numbered separately at each end with odd numbers at the east end, and even numbers at the west end. To further complicate matters, platform 2 is not signalled for passenger trains, and platform 14 does not exist.
History
The name of the station,
Temple Meads, derives from the nearby
Temple ChurchTemple Church is a ruined church in central Bristol, England, which was founded in the mid 12th century by Robert of Gloucester and the Knights Templar.It was bombed in World War II and largely destroyed...
, which was built by the
Knights TemplarThe Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar or the Order of the Temple , were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
in the 12th century, rebuilt in the 14th century, and gutted by bombing during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The word "mæds" is an Old English derivation of
meadowA meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . It may be cut for hay or grazed by livestock such as cattle, sheep or goats.- Agricultural meadow :...
, referring to the water meadows alongside the
River AvonThe River Avon is a river in the south west of England. Because of a number of other Rivers Avon in England, this river is often also known as the Lower Avon or Bristol Avon...
that were part of Temple
parishA parish is a territorial unit that was usually historically served by a local church. This administrative unit is typically found in Roman Catholic, Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Church of Sweden, United Methodist, and Presbyterian churches...
. As late as 1820 the site was undeveloped
pasturePasture is land with low-growing vegetation cover used for grazing of livestock as part of a farm, or in ranching or other unenclosed pastoral systems. Prior to the advent of factory farming, pasture was the primary source of food for grazing animals such as cattle and horses...
outside the boundaries of the old city, some distance from the commercial centre. It lay between the
Floating HarbourBristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of . It has existed since the 13th century but was developed into its current form in the early 19th century by installing lock gates on a tidal stretch of the River Avon in the centre of the city and...
and the city's cattle market, which was built in 1830.
Brunel's station
The original terminal station was built in 1839-41 for the
Great Western RailwayThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835, and ran its first trains three years later...
(GWR), the first passenger railway in Bristol, and was designed by
Isambard Kingdom BrunelIsambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British engineer. He is best known for the creation of the Great Western Railway, a series of famous steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship, and numerous important bridges and tunnels...
, the railway's engineer. For his first railway, Brunel chose to use the
broad gaugeBroad gauge railways use a rail gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For a list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
for this line. He went on to use the gauge for many more of the railways that he built in South and West
BritainGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
. The station was on a
viaductA viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something. However, the Ancient Romans did not use that term per se; it is a modern derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early...
to raise it above the level of the Floating Harbour and River Avon; the latter being crossed via the grade I
listed Avon BridgeAvon Bridge is a railway bridge over the River Avon in Brislington, Bristol, England.It was built in 1839 by Isambard Kingdom Brunel has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building....
. The station was covered by a
train shedA train shed is an adjacent building to a railway station where the tracks and platforms are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof...
which was extended beyond the platforms by into a storage area and
engine shedMotive power depot, usually abbreviated to MPD, is a name given to places where locomotives are stored when not being used, and also repaired and maintained. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine sheds", or, for short, just sheds. Facilities are provided for refuelling and...
, which in turn was fronted by an office building in the
Tudor styleThe Tudor style in architecture is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
. Train services to
BathBath Spa railway station is the principal railway station in the city of Bath, in South West England.-Architecture:Bath Spa station was built in 1840 for the Great Western Railway by Brunel and is a grade II listed building...
commenced on 31 August 1840 and were extended to London Paddington station from 30 June 1841 following the completion of
Box TunnelBox Tunnel is a railway tunnel in western England, between Bath and Chippenham, dug through the Box Hill. It was built for the original route of the Great Western Railway under the direction of the GWR's engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel....
.
A few weeks before the start of the services to Paddington the
Bristol and Exeter RailwayThe Bristol & Exeter Railway was a railway company formed to connect Bristol and Exeter. It was friendly to the Great Western Railway, which had been opened between London and Bristol the previous year, and the two railways operated in collaboration....
(B&ER) had opened on 14 June 1841, its trains reversing in and out of the GWR station. The third railway at Temple Meads was the
Bristol and Gloucester RailwayThe Bristol and Gloucester Railway opened in 1844 between Bristol and Gloucester, meeting the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway. It is now part of the main line from the North-East of England through Derby and Birmingham to the South-West.-History:...
which opened on 8 July 1844 but was taken over by the
Midland RailwayThe Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
(MR) on 1 July 1845. This again used the GWR platforms, diverging onto its own line on the far side of the bridge over the Floating Harbour. Both these new railways were engineered by Brunel and their lines too were initially built to the broad gauge. Brunel also designed the
Bristol and South Wales Union RailwayThe Bristol and South Wales Union Railway was built to connect Bristol, England, with south Wales. The route involved a ferry crossing of the River Severn but was considerably shorter than the alternative route through Gloucester...
, but this was not opened until 25 August 1863, nearly four years after his death. It too terminated at Temple Meads.
