Lease of Life

This elderly station, which has played such a key part in the history and success of the Great Western Railway and its successors, is being given a complete face lift to renew the faith and pride that Isambard Kingdom Brunel placed in this station when he built it back in 1840. A total of £132 million is being invested in the station and its approaches to ensure that it can meet the needs of an ever-growing population and demand for travel over the next decade. In addition, more money is being invested in the surrounding area with the aim of totally regenerating this key part of Bristol.

James Durie, Chief Executive of Bristol Chamber of Commerce & Initiative at Business West said, “While many of us won’t have been taking the train over the past year as a consequence of Covid-19 measures and restrictions, in the years in the lead up to the pandemic we have been experiencing a big growth in rail journeys across the country and particularly for our region. While patterns of when people move may be changing, this growth is forecast to continue. And at a time when decarbonisation of how we travel is only rising in importance, being a major priority for government and local councils, the train is a sustainable way to do so. The programme actually got underway last year with capital work (£24m) to restore the fabulous Victorian roof over the main train shed at Bristol Temple Meads; not dissimilar to the work that took place at London Paddington, along with initial preparations for an important new eastern entrance to the station. The listed building consent and planning permission application for the new eastern entrance station building is now live on the Bristol City Council planning portal. As that work continues, the programme is further gathering pace as a huge track upgrade starts next to Bristol Temple Meads.”

“Temple Meads is a fundamental element of Temple Quarter and St Philip’s, the major growth area for Bristol and the south west, and one of the UK’s largest regeneration projects. The area around and to the east of the station is being transformed through large-scale development including the University of Bristol’s new Enterprise Campus and a series of high-profile schemes underway or moving close to commencement, such as the 200,000ft2 EQ zero carbon office development on Victoria Street, and the exciting plans by L&G for Temple Island. Over the next few years, many more people will be living, working, studying in and visiting Bristol – and in particular, the Temple and Redcliffe quarters of our city. We need the rail infrastructure improvement to be able to support this.”

“So, from 10 July – 3 September, Network Rail is rebuilding Bristol East Junction, a crucial piece of

Digby Watts drawing of the frontage of the joint station (1871)

Bristol Temple Meads in Broad gauge days

GWR 4073 Class 5076 Gladiator about to depart from Bristol Temple Meads (David Heys)

railway infrastructure that controls the flow of rail traffic from South Wales, the Midlands/North and from London into Bristol Temple Meads. Much of the track and signalling infrastructure that makes up the junction was actually installed in the 1960s. Times have changed, and so have the demands and needs of the railway, so this summer’s upgrade is not just about replacing worn out track, it’s about installing the junction in a new layout to better meet the needs of the modern day. That should mean good news for passengers and – as they start to return to the railway – good news for all commuters and of course business people.”

Network Rail's new £132m junction will remove a bottleneck, helping trains to move more easily in and out of Bristol Temple Meads. This, and the introduction of a new line at the same time, will boost capacity, making way for an increase in services along the Severn Beach line and kickstarting the West of England Combined Authority’s MetroWest programme. There are plans for thousands more seats on trains serving the Bristol area, with new stations and reopened lines on the horizon too. On top of that, replacing the old track and signalling means there will be fewer faults and less delays for passengers in the immediate future. Signalling work also completed at the station over Christmas included relocating signals to make way for planned scaffolding towers, and to ensure a clear line of sight where scaffolding towers might otherwise obscure train drivers.

Further capital investment in and around Bristol Temple Meads is going to be needed into the future, to continue to improve our major station for Bristol and the south west and take rail services to the next level. Since the station opened on August 31, 1840 Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt, Percy Culverhouse and Francis Fox have added extensions and now Network Rail is set to transform the station with a £24m restoration of the Grade I listed Victorian roof. The two-year programme will involve extensive metal and woodwork repairs and the complete reglazing of the roof and platform canopies, as well as a new colour scheme.

To celebrate 180 years of Bristol Temple Meads, Brunel was joined by Tim Bowles, the Mayor of the West of England, Peaches Golding the LordLieutenant of the County and City of Bristol, Mike Gallop the Western route director at Network Rail and Matthew Golton the interim managing director at GWR. Isambard Kingdom Brunel built the station in 1840 and, to mark the occasion, Network Rail and GWR celebrated its historic past with socially distanced celebrations including historic music by Edward Elgar being played across the platforms every hour, a history talk in the Passenger Shed, which is the oldest part of the station, a history exhibition in the underpass, the unveiling of

Bristol Temple Meads (Rob Hawkins)

The 180 clebrations at Bristol Temple Meads

Bedminster station

commemorative benches and a special Brunelthemed top-hat style cake.

