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Wednesday 26 Sep 2018

Passengers at Bristol Temple Meads set to benefit from two new entrances and ticket gates

Region & Route:

Wales & Western: Western

| Wales & Western

Work has started on the creation of two new entrances at Bristol Temple Meads Railway Station to allow for faster and easier access into and out of the station, with the equipment now in place and ready for extensive testing to take place throughout the autumn.

The new entrances are located at Queen Anne Gate and beside Bonapartes café, and will include two wide aisle ticket gates at each location to improve accessibility. The entrance at Queen Anne Gate will provide passengers with six new ticket gates, with eight being installed at the new Bonapartes entrance. The ticket gates will ease congestion, reducing the bottleneck that occurs at peak times by more than doubling the capacity of the existing entrances.

Currently, 11.3 million passengers pass through the station each year, with that number set to rise following significant upgrades to the railway in the Bristol area. Throughout 2018, Network Rail has been working on a number of projects in Bristol, including the largest ever re-signalling scheme completed over Easter, and the ongoing work to double the number of tracks at Filton Bank. These upgrades will enable a significant increase in passenger and freight trains from 2019 to meet growing demand.

Lisa Evans, Network Rail’s sponsor for the installation of the new ticket gates said: “The project will improve access and circulation at the station and reduce the congestion experienced by passengers at the current ticket gates. In addition, we will be improving safety and passenger experience through a reduction in queuing at the ticket gates”

The new ticket gates were installed at the beginning of September, providing Great Western Railway (GWR) with time to undertake extensive testing on the equipment before it is available for passengers this winter.

Whilst the new entrances are being created, several bicycle racks have been temporarily moved to allow installation of the new ticket gates. Once the works are complete, new bike racks will be installed permanently outside Queen Anne Gate and will be covered by CCTV.