Bristol and Exeter Railway station
In 1845 the B&ER built its own station at right angles to the GWR station and an "express
platformA railway platform is a section of pathway, alongside rail tracks at a train station, metro station or tram stop, at which passengers may board or alight from trains or trams. Almost all stations for rail transport have some form of platforms, with larger stations having multiple platforms...
" on the curve linking the two lines so that through trains no longer had to reverse. The wooden B&ER station was known locally as "The Cowshed"; but a grand headquarters was built at street level on the west side of its station in 1852-54 to the
JacobeanThe Jacobean style is the name given to the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style. It is named after King James I of England, with whose reign it is associated....
designs of Samuel Fripp. The
Bristol and Portishead Pier and RailwayThe Portishead Railway was a branch line railway running from Portishead in Somerset to the Great Western Main Line in Bristol, England. It was constructed in the 1860s by the Bristol & Portishead Pier and Railway, which was incorporated to build a pier and a broad gauge link to the Bristol and...
opened a branch off the Bristol and Exeter line west of the city on 18 April 1867, the trains being operated by the B&ER and using their platforms at Temple Meads.
In 1850 an
engine shedIn the United Kingdom, a traction maintenance depot, or TMD, is a railway depot where locomotives are serviced and maintained. A traction and rolling stock maintenance depot, or T&RSMD, is a maintenance depot where locomotives, multiple units and rolling stock are serviced and maintained. Each rail...
had been opened on the south bank of the River Avon on the east side of the lines leading to the B&ER station. Between 1859 and 1875, 23 new engines were built in the workshops attached to the shed, including several of the distinctive
Bristol and Exeter Railway 4-2-4T locomotivesThe 14 Bristol and Exeter Railway 4-2-4T locomotives were broad gauge 4-2-4T steam locomotives built to three different designs. The first entered service in 1853 and the last was withdrawn in 1885...
.
Goods stations
The GWR built a by
goods shedA goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train.A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were built alongside a track with possibly just a canopy over the door...
on the north side of the station adjacent to the Floating Harbour, with a small dock for transhipment of goods to
bargeA barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
s (though not to sea-going ships as the wharf was upstream of
Bristol BridgeBristol Bridge is an old bridge over the floating harbour in Bristol, England.The original bridge was a medieval wooden structure that had both its sides lined with houses. A seventeenth century illustration shows that these were five stories high, including the attic rooms, and that they overhung...
). Wagons had to be lowered to the goods shed on
hoistsAn elevator or lift is a vertical transport vehicle that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building...
. On 11 March 1872 a direct connection to the harbour was made in the form of the Bristol Harbour Railway, a joint operation of the three railways, which ran between the passenger station and the goods yard, across the street outside on a bridge, and then descended into a tunnel under the churchyard of St. Mary Redcliffe on its way to a wharf in a more convenient position downstream of Bristol Bridge.
The B&ER had a goods depot at Pylle Hill (south of the station) from 1850; and the MR had an independent yard at Avonside Wharf on the opposite side of the Floating Harbour from 1858.
Effects of the change of gauge
On 29 May 1854 the Midland Railway had laid a third rail along their tracks from Bristol to Gloucester to give a
mixed gaugeA dual-gauge or mixed-gauge railway has railway track that allows trains of different gauges to use the same track. Generally dual-gauge railway consists of three rails, rather than the standard two rails. The two outer rails give the wider gauge, while one of the outer rails and the inner rail...
so that they could operate
standard gaugeThe standard gauge is a widely-used rail gauge. Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
passenger trains while broad gauge goods trains could still run to collieries north of Bristol. Sidings at South Wales Junction allowed traffic to be transhipped between wagons on the two different gauges. The GWR continued to operate its trains on the broad gauge, but on 3 September 1873 it opened the standard gauge
Bristol and North Somerset RailwayThe Bristol and North Somerset Railway was a railway line in the West of England that connected Bristol with towns in the Somerset coalfield. The line ran almost due south from Bristol and was 16 miles long.-The main railway:...
. This had a junction nearly from the station on the London line and so the mixed gauge was extended to that point. During the following year mixed gauge track was continued beyond Bath in connection with the conversion of the
Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth RailwayThe Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway was a broad gauge railway that linked the Great Western Railway at Chippenham, Wiltshire with Weymouth, Dorset, England. Branches ran to Devizes, Bradford-on-Avon and Salisbury in Wiltshire, and to Radstock in Somerset. The majority of the line survives...
to standard gauge. The mixed gauge was then laid through
Box TunnelBox Tunnel is a railway tunnel in western England, between Bath and Chippenham, dug through the Box Hill. It was built for the original route of the Great Western Railway under the direction of the GWR's engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel....
on 16 May 1875 and so standard gauge trains could run from Bristol all the way to London, although the broad gauge was retained west of Temple Meads and through trains from London to
PenzancePenzance railway station serves the town of Penzance, Cornwall, UK. The station is the western terminus of the Cornish Main Line from London Paddington. The current journey time to or from London is about five hours....
and other stations in
DevonDevon is a large county in England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, although that is an unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county itself and often indicating a traditional or historical context. The county shares borders with Cornwall to the west and Dorset and Somerset to...
and
CornwallCornwall is a county of England in the United Kingdom, forming the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain. It is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Taken with the...
continued to be formed of broad gauge trains. Goods traffic was transhipped between the two gauges in the B&ER yard at Pylle Hill.