Mike Gallop, Network Rail’s Western route director, said: “It was fantastic to see so many people enjoy the celebrations, and it is only right that we recognise the historic past of Bristol Temple Meads and look ahead to a very bright future. The station has been a gateway for millions of passengers commuting to work, visiting family or going on holiday for 180 years and remains one the most iconic stations in the entire country.”

Matthew Golton, GWR’s interim managing director, said: “We really do owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Isambard Kingdom Brunel and those who followed him in helping to design one of the country’s most iconic stations here in Bristol. As we reflect on 180 glorious years of history, we can also look forward to a very exciting future. Over the next four years this gateway to the West of England is to undergo a major transformation, delivering more train services, improving existing services and enhancing the overall customer experience not just here in Bristol, but across the wider area.”.

Bristol East Junction

Network Rail has been given £132 million by the government to create a new layout just outside the station towards London. The eight-week project started on Saturday 10 July and is scheduled to finish on Friday 3 September. In addition to replacing the 1960s track and components, work is also ongoing to install new state of the art signalling equipment.

In order to enable the main part of Temple Meads station to be closed during the 8-week period, at nearby Bedminster Station the operational lengths of platforms were temporarily increased so that longer trains can call, making it a suitable southern terminus during the full track layout change through the summer, bringing passengers closer to the city and reducing the length and journey time of replacement bus and coach journeys. Network Rail refer to the platform re-surfacing and coping stone repair as a temporary measure. GWR have said they would welcome the operational flexibility to stop longer trains at Bedminster permanently.

By the end of August, engineers had already replaced over 1¼ miles of track, laid around 7,000

(Top) Bristol East Junction Raising the new Gantry The New Gantry in place (Bottom) Track laying at Bristol East Junction

(Top) Daytime track laying, (Centre) Nighttime tracklaying and (Bottom) tracklaying in the station A GWR train under the station roof

tonnes of ballast, completed over 400 welds and realigned 200 yards of coping stones along the edge of Platform 13 to suit the new track alignment design on platforms 1, 3 and 5, thereby ensuring the safe and smooth running of the railway. It will make them accessible to any train, improving flexibility which is a key aim of the wider junction work taking place this summer.

Earlier, over the weekend of 7-8 August, work continued to remove the old signalling gantry and upload the data on to the new signalling gantry, which was installed over the Christmas 2020. A substation and a relay room were demolished and replaced to accommodate foundations for this new five-track-span gantry beside Dings Park in St Phillips. This has been built to electrification clearance height in anticipation of the deferred electrification to Temple Meads. The main 20-tonne boom for the new signalling gantry was completed with the help of a track mounted Kirow crane and is a significant milestone for the project. The new gantry, which can be seen from platform 3 at Bristol Temple Meads,

Attention now turns to the London side of the junction whereby engineers will repeat the similar process of digging out and replacing the old track and stone, focusing on the railway lines towards Bath Spa and London Paddington.

As part of the upgrade of Bristol East Junction, an extra line is also being introduced which will support new suburban services in the future as part of the West of England Combined Authority’s (WECA) MetroWest scheme. Once complete, this

(Above) The safety platform and scaffolding towers (Below) The scaffolding towers The Taziker team at the contract signing

Work in progress on the lighting contract

scheme will provide over 4,000 additional seats on trains every day in the area.

Attention now turns to the London side of the junction whereby engineers will repeat the similar process of digging out and replacing the old track and stone, focusing on the railway lines towards Bath Spa and London Paddington.

Temple Meads Station

Bristol Temple Meads is at the heart of future regeneration plans for the city and the wider region that will see it become a truly world-class transport hub. A programme of renovation is underway that, once complete, will bring a brighter welcome to the city and a better experience for all passengers. Network Rail is proud to be preserving Bristol’s oldest station for future generations. Additional work on the Bristol Temple Meads roof renovation and eastern entrance project will take place alongside the track upgrades this summer, making the most of the opportunity while train services are disrupted. This includes creating foundations for the new eastern entrance.

Other station improvements include changes to cycle parking. A new, temporary bike park has been located on Friary, to the north of the station. It is covered, well-lit, monitored by CCTV and patrolled by British Transport Police. Housing just over 450 bicycles, it matches the previous storage capacity from platform 3 and 4.

