Trains to return to Bristol's Brunel trainshed?

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

I was chatting with the Duty Station Manager at Bristol Temple Meads today and he told me that Network Rail were looking into the feasibility of returning the original Bristol Temple Meads station (aka The Brunel Trainshed) to use for scheduled services.

Bristol Panel signalbox is to close shortly with control moving to Didcot and demolishing the box would allow for rails to relaid into the old trainshed.

The reason for doing this is that when electrification work begins at Temple Meads it is likely to cause capacity issues on the existing platforms.

Rails could be relaid into the old trainshed to aid capacity, with Bristol starting/terminating  CrossCountry services and local trains such as those to Severn Beach using two new platforms.

Sounds like a workable idea to me and it would be good to see the old trainshed returned to its original use. Even if it is to be just used by Voyagers and Sprinters. Whether the whole shed would be used right up to Temple Way or just the later extension I know not.

Also the DSM didn't speculate as to whether this was to be a temporary plan during the leccy work or part of a wider remodeling of Bristol Temple Meads.

[anthony215]

I did read that the new proposed Bristol - London services which will operate via Bristol Parkway would also use this new trainshed.

I personally think it is a good idea to bring it back into use and free's up the through platforms to be used by more through services such as Severn Beach - Bristol - Weston Super Mare

[inspector_blakey]

Also mentioned on another local railway forum here:

http://www.bristol-rail.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2262

Poster 'stumpytrain' is a signaller at Bristol panel according to his facebook page, so he ought to know!

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Bristol museum could revert to rail platform



The site of Bristol's British Empire and Commonwealth Museum (BECM) could return to its former purpose as a rail platform for fast trains to London.

It follows a decision by the Museum's trustees to gift its collection of 50,000 artefacts to the city council. Ownership of the former BECM site, Brunel's Old Station building, is also due to be transferred to the council.

Sir Neil Cossons, from BECM, said he was "delighted" the site may "again be used for its original purpose".

The museum closed in 2008 when it was decided the only way to secure financial backing for the collection was to move it to London. But in a statement, the museum's trustees have confirmed that "due to major changes in economic circumstances" the proposed move to London is "no longer a viable option and will not be progressed".

The statement continued that "under the new arrangements" the museum's collections "have been transferred by Deed of Gift to the City".

Simon Cook, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat-run council, said: "We do plan to put [the collection] on show but obviously we have to completely re-configure the City Museum as it is at the moment."

The Grade I listed BECM building has been bought by the Homes and Communities Agency (HAC) and ownership is due to be transferred to the council "to support the delivery of a new creative industries hub and improved transport links in the heart of the city".

David Warburton, head of HAC, said it was "vital that Brunel's Old Station is used to its full potential".

He added: "People will be aware that the electrification of the line happens in 2016. There's the opportunity to use some of this building to further enhance that. That's one possibility that we're working through with the city council and Network Rail."

A Network Rail spokeswoman said the company sees "there is the potential of restoring disused rail infrastructure that was removed previously".

[chuffed]

Has always struck me as mad, that TM^‡(resolve) users are crammed into a tiny area at the top of the incline when there is the rest of that station ( the excellent dvd of TM hints at what you might see on an Open day guided tour) as well as Brunels Old station and the B&E^‡(resolve) building apparently OOU^▸ (out of use) for passengers. It seems that only 5% of the space is being used for 95% of the footfall through the station.
If TM really is to be drastically upgraded by the end of 2016, lets have some imaginative thinking and create something like the Sheffield concourse which is a much more pleasurable place to move around. No more tinkering around the edges as has been done for the last 50 years.

[paul7575]

Another Bristol local news article:

http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/Brunel-s-Passenger-Shed-used-Bristol-London/story-15655545-detail/story.html

To provide for a 15 min interval service, with adequate turnround time, wouldn't they need two platforms?  Would they fit two in that shed easily plus the necessary footbridges and lifts?  I see NR^» (Network Rail - home page) have already got a 'Bristol Station Capacity' project included in the CP5^▸ (Control Period 5 - the five year period between 2014 and 2019) proposals document, but they seem to refer there to just extending Platform 1.

Paul