The B&ER converted to mixed gauge the line from Bristol as far as
TauntonTaunton railway station is a junction station on the London to Penzance Line, from London Paddington station. It is situated in Taunton, Somerset, England and is operated by First Great Western but also served by CrossCountry trains.- History :...
by 1 June 1875, but the remainder of the line to
ExeterExeter St Davids station is the most important of seven National Rail stations in the city of Exeter in southwest England. Today the station is owned by Network Rail and operated by First Great Western.-History:...
was not done until 1 March 1876, three months after the B&ER had
amalgamatedConsolidation or amalgamation is the act of merging many things into one. In business, it often refers to the mergers or acquisitions of many smaller companies into much larger ones. The financial accounting term of consolidation refers to the aggregated financial statements of a group company as...
with the GWR. The remainder of the lines beyond Exeter were converted to standard gauge on 21 May 1892 so the extra rails at Temple Meads fell into disuse and were removed to leave a purely standard gauge layout. This allowed the through station to be rebuilt with two additional platform faces.
1870s expansion
The additional railway routes put the two short – – platforms of Brunel's terminus under pressure and so a scheme was developed to extend the station. An enabling
Act of ParliamentAn act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament....
was passed in 1865 and between 1871 and 1878 the station was extensively rebuilt. Brunel's platforms were extended by towards London, and a new three-platform through station built on the site of the express platform, while the B&ER station was closed and the site used for a new carriage shed. This work is usually attributed to Brunel's former associate
Matthew Digby WyattSir Matthew Digby Wyatt was a British architect and art historian who became Secretary of the Great Exhibition, Surveyor of the East India Company and the first Slade Professor of Fine Art at the University of Cambridge....
, however there is no documentary evidence of his involvement in the Minutes of the Station Joint Committee. The only signature on the drawings is that of Francis Fox who was the engineer of the B&ER. The curved wrought-iron train shed over the new through platforms was long on the platform wall. The goods depot was rebuilt with the inconvenient wagon hoists replaced by a steep incline connection from the east end of Temple Meads, which meant that the sidings in the goods shed were turned at right angles to their original alignment and the barge dock was filled in.
Trains on the Bristol and South Wales Union and the
MidlandThe Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
routes operated from the terminal platforms while GWR services used the new through platforms. The
capitalIn economics, capital or capital goods or real capital are factors of production used to create goods or services that are not themselves significantly consumed in the production process. Capital goods may be acquired with money or financial capital...
costs of the new work were split 4/14 GWR/B&ER and 10/14 MR. The ongoing costs were split GWR 3/8, MR 3/8 and B&ER 2/8. Hence when the GWR absorbed the B&ER in 1876 the split was GWR 5/8 and MR (later
LMSThe London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 300 separate railway companies into just four....
) 3/8 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948.
Twentieth century changes
In 1924 the goods depot was rebuilt with 15 platforms, each long. Large warehousing and cellar space was provided to store goods; although by this time another city centre goods depot had been opened at Canons Marsh.
Between 1930 and 1935 the through station was expanded under the direction of architect P E Culverhouse, both eastwards over the old cattle market, and southwards on a new wider bridge across Cattle Market Road and the
New CutThe New Cut is an artificial waterway which was constructed between 1804 and 1809 to divert the tidal river Avon through south and east Bristol, England. This was part of the process of constructing Bristol's Floating Harbour, under the supervision of engineer William Jessop...
of the River Avon. This made room for the addition of five new through-platform faces, while the removal of the narrow island platforms in the middle of the train shed allowed the main Up and Down platforms to be both widened and lengthened. All the routes approaching Temple Meads were widened to four tracks to allow more flexibility.
