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Monday 1 Sep 2025

Bristol Temple Meads celebrates its past while looking to the future

Region & Route:

Wales & Western: Western

| Wales & Western

Bristol Temple Meads station is celebrating its 185th birthday this week, during the year in which Britain’s railway marks two centuries since the very first passenger train journey. 

The past

Bristol Temple Meads station has had a long and storied past and gets its name from the land it was built upon, which had been owned by the medieval military order known as the Knights Templar centuries before Brunel arrived to create a station for the city.

Brunel’s mock Tudor station building, which opened on 31 August 1840, was seen as a template for other railway terminals at the time, and was described by some as being “the finest work in England”. When it opened, the station consisted of an arrivals and departure platform for the Great Western Railway, taking passengers as far as Bath before through traffic to London was introduced almost a year later. The Bristol Committee of Great Western Railway also had offices at the station. 

As train travel quickly grew in the years after the opening of Temple Meads, several other railway companies started running trains to Bristol, including the broad gauge Bristol & Exeter Railway, which operated services to the city from 1841 and built its own temporary station building in 1845 to meet growing demand. The Midland Railway began running services to Bristol in 1844. This rapid expansion of services led to the Bristol Joint Station Act of 1865, which enabled the expansion and rebuilding of Bristol Temple Meads to allow for several railway companies to operate to, through, and from the city. The new station was designed by Matthew Digby Wyatt, who had helped Brunel with a similar update and expansion of London Paddington, and construction began in 1871.

Since then, the station has grown even more, with expansions taking place in the 1930s and renovations in the 1990s. 

The future

Much as improvements have been made to the station throughout its history, Bristol Temple Meads is currently in the middle of a regeneration programme –  its biggest in over a century. The Grade I listed roof of the main train shed is being refurbished and once complete, will mean a brighter and more welcoming station environment. This work – evident to passengers by the extensive scaffolding that can be seen inside the station – is due to finish by summer 2026. Some portions of the scaffolding have already come down as sections of the roof have been completed.

Rooms within the Midland shed, which was originally part of the 1870s expansion of the station, will be renovated in preparation for an increase in retail offerings, supported by a £500,000 grant from the Railway Heritage Trust. Located near the main station entrance and previously used as staff offices and waiting rooms, this space is currently unused and the restoration work will include repairing the roof of the building, replacement of flooring, and replastering the walls. Where possible, original features such as the tiled office floor, will be restored. External fittings will be in keeping with the style of the 1930s upgrade, in recognition of the station’s long history.

Bristol Temple Quarter programme

Bristol Temple Meads also sits at the heart of the Bristol Temple Quarter programme, one of the largest and most ambitious regeneration programmes in Europe, which aims to deliver thousands of new homes, jobs and opportunities for Bristol and the West of England. As part of this programme, three new station entrances will be created  - a northern entrance, the southern gateway, and a new eastern entrance, which will make it easier to access the station from all parts of the city. This work is funded by £94.7m of Government investment, secured by the Temple Quarter partners in 2022. 

Last September, work on the new £23m eastern entrance was completed, marking a key milestone. The entrance building has now entered a preservation phase and will be opened in 2026, once construction on Bristol University’s new campus is also complete. The entrance will provide access to the new University Square and an estimated 2.5 million people are projected to pass through it by 2030.

Network Rail’s Western route director, Marcus Jones, said: “It’s an exciting time for Bristol Temple Meads, as we mark 185 years since the station first opened. Our complex roof upgrade has been steadily progressing and will enhance the station environment once completed, offering a brighter and more welcoming gateway to the city. The station will also play a pivotal role in the new Temple Quarter area, enhancing rail access for people across Bristol.

“Over the past few years, we have also made improvements to our infrastructure to transform travel in the area, including a major upgrade to Bristol East Junction, which removed a bottleneck into Bristol Temple Meads, increasing capacity and reducing congestion to help make journeys more reliable. As part of the wider Bristol Rail Regeneration scheme, we’re working with the West of England Combined Authority to help facilitate the MetroWest programme, which will see a total of seven new stations serving Bristol and the wider area, making train travel more accessible for thousands of people across the city and beyond.

“As we look back on the history of train travel in Bristol – and to the future improvements still to come - we’re proud of the important role Temple Meads plays in the city and to be the stewards preserving and enhancing Bristol’s oldest station for future generations, transforming Bristol Temple Meads into a world class transport hub.”