Bristol Temple Meads re-opens toilets 30 years after they were ‘sealed off and forgotten about’

Bristol Temple Meads has re-opened a set of toilets somehow sealed off and forgotten about for 30 years - thankfully after some major re-modelling.

Passengers at the station will now have less distance to run between the toilets and the platform after workmen re-discovered the loos.

The toilets on platforms 10 and 12 were last in use in the early 1990s as a men’s bathroom before they were sealed up when work was carried out.

Somehow they lay untouched for 30 years before being re-discovered in 2019 while improvements were being made to the station.

Now the antique loos are free to use after being restored in line with the station’s Grade I listing with funding from Network Rail’s Putting Passengers First programme.

Andy Philips, Network Rail’s station manager for Bristol Temple Meads, says the new facilities should ease pressure on toilet services during rush hours.

He said: “We’re pleased that passengers at Bristol Temple Meads will now be able to access these new facilities, which will alleviate pressure on the existing female toilets in the station subway, which can get busy at peak times.

“With more improvements on the way for Bristol’s iconic station in the future, we’re happy that we can offer these expanded and improved facilities for our passengers.”