As part of this work four existing
manualMechanical railway signalling installations rely on lever frames for their operation to interlock the signals and points to allow the safe operation of trains in the area the signals control...
signal boxA signal box or signal cabin is a building from which railway signals and points are controlled. The term signal cabin is used in Ireland, parts of Scotland and in Australia while in North America, the term interlocking tower predominates.- History :Originally, all signalling was done by...
es were replaced by three new Power Signal Boxes; and the
semaphore signalsOne of the earliest forms of fixed railway signal is the semaphore. These signals display their different indications to train drivers by changing the angle of inclination of a pivoted 'arm'. Semaphore signals were patented in the early 1840s by Joseph James Stevens, and soon became the most...
and
mechanical pointA railroad switch, turnout or [set of] points is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another at a railway junction....
linkages were replaced by
colour light signalsModern British signalling is based on a two, three and four aspect colour light system using non-permissive block rules. It is a basic progression of the original semaphore signalling that can still be found on many secondary lines. Colour light signalling is a reliable and safe system but has been...
and point motors. The new Bristol Temple Meads East box was the largest on the GWR with 368 miniature levers operated by three signalmen assisted by a "booking boy". The other two boxes were one at Bristol Temple Meads West, and one controlling the movements in and out of the new
Bath Road DepotBristol Bath Road TMD was a railway Traction Maintenance Depot situated in Bristol.Originally built for the Bristol and Exeter Railway, it was rebuilt in 1934 by the Great Western Railway....
which replaced the old B&ER locomotive works in 1934.
During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the station was bombed, which led to the destruction of the wooden spire of the clock tower above the ticket office on 3 January 1941.
Gas lightingGas lighting refers to a technology used to produce light from a gaseous fuel including hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, or ethylene....
was replaced by
fluorescentA fluorescent lamp or fluorescent tube is a gas-discharge lamp that uses electricity to excite mercury vapor. The excited mercury atoms produce short-wave ultraviolet light that then causes a phosphor to fluoresce, producing visible light....
electric lights in 1960.
A second main-line station serving Bristol,
Bristol ParkwayBristol Parkway railway station serves the northern suburbs of Bristol, including Stoke Gifford and Bradley Stoke. It is part of the British railway system owned by Network Rail, and is run by First Great Western....
, opened in 1972. It is on the northern outskirts of the Bristol
conurbationA conurbation is an urban area or agglomeration comprising a number of cities, large towns and larger urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area...
close to the
M32 motorwayThe M32 is a motorway in South Gloucestershire and Bristol, England. It provides a link from Bristol City Centre to the M4 and is part of the Bristol Parkway. At approximately 5 miles long, it is one of Britain's shortest motorways...
and was initially designed as a
park and ridePark and ride facilities are car parks with connections to public transport that allow commuters and others wishing to travel into city centres to leave their personal vehicles in a car park and transfer to a bus, rail system , or carpool for the rest of their trip...
facility for long-distance travellers.
In 1990–1991 £2,000,000 was spent on a renovation of the main train shed and another £7,000,000 on restoring some of the older areas of the station, including the refurbishment of the subway and construction of new retail outlets. The shorter of the two 1935 platform islands had been used only for parcels traffic since the 1960s but was temporarily brought back into passenger use during this work. It was fully restored for passenger use in 2001.
Closure of lines
Passenger traffic on the old North Somerset line ceased on 2 November 1959 but many more closures followed after the publication of
Dr Beeching'sRichard Beeching, Baron Beeching , commonly known as Doctor Beeching, was chairman of British Railways and a physicist and engineer...
The Reshaping of British RailwaysThe Beeching Axe is an informal name for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard Beeching...
in 1963. The connection to the Bristol Harbour Railway was closed on 6 January 1964; passenger trains to Portishead were withdrawn on 7 September 1964; and most local services in the north of the city were withdrawn on 23 November 1964. The following year saw local services on the Midland Railway route to Gloucester withdrawn and the former Midland route to via was closed on 7 March 1966. and on the line towards Bath survived until 5 January 1970.
On 12 September 1965 the terminal platforms were closed. This allowed the platforms to be renumbered but the with the order being reversed (see list below). The redundant train shed became a covered car park in February the following year, but from 1989 until 1999 Brunel's station was an interactive science centre known as The Exploratory and exhibition space. It is now the
British Empire and Commonwealth MuseumThe British Empire and Commonwealth Museum was a museum in Bristol, United Kingdom exploring the history of the British Empire and the effect of British colonial rule on the rest of the world....
, although the BE&CM intends to relocate to London.
| Old | New | Location |
|---|
| 1 |
15 |
|
| 2 |
13 |
|
| 3 |
12 |
|
| 4 |
11 |
|
| 5 |
9 |
Split to become nos. 9 & 10 |
| 6 |
8 |
Split to become nos. 7 & 8 |
| 7 |
5 |
Main train shed |
| 8 |
6 |
|
| 9 |
3 |
Main train shed |
| 10 |
4 |
|
| 11 |
2 |
West end bay |
| 12 |
1 |
East end of arrival platform |
| 13 |
Closed |
West end of arrival platform |
| 14 |
Closed |
East end of departure platform |
| 15 |
Closed |
West end of departure platform |
Bristol Panel Signal Box was built on the site of the Platform 14 after it closed. When opened it controlled 280 multiple-aspect signals and 243 motor-worked points on of routes around Bristol, the largest area controlled by a single signal box on
British RailBritish Railways , which later traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the British railway system from the nationalisation of the 'Big Four' British railway companies in 1948 until privatisation in stages from 1994 to 1997...
at the time.
