Portal:Trains/Selected article/Week 30, 2008

Bristol Temple Meads railway station is the oldest and largest railway station in Bristol, England. It opened on 31 August 1840, as the western terminus of the Great Western Railway from London Paddington station. The whole railway including Temple Meads was the first one designed by the prolific British engineer, 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, instead it currently houses the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum. The station is now owned by Network Rail and is operated under a franchise by First Great Western who provide the majority of trains to London, along with local services and inter-urban routes; long-distance services are provided by CrossCountry. A few trains to London Waterloo station are provided by South West Trains. More than 6.5 million people entered and left the station in the twelve months to March 2007, an increase of nearly 1.5 million in five years. In addition, it was estimated that more than 900,000 people used the station to change trains. The majority of the station site is Grade 1 listed.