Bristol Parkway railway station
Bristol Parkway | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Location | South Gloucestershire |
| Managed by | First Great Western |
| Platforms | 3 |
| History | |
| Opened | May 1972, Renovated June 2001 Platform 4 opened May 2007 |
Bristol Parkway railway station is a railway station on the northern edge of Bristol (England), at Stoke Gifford in South Gloucestershire. It is part of the British railway system owned by Network Rail, and is run by First Great Western.
History
Parkway was built in the 1970s to give Bristol a station on the railway running from London to South Wales, which passes just north of the city. There were several reasons for positioning a new station at Stoke Gifford: the rail route was attractive to travellers because trains to London were quicker than on the longer route from Temple Meads, which runs via Bath and Chippenham before reaching Swindon, a larger car park could be provided than at Temple Meads and the population on the northern fringes of the city was growing, especially with the building of a new town Bradley Stoke. The name "Parkway" has since been applied to other out-of-town stations.
The station opened on May 1, 1972 with temporary buildings. When a permanent station was built, it was architecturally unimpressive: a single low building on the north side of the tracks at the far west end, with footbridge access over the "goods loop" tracks to the two long platforms. On July 1, 2001 a new building and footbridge opened, still on the north side but near the middle of the platforms, with lifts for disabled access to the platforms and a larger refreshment and waiting area on an upper level. The redevelopment cost Network Rail over £4 million.
In January 2007 construction started on the 3rd platform at Bristol Parkway, which opened as platform 4 in May 2007. [3]
The station has also been identified as a possible northern terminus for a light rail system in the Bristol area.
Station improvements
There are plans to build a new heated waiting room, a help desk and electronic travel information screens on platforms 3 and 4; also to increase the number of suburban services using Parkway and the car park size is set to be increased by 300 or 400 spaces, which should bring the car parking space up to around 1500 spaces.
It has also be confirmed that a fourth platform will be built at the station to help cut congestion[1]
Station layout
The station building encompasses a large waiting area with a small ticket office, toilets and a small cafe. There is a large seated waiting area on the upper level with its own cafe and small shop. It also features Wi-Fi internet access.
The station has three platforms, either side of the railway track. Platforms 1 and 4 are located on the same side as the station building itself, with Platform 2 on the far side, which is reached via an enclosed bridge which spans the track.
Platform 2 - Trains heading south and west, including trains to Bristol Temple Meads, South Wales, Devon and Cornwall.
Platform 1 - Trains heading north and east, including trains to London Paddington, Yate and the North of England.
Platform 4 - Same as platform 1
All of the platforms have their own small heated indoor waiting area and various vending machines.
Future service plans
When the 4th platform to be built opens in 2008/09 it will help ease congestion for trains heading south and to Wales, and it has been confirmed that it will be numbered platform 1.[2]
There have also been suggestions of new services using Bristol Parkway, if these do happen they are likely to start over the next 3 years.[citation needed]
Transport links
Bristol Parkway is served by many bus routes, which link it with the rest of Bristol and South Gloucestershire. The station is located near the Avon Ring Road (A4174).
References
See also
External links
Template:Geolinks-UK-cityscale
- Train times and station information for Bristol Parkway railway station from National Rail
| Preceding station |  National Rail
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swindon | First Great Western Intercity services South Wales Main Line |
Newport | ||
| Filton Abbey Wood | First Great Western Local services Taunton - Cheltenham |
Yate | ||
| Bristol Temple Meads | Virgin Trains Cross-Country Route |
Gloucester * or Cheltenham Spa | ||
| * Not all services call at this station | ||||