Description
Approaches
Although it is now possible to reach the station through the Temple Quay office development (which is on the former site of the
goods shedA goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train.A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were built alongside a track with possibly just a canopy over the door...
), or from the
Bristol Ferry BoatThe Bristol Ferry Boat Company operates water bus services on Bristol Harbour in the centre of the English city of Bristol.Services are operated both for the leisure market and for commuters to and from both the city centre and Bristol Temple Meads railway station, and serve 15 landing stages...
landing stage on the
Floating HarbourBristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of . It has existed since the 13th century but was developed into its current form in the early 19th century by installing lock gates on a tidal stretch of the River Avon in the centre of the city and...
, the traditional and main approach is from Temple Gate.
Isambard Kingdom BrunelIsambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British engineer. He is best known for the creation of the Great Western Railway, a series of famous steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship, and numerous important bridges and tunnels...
's Tudor-style offices, now the
British Empire and Commonwealth MuseumThe British Empire and Commonwealth Museum was a museum in Bristol, United Kingdom exploring the history of the British Empire and the effect of British colonial rule on the rest of the world....
, face this road and are flanked on the north side by an archway that used to be the main station entrance for departing passengers; a matching arch on the other side was the arrivals gateway but was removed when the station was expanded in the 1870s.
Opposite these offices are the Grosvenor Hotel and the derelict George Railway Hotel, which were built in the 1870s, on either side of the Bristol Harbour Railway bridge. A modern pub named The Reckless Engineer as a tribute to Brunel faces the approach road that rises up to the station.
On the right of this Station Approach but at a lower level is the B&ER office building designed by Samuel Fripp; the 1930s offices known as "
CollettCharles Benjamin Collett was chief mechanical engineer of the Great Western Railway from 1922 to 1941. He designed the GWR's 4-6-0 Castle and King Class express passenger locomotives.-Career:...
House" and a disused parcels depot lie beyond. On the left is Brunel's original station building. The
train shedA train shed is an adjacent building to a railway station where the tracks and platforms are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof...
is wide with a wooden box-frame roof and
cast ironCast iron usually refers to grey iron, but also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys, which solidify with a eutectic. The colour of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due to its carbide impurities which...
columns disguised as
hammerbeamsHammerbeam roof, in architecture, the name given to a Gothic open timber roof, of which the finest example is that over Westminster Hall . The span of Westminster Hall is 68 ft. 4 in., and the opening between the ends of the hammer-beams 25 ft. 6 in. The height from the paving of the hall to the...
above Tudor arches. It is believed to be the widest hammerbeam roof in England and, along with most of the station, is a Grade 1
listed building, and forms part of a proposed Great Western Railway
World Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list that is maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 state parties which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term.A World Heritage Site is a...
. At the top of the slope an entrance on the left to the covered car park marks the junction between the original terminus and Fox's 1870s extension.
Ahead is the turreted main station building, and to the right a flat area marks the site of the B&ER station. The tunnel beneath this area was the route for passengers to and from the Down platform of the station from 1878 until the station was enlarged in 1935.
Station
Entering the main building, the ticket office and ticket machines are immediately ahead, and the route from Temple Quay and the ferry is on the left; a bookshop is on the right, next to the platform entrance. Customer Information System screens by the entrance show the arrival and departure information (including any delays) for next services on all platforms, as do local displays on each of the
platformsA railway platform is a section of pathway, alongside rail tracks at a train station, metro station or tram stop, at which passengers may board or alight from trains or trams. Almost all stations for rail transport have some form of platforms, with larger stations having multiple platforms...
. All platforms are signalled for trains in either direction and the flexible layout means that trains on any route can use any part of the station. At Temple Meads platforms with odd numbers are at the east end, and those with even numbers at the west end (though geographically this is the south due to the curvature of the platforms).
Entrance to the platforms is controlled by automatic ticket gates and is situated on Platform 3 which is used by many of the northbound
CrossCountryCrossCountry is the brand name of XC Trains Ltd., a British train operating company owned by Arriva. The company operates a network of express and long-distance train services between a variety of towns and cities outside London.- Formation :...
trains and local services to
Bristol ParkwayBristol Parkway railway station serves the northern suburbs of Bristol, including Stoke Gifford and Bradley Stoke. It is part of the British railway system owned by Network Rail, and is run by First Great Western....
and
GloucesterGloucester railway station serves the city of Gloucester in England. The station was originally built as the terminus of the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway in 1840, but the arrival of the Bristol and Gloucester Railway and Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway in 1844, and then conversion...
. The main station restaurant and bar is on the left and the short Platform 1, a terminus
bayBay platform is a railway-related term commonly used in the UK and Australia to describe a dead-end platform at a railway station which has through lines...
