ST5972 : Severn Beach train at Bristol Temple Meads
taken 7 years ago, near to Bristol, England
Bristol Temple Meads station is the oldest and largest railway station in Bristol. Bristol's other main-line station, Bristol Parkway, is on the northern outskirts of the conurbation.
It opened on 31 August 1840 as the western terminus of the Great Western Railway from London Paddington. The railway including Temple Meads was the first one designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Soon the station was also used by the Bristol and Exeter Railway, the Bristol and Gloucester Railway, the Bristol Harbour Railway and the Bristol and South Wales Union Railway. To accommodate the increasing number of trains the station was expanded in the 1870s by Francis Fox and again in the 1930s by P E Culverhouse. Brunel's terminus is no longer part of the operational station. The historical significance of the station has been noted, and most of the site is Grade 1 listed. Link
Most platforms are numbered separately at each end with odd numbers at the east end, even numbers at the west end. Platform 2 is not signalled for passenger trains, and there is no platform 14.
Temple Meads is managed by Network Rail and the majority of services are operated by the present-day Great Western Railway. Other operators are CrossCountry and South West Trains.