Bristol Parkway railway station

UK stations
name = Bristol Parkway


manager = First Great Western
locale = Bristol (Stoke Gifford)
borough = South Gloucestershire
gridref = ST623796
latitude = 51.51360
longitude = -2.54270
code = BPW
usage0203 = 1.293
usage0405 = 1.456
usage0506 = 1.633
usage0607 = 1.790
platforms = 3 (numbered 2-4)
original = British Rail
years = 1972
events = Opened
years1 = 2001
events1 = Renovated
years2 = 2007
events2 = Platform 4 opened

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.

In the Strategic Rail Authority’s 2005/06 financial year, Bristol Parkway was the 186th most-used station in the UK.

History

Parkway was built in the 1970s to give Bristol a station on the railway from London to South Wales, which passes just north of the city. There were several reasons for positioning a new station at Stoke Gifford: trains to London were quicker than on the longer route from Temple Meads, via Bath and Chippenham before reaching Swindon; a larger car park than at Temple Meads could be provided; the population on the northern fringes of the city was growing, especially with the building of a new town at Bradley Stoke; and it was within easy access of the M4 and M5 motorways. The name "Parkway" has since been applied to other out-of-town stations of a Park and ride nature, despite its presumable original reference to the Bristol Parkway, the nearby M32 motorway running through parkland.

The station opened on 1 May 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 1 July 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 third platform, opened as platform 4 in May 2007 [ [http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=144913&command=displayContent&sourceNode=144913&contentPK=17273961] ] .On 6 August 2007, platform 1 was renumbered platform 3 to allow for a new platform to be constructed as an island with platform 2. In December 2007 First Great Western changed the services they operated at Bristol Parkway, introducing a new service to Westbury and Weston-Super-Mare in place of the service to Taunton.

In June 2008 a recruitment company began a 12 month sponsorship of the station to promote its local jobs websitecite web|title='Concourse Initiatives brands Bristol stations for MyJobGroup|url=http://www.onrec.com/newsstories/22304.asp|accessdate=2008-07-21] . This is the first such sponsorship of the station and features signage over the ticket office and branded boards across the interior of the foot bridge. Similar sponsorship has been applied at Bristol Temple Meads railway stationcite web|title='MyBristolJobs takes over Bristol!|url=http://www.mybristoljobs.co.uk/Pages/rail-advertising-bristol-jobs|accessdate=2008-07-21] .

Future

There are plans to build a new heated waiting room, a help desk and electronic travel information screens on platforms 3 and 4. The car park is set to be increased by 300 or 400 spaces to 1500 spaces, and a fourth platform will be built. [http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=144913&command=displayContent&sourceNode=231190&home=yes&more_nodeId1=144922&contentPK=17268392] ] . When the fourth platform opens in 2008/09 it will help ease to congestion for trains heading south and to South Wales; it has been confirmed that it will be numbered platform 1 .

The station has been identified as a possible northern terminus for a light rail system in the Bristol area.

ervices

tation layout

The station building includes a waiting area with a ticket office, toilets and a cafe. There is a seated waiting area on the upper level with its own cafe and small shop. It also features Wi-Fi internet access for a fee.

The station has three platforms, either side of the railway track. Platforms 3 and 4 are on the same side as the station building, platform 2 on the far side, reached via an enclosed bridge across the line.

Platform 2 - Trains heading south and west, including to Bristol Temple Meads, South Wales, Devon and Cornwall.

Platform 3 - Trains heading north and east, including to London Paddington, The Midlands and the North of England.

Platform 4 - Trains to Weston-Super-Mare.

All platforms have a heated indoor waiting area and vending machines.

Transport links

Bristol Parkway is served by bus routes linking it with the rest of Bristol and South Gloucestershire. It is near the Avon Ring Road (A4174), linking to Bristol and the M32.

References

See also

*CrossCountry
*First Great Western
*List of all UK railway stations
*Rail services in Bristol