, is beyond this. This is most frequently used by
Severn Beach LineThe Severn Beach Line is a local railway in Bristol, UK. It runs from Narroways Hill Junction to Severn Beach, and is the successor to the Bristol Port Railway and Pier, which ran from a Bristol terminus in the Avon Gorge to a station and pier on the Severn Estuary.Passenger trains run from Bristol...
trains but is long enough to handle any four-car
Diesel Multiple UnitA diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...
(DMU) that does not need to run through to the west. Behind Platform 1 is a brick wall that forms part of the Panel Signal Box and on this are some metal artworks created by artists with learning difficulties to celebrate Brunel's 200th anniversary in 2006; an interpretation panel can be found nearby. The High Level Siding beyond Platform 1 is the rump of the Bristol Harbour Railway, and Barton Hill TMD (
Traction Maintenance DepotIn the United Kingdom, a traction maintenance depot, or TMD, is a railway depot where locomotives are serviced and maintained. A traction and rolling stock maintenance depot, or T&RSMD, is a maintenance depot where locomotives, multiple units and rolling stock are serviced and maintained. Each rail...
) can be seen in the distance alongside Bristol East Junction (formerly South Wales Junction) where the lines to Bristol Parkway and Bath diverge. The large grey box structure above the tracks at this end of the station is a bridge installed in the 1970s for postal traffic; it links with the derelict sorting office beyond Platform 15.
On the right of the entrance is the subway that links all the platforms (it can be reached either by steps or
liftAn elevator or lift is a vertical transport vehicle that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building...
); it houses the main public toilets,
automated teller machineAn automated teller machine is a computerized telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public space without the need for a human clerk or bank teller...
s (ATM) and several catering outlets (there is catering on all
platform islandsAn island platform on a railway is where a single platform lies between at least two tracks, serving both of them. Usually, the two tracks are on the same line, running in opposite directions...
except 13-15). A passenger information office and lounge is situated above the subway, the
British Transport PoliceThe British Transport Police is a special police force that polices those railways and light-rail systems in Great Britain for which it has entered into an agreement to provide such services...
office and passenger cycle racks are beyond, and at the far end is Platform 4 which is occasionally used by trains heading westwards. Alongside this is Platform 2, another bay platform but this is not signalled for passenger services and is now only used for stabling empty trains, as is the former
Motorail|}Motorail was the brand name for British Rail's long-distance services that carried passengers' cars. The business operated as part of the InterCity sector. It had originated from the 1955 introduction of The Car-Sleeper Limited between London and Perth. Due to the enginemen's strike that summer...
unloading bay alongside. At the far end of this track is the old Fish Dock which is occasionally used for stabling engineers' on-track equipment. Beyond the end of the platform the tracks swing to the right (the west) and pass out-of-sight beneath Bath Road Bridge, a girder bridge that carries the A4 road out of the city.
The first platform island comprises platforms 5 to 8. Platform 5 is inside the main train shed while 6 is a southerly extension and 7 and 8 were added outside the supporting wall in the 1930s. Platform 5 is used by many trains towards
CardiffCardiff Central railway station is a major British railway station on the South Wales Main Line in Cardiff, Wales.It is the largest and busiest station in Cardiff itself and in Wales...
and platform 7 for those to
PortsmouthPortsmouth Harbour railway station is a railway station in Portsmouth, England. It is situated beside Gunwharf Quays in the city's harbour, and is an important transport terminal, with a bus interchange and ferry services to Gosport and the Isle of Wight. The station currently has four platforms,...
; platforms 6 and 8 are the main platforms for trains to
Weston-super-MareWeston-super-Mare railway station serves the town of Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, England. It is situated on a loop off the main Bristol to Taunton Line....
and stations as far as
PenzancePenzance railway station serves the town of Penzance, Cornwall, UK. The station is the western terminus of the Cornish Main Line from London Paddington. The current journey time to or from London is about five hours....
. Between platforms 5 and 7 are the two Spur Sidings that are long enough to stable a single
Class 143 railbusThe British Rail Class 143 is a diesel multiple unit, part of the Pacer family of trains introduced between 1985 & 1986. They originally worked in the North-East of England but were later transferred to Wales and South-West England.-Technical:...
or
Class 153 DMUThe British Rail Class 153 "Super Sprinter" is a single-car diesel multiple unit train.-Description:These units were originally built as two-car Class 155 units by Leyland from 1987-88, but were converted by Hunslet-Barclay at Kilmarnock from 1991-92...
.
The third platform island comprises platforms 9 to 12 and also dates from the 1930s. It is longer than platforms 5-8 but the rear of a High Speed Train on the west end platforms will block part of the east end platform. A wide variety of trains use these platforms, including trains to and from London Paddington and London Waterloo stations and also
WeymouthWeymouth railway station is a railway station serving the town of Weymouth, Dorset, England. The station is the terminus of both the South Western Main Line from London Waterloo and the Heart of Wessex Line from .-History:...
.