Refurbishing the Roof

Over the next couple of years, specialist teams will be repairing, painting and glazing the iconic roof, including the canopies on platforms and the station forecourt. The main train shed will be brought back to its former glory with a brand-new glass roof, and all the paintwork will be stripped back and refreshed, with a fresh protective coating in a new colour scheme.

Network Rail’s plans have signed a contract with Taziker as primary contractor in a three-year refurbishment of the famous Victorian roof. The £24 million contract is good news for the local economy with around 75 full-time workers expected onsite at the peak of the project. Taziker has also committed to creating apprenticeships for local people; offering a unique opportunity to work alongside experts with experience on heritage landmarks including Brunel’s Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol and the Royal Albert Bridge in Plymouth.

As well as refreshing the roof for a cleaner, brighter experience for passengers, work on the Grade I listed structure will protect it from further deterioration for future generations. It will involve extensive metal and woodwork repairs and the complete re-glazing of the roof and canopies.

This is the first major refurbishment of the station roof in over 25 years, due for completion in 2023. Over the Christmas 2020 period, Taziker began its work to install scaffolding under the main train shed roof. Between Christmas Day and 11 January, 16 full scaffolding towers were erected, and an additional 24 sets of foundations were completed, which then became full height towers. In total, there were 60 full height scaffolding towers on Platforms 3, 4, 5 and 6, comprising fifty scaffolding

The temporary bike storage area

towers and fifteen 120feet long roof beams over the platforms. Installing these towers formed a crucial part of preparations for the work ahead as they supported the huge safety screen which protects passengers and staff while renovations take place overhead, keeping the station in use. The work site was also fully wrapped to prevent dust and other materials from escaping into the station below. The new laminated glass panels will help to create a brighter environment for passengers at Bristol Temple Meads. This part of the project is expected to be completed sometime during 2023.

Rewiring and WiFi

Bristol Temple Meads railway station has received a £10.2m upgrade under which the station is being completely rewired, with new heating, cooling and ventilation systems also installed and an upgrade to the lighting. It is planned that the work will make the Grade I-listed station more energy efficient and "a brighter, greener environment". SSE Enterprise Contracting will be delivering the work and will use local labour, supply chains and businesses. Work on the rewire is set to start in October and expected to be completed in 2023, alongside the restoration of the Victorian main train shed roof and platform canopies. Network Rail said it had not yet awarded contracts for all of the elements of the upgrade and restoration works, but the cost of the rewire and roof restoration was around £60m. The project will improve the overall reliability and efficiency of the station’s electrics, and allow for potential future expansion of retail. Separate power supplies are being created and back-up systems improved. Heating, cooling and ventilation systems will also be replaced, and all lighting upgraded to energy efficient LEDs.

Investment in the Surrounding Area

As part of its wider regeneration programme, Bristol City Council is developing a sustainable urban quarter – Temple Quarter – as a place to live, work, study, enjoy leisure time and build on Bristol’s strengths as a world class city. Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol, commented: “With Temple Meads station,

The plan for the regeneration of the St Phillips area

the largest transport interchange in the region, at the core of Temple Quarter, the City’s regeneration of the wider area alongside the station is a once-in-ageneration opportunity. It will bring about the longawaited transformation of a key site in the heart of the city, creating 22,000 new jobs. The 70 Hectare development zone will deliver a new, mixed use, city quarter, including up to 11,000 new homes. There will also be an improved and revitalised transport interchange, and wider transport improvements across the Temple Quarter, leading to an economic boost of £1.6 billion per annum.

The station is an important hub in the city’s transport network, especially for pedestrians and cyclists. Making improvements to Temple Meads station will feed into Bristol’s ambitions for cleaner air and carbon neutrality. A multidisciplinary consultancy team led by Mott MacDonald and including Weston Williamson + Partners architects, AWW Architects, Alan Baxter associates, GVA, Deloitte, Turley, TLT and Pragma, has been appointed to deliver a masterplan for the future of the Temple Quarter in Bristol, UK. The consultancy team has been appointed on behalf of a strategic alliance of Bristol City Council, Network Rail, Homes England and West of England Combined Authority. Mott MacDonald will provide multidisciplinary consultancy services including infrastructure masterplanning and railway and station enhancements, while Weston Williamson and Partners will lead architecture and masterplanning.