Place Exmouth Station code EXM DfT category D Opened 1861 | Grid reference SX999811 Managed by Great Western Railway 2011/12 0.826 million Number of platforms 1 | |
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Address Exmouth EX8 1BZ, United Kingdom Original company London and South Western Railway Similar Topsham railway station, Exton railway station, Crediton railway station, Dawlish railway station, Starcross railway station | ||
Exmouth railway station avocet line devon
Exmouth railway station serves the town of Exmouth in Devon, England and is 11.25 miles (18 km) south east of Exeter St Davids. The station is the terminus of the Avocet Line from Exeter St Davids (which branches off from the West of England Main Line after Exeter Central). The station is managed by Great Western Railway, who operate all trains serving it.
Contents
History
The railway to Exmouth was opened on 1 May 1861. New docks designed by Eugenius Birch were opened in 1868 and a short branch was laid to connect them to the goods yard.
A branch line with a junction immediately beyond the end of the platforms was opened on 1 June 1903. This ran around the outskirts of Exmouth on a long, curving viaduct, passing through Littleham and then on to Budleigh Salterton meeting the Sidmouth branch line at Tipton St Johns where it connected with an earlier line to Sidmouth Junction railway station. This route was used for through carriages from London Waterloo station sometimes called the Atlantic Coast Express and also a short while from Cleethorpes, which ran via the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway and Templecombe railway station. The line was closed to all traffic on 6 March 1967 following publication of the report The Reshaping of British Railways.
The original station consisted of a single platform with a track on either side. It was rebuilt with four platform faces, opening on 20 July 1924. An engine shed was provided from the earliest days on the east side of the station, opposite the platforms. It was closed on 8 November 1963 following the introduction of DMU services on the line.
The signal box was closed on 10 March 1968 after which only one train was allowed south of Topsham and only one platform of the four-platform station was required. The station building was demolished and replaced with the present building. A single face (the old platform 2) was opened on 2 May 1986. The eastern side of the station was used for a new road which opened on 10 December 1981; the town's bus station and a swimming and sports centre are also built on the old station site.
Following the privatisation of British Rail the station was operated by Wales & West from 1