The final platform island is shorter and only has east-end platforms 13 and 15, although 15 is used by most trains from Paddington that continue westwards from Temple Meads to Weston-super-Mare or beyond. Platform 13 is a terminus platform and is used by many trains from London Paddington and some local services too. There is another siding beyond platform 15 that used to be the In/Out Road for
Bath Road Traction Maintenance DepotBristol Bath Road TMD was a railway Traction Maintenance Depot situated in Bristol.Originally built for the Bristol and Exeter Railway, it was rebuilt in 1934 by the Great Western Railway....
. This depot has been demolished and is being redeveloped for non-railway purposes. Between platforms 3/4 and 5/6 are the Up Through line and the Middle Siding; the Down Through line runs between platforms 11/12 and 13.
Other facilities include pay phones, public
Wi-FiWi-Fi is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance for certified products based on the IEEE 802.11 standards. This certification warrants interoperability between different wireless devices....
, a post box, photo booth, and passenger assistance such as information points, waiting rooms, a lost property office, first aid room, and CCTV.
Passenger volume
Temple Meads is the busiest station in the Bristol area. Official statistics show it to have the 38th-largest number of people entering or leaving any
Network RailNetwork Rail owns and operates Britain’s rail infrastructure. It is a British "not for dividend" company limited by guarantee whose principal asset is Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, a company limited by shares....
station; this makes it the 15th busiest outside London and the third busiest First Great Western station, after Paddington and
Reading railway stationReading railway station is a major rail transport hub in the English town of Reading. It is situated on the northern edge of the town centre, close to the main retail and commercial areas, and also the River Thames...
s. Comparing the year from April 2007 to that which started in April 2002, passenger numbers increased by 37%.
| | 2002-03 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 |
|---|
| Entries |
2,590,543 |
2,823,258 |
3,039,104 |
3,279,898 |
3,541,946 |
| Exits |
2,586,575 |
2,818,114 |
3,027,136 |
3,268,961 |
3,540,152 |
| Interchanges |
unknown |
798,961 |
856,644 |
917,595 |
845,178 |
| Total | |6,440,333 | |7,466,454 |
|---|
7,927,276 |
The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.
Rail services
The station is operated by
First Great WesternFirst Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup, which operates services in the west and south west of England and South Wales....
who provide main line services to London Paddington station, long distance services to
Cardiff CentralCardiff Central railway station is a major British railway station on the South Wales Main Line in Cardiff, Wales.It is the largest and busiest station in Cardiff itself and in Wales...
and the South Coast, and local services to
Weston-super-MareWeston-super-Mare railway station serves the town of Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, England. It is situated on a loop off the main Bristol to Taunton Line....
,
TauntonTaunton railway station is a junction station on the London to Penzance Line, from London Paddington station. It is situated in Taunton, Somerset, England and is operated by First Great Western but also served by CrossCountry trains.- History :...
and
GloucesterGloucester railway station serves the city of Gloucester in England. The station was originally built as the terminus of the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway in 1840, but the arrival of the Bristol and Gloucester Railway and Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway in 1844, and then conversion...
.
An alternative route to London Waterloo station is provided by
South West TrainsSouth West Trains is the trading name of a train operating company operating in the United Kingdom, providing train services to the south-west of London, chiefly in Greater London and the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Berkshire, Wiltshire and the Isle of Wight, the area...
, while regular
CrossCountryCrossCountry is the brand name of XC Trains Ltd., a British train operating company owned by Arriva. The company operates a network of express and long-distance train services between a variety of towns and cities outside London.- Formation :...
services run westwards to
PlymouthPlymouth railway station serves the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. It is situated on the northern edge of the city centre close to the North Cross roundabout...
and
PenzancePenzance railway station serves the town of Penzance, Cornwall, UK. The station is the western terminus of the Cornish Main Line from London Paddington. The current journey time to or from London is about five hours....
in the West, and northwards to Birmingham, Manchester and Scotland.
Bus links
Temple Meads is served by many
busesA bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. A bus seats a maximum of 8 to 300 passengers...
. From the station approach bus stops
First BristolFirst Bristol is a company providing bus services in and around Bristol. It is part of the First Group.First Bus inherited the Bristol operations from its predecessor Badgerline Ltd when the group was formed. Badgerline had acquired the old Bristol Omnibus Company which had been trading as City Line...
operates services 8, 8A, 9 and 9A that provide a frequent service to the City Centre,
CliftonClifton is the name of both one of the thirty-five council wards in the City of Bristol in England, and of a large suburb of the city that lies mostly within that ward...
,
Bristol ZooBristol Zoo is a zoo in the city of Bristol in South West England. The zoo's stated mission is "Bristol Zoo Gardens maintains and defends biodiversity through breeding endangered species, conserving threatened species and habitats and promoting a wider understanding of the natural...
, and
RedlandRedland is the name of several places:*in Australia:** Redland City, Queensland, a local government area in South East Queensland*in the United Kingdom:** Redland, Bristol, an inner suburb of Bristol, England...
