A new £23M entrance on the eastern side of Bristol Temple Meads railway station is expected to open at 4pm today (7 September).
Network Rail excavated through existing structures to extend the subway under platforms 13 and 15 to create the new entrance. It then carried out “major drainage, foundation and station improvement works”, it said.
Construction started in late 2023 and the main building works were completed in October 2024.
The eastern entrance is one of three expected to be delivered. The eastern entrance opens directly onto the University of Bristol’s new Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus (TQEC), and is designed to improve connections for communities and businesses in St Philip’s Marsh and the east of Bristol.
Kier Construction was appointed as the main contractor to deliver the southern entrance, as part of a £35M project, in February 2026.
“The new entrance forms a key part of the wider Bristol Temple Quarter regeneration 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,” Network Rail said.
“The scheme is a partnership between WECA (the West of England Combined Authority) and Bristol City Council, who formed the Bristol Temple Quarter LLP (BTQ) to drive the project forward in 2024, working closely with Network Rail, University of Bristol and Homes England.”
BTQ CEO Karen Mercer said: “By working together with our partners at Network Rail and the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority, we have delivered a new entrance to the station on time and on budget.
“This will dramatically improve access to the station for communities and businesses in east Bristol and is a key part of our wider aspirations for connectivity around Temple Quarter, as we deliver thousands of new homes, jobs and opportunities for people in West of England.”
Network Rail Great Western route director Marcus Jones said: “Bristol Temple Meads has been at the heart of the city since it opened in 1840, and this new entrance ensures it will play an even greater role in its future.
“This milestone reflects more than a decade of collaboration between [partners] with a shared ambition for Bristol Temple Quarter. Together, we’re transforming connectivity, unlocking development and creating a gateway that will support the region’s growth for decades to come.”
West of England mayor Helen Godwin said: “Our investment in the future of Bristol Temple Meads is a crucial step in getting the West moving, building on the extensive roof repairs which were recently completed.
“With the old sorting office replaced by the TQEC and a brand-new entrance for Brunel’s iconic railway station, this gateway to innovation, new homes and new jobs will soon be well and truly open.”
The atrium of the Sloane Robinson Building. Credit: Sir Robert McAlpine
Also today, Sir Robert McAlpine announced it had completed construction of the Sloane Robinson Building at the University of Bristol’s TQEC. The company described the 38,000sq m building as the “centrepiece” of the £500M TQEC.
The building includes “the 300-seat Bill Brown Lecture Theatre, one of the few ‘in the round’ lecture theatres in the UK, 22 Active Learning Studios, specialist cyber security suites, Bloomberg trading terminals, digital production facilities and advanced prototyping spaces designed to encourage collaboration between academia and industry”, Sir Robert McAlpine said.