Bristol Rail Regeneration

Building a brighter future for Bristol’s railway

Ashley Down station opened

Ashley Down station in Bristol opened to the public on Saturday 28 September 2024, becoming the second new station for the city in little over a year, following on from Portway Park and Ride which opened in August 2023.

• Construction started on the £16m station in February 2023 and took a total of 117,000 hours to complete, including:
• 17 days of 24-hour working in June 2023, to build the station platforms
• Full weekend in September 2023 to install the lift shafts
• Two days over Christmas 2023 to install the station footbridge

Train services call at the station on an hourly basis Monday to Saturday and on a two-hourly basis on Sundays.

More new stations and local train services 

The West of England Combined Authority’s MetroWest programme is bringing new stations and an increase in local train services to the region. Find out more on the TravelWest website. 

Refurbishing the roof 

The huge project to refurbish the main train shed roof and platform canopies at Bristol Temple Meads is moving into the final stages.  

All of the glazing has now been replaced and the extensive steelwork and timber repairs needed have all been completed.

With our teams working from a safety deck just below the roof, all of the components were stripped back to the bone, with thousands of repairs painstakingly completed before a new paint scheme was added. The safety deck has now been removed and we’re in the process of taking out the scaffolding.

Project in numbers

• 2,500 steelwork repairs completed
• 23 significant timber defects repaired in the gable ends
• 13 timber cladding defects resolved
• 1,200 glazing panels installed, equivalent to 2,200 square metres

Overcoming challenges

Full surveys of the main train shed roof could only be progressed through the project once the old paint layers had been removed and with the bespoke scaffolding system in place. This process revealed a significantly higher number of repairs were needed than had been anticipated.

This, together with the need to seek consents associated with restoring a Grade 1 listed building through the design of each element of the repair work has resulted in the project taking longer than originally planned.

However, with the work carefully segregated in a sealed working area above the platform, we have succeeded in keeping the station operational throughout this complex project, with minimal disruption to passengers.

Final stages of work

We are now steadily removing scaffolding from the main train shed platforms, with this due for completion by the end of March 2026.

Some further work is required to finish the gable ends, along with some of the platform canopies and painting of the ‘dagger boards’ that line them.

Work to refurbish the main train shed and platform canopies is due to be completed in the summer of 2026.

This is separate to roof work getting underway in other parts of the station as outlined below.

Rewire 

Our project, that has been working to modernise the station’s power supply and electrical systems, is due for completion in the autumn of 2026.

Alongside the roof project, we have been working to make the station’s electrics more reliable, resilient and energy efficient. Over the past few months there has been a big focus on installing lighting on the platform canopies. This work is nearing completion.

Improvements the new system will bring include:

• New energy efficient lighting and improved lighting control
• Back up lighting system installed (static inverters).
• New, segregated power supply, meaning more resilience, improved flexibility and greater capacity in supplies for both station operations and retail.

The rewire scheme is an enabler for a range of improvements through the station including plans for enhanced Customer Information Systems.

Midland and Passenger Shed plans

Refurbishment of rooms within the Midland Shed is getting underway, so they can be turned into new retail units. This work is supported by a £500,000 Railway Heritage Trust grant. Repairs to the Midland Shed roof are also being completed and new guttering has been installed.

Renovations are well underway in the Passenger Shed, with a focus on the roof, guttering and repairs to internal floors and the ceiling. The lower level is being renovated to create updated office space as a new home for British Transport Police.

New entrances for Bristol Temple Meads

Bristol Temple Meads is at the heart of the Temple Quarter regeneration programme, and plans for new station entrances are firmly a part of the transformation of the area.

£95m of funding for the first phase of the programme is focused on the station and its surroundings; creating a Northern Entrance and Southern Gateway, including a multi-storey car park, and the new eastern entrance (as outlined below), as well as new commercial and retail space.

Eastern entrance complete 

The structure and basic fit out of the new eastern entrance at Bristol Temple Meads has been completed. Staff and partners were invited to a special pre-launch event on 19 September 2024 to celebrate this important milestone, prior to the building going into a period of preservation.

Covered in a protective vinyl and surrounded by hoarding, the new entrance building is currently in hibernation while the University of Bristol Enterprise Campus is being completed around it. In 2026 we will install ticket gates, ticket machines and other equipment to finalise the fit out, before it opens to the public – alongside the University of Bristol Enterprise Campus.

Part of the Bristol Temple Quarter programme; one of the largest and most ambitious regeneration programmes in Europe, our forecasts show that an estimated 2.5 million people a year will be using the Eastern Entrance by 2030, just four years after opening.

Visit the Temple Quarter website to find out more.

Get in touch

If you have any additional questions about the work taking place in your area please call our dedicated 24-hour National Helpline on 03457 11 41 41 or visit our contact us page.