. There are also the 330 and 331 services to
Bristol International AirportBristol International Airport , located at Lulsgate Bottom in North Somerset, is the commercial airport serving the city of Bristol, England and the surrounding area. In 2003, the airport drew 45% of its passengers from the former county of Avon area, 13% from Devon, 10% from Somerset and 10% from...
and services 121, 672 and 674 which serve the airport and then continue to various
MendipThe Mendip Hills are a range of limestone hills situated to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running east to west between Weston-super-Mare and Frome, the Hills overlook the Somerset Levels to the south and the Avon valley to the north...
villages such as
WringtonWrington is a village and civil parish in North Somerset, England. It lies in the valley of the Congresbury Yeo river about east of Weston-super-Mare and south-east of Yatton. It is both a civil parish, with a population of 2,896, and an ecclesiastical parish...
,
WinscombeWinscombe is a village in North Somerset, England, close to the settlements of Axbridge and Cheddar, on the western edge of the Mendip Hills, south-east of Weston-super-Mare and south-west of Bristol...
and
CheddarCheddar is a large village and civil parish in the district of Sedgemoor in the English county of Somerset. It is situated on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, north-west of Wells....
.
On Temple Way, the main road outside the station, there are country services to Wells and Bath via
SaltfordSaltford is a large village and civil parish in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority, Somerset, England.It lies on the A4 road, and River Avon to which the Saltford and Kelston locks provide access...
.
There are also many local bus services. Service 1 runs from
BroomhillBrislington East is a council ward of the city of Bristol, in the United Kingdom.The ward covers the eastern part of Brislington and the areas of Bristol known as Broomhill and St Annes Park.-Brislington:...
to
Cribbs CausewayCribbs Causeway is a road just north of Bristol, England, which has given its name to a large out-of-town shopping centre. Cribbs Causeway is situated in Patchway, South Gloucestershire. The primary access routes are the A4018 from Bristol, the M5 junction 17 and the Patchway bypass road...
), service 51 from
CentreThe central area of the city of Bristol, England, is the area south of the central ring road and north of the Floating Harbour, bordered north by St Pauls and Easton, east by Temple Meads and Redcliffe, and west by Clifton and Canon's Marsh...
to Rookery Farm, service 52 from
HengroveHengrove is a suburb and council ward of Bristol, England, situated between Whitchurch, Knowle and Bishopsworth, running along both dual carriageways, Wells Road and Airport Road . It consists mainly of working to middle class terrace houses. It contains an infant, primary and secondary school...
to Inns Court and service 54 from
StockwoodStockwood is a residential area and council ward in south Bristol, between Whitchurch and Brislington.It is served by bus routes, 54, 54A, 57 and A4....
to
Cribbs CausewayCribbs Causeway is a road just north of Bristol, England, which has given its name to a large out-of-town shopping centre. Cribbs Causeway is situated in Patchway, South Gloucestershire. The primary access routes are the A4018 from Bristol, the M5 junction 17 and the Patchway bypass road...
.
First Group Timetables
Ferry links
The
Bristol Ferry BoatThe Bristol Ferry Boat Company operates water bus services on Bristol Harbour in the centre of the English city of Bristol.Services are operated both for the leisure market and for commuters to and from both the city centre and Bristol Temple Meads railway station, and serve 15 landing stages...
calls at a landing stage in the
Floating HarbourBristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of . It has existed since the 13th century but was developed into its current form in the early 19th century by installing lock gates on a tidal stretch of the River Avon in the centre of the city and...
outside the station on a route to
Bristol BridgeBristol Bridge is an old bridge over the floating harbour in Bristol, England.The original bridge was a medieval wooden structure that had both its sides lined with houses. A seventeenth century illustration shows that these were five stories high, including the attic rooms, and that they overhung...
, St Augustine's Reach in the City Centre, the
SS Great BritainSS Great Britain was an advanced passenger steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the Great Western Steamship Company's transatlantic service between Bristol and New York...
, and
HotwellsHotwells is a district of the English port city of Bristol. It is located to the south of and below the high ground of Clifton, and directly to the north of the Floating Harbour. The southern entrance to the Avon Gorge, which connects those docks to the sea, lies at the western end of Hotwells...
.
See also
- Bus services in Bristol
- Rail services in Bristol
There are three train operating companies in Bristol: CrossCountry, First Great Western and South West Trains.-Services in Bristol:* Bristol - Manchester* Plymouth - Edinburgh* Bristol Parkway - Weston-super-Mare* Cardiff - Portsmouth...
- Commuter rail in the United Kingdom
Urban rail, commuter rail, regional rail, or suburban rail, plays a key role in the public transport system of many of the United Kingdom's major cities. Urban rail is defined as a rail service between a central business district and suburbs or other locations that draw large numbers of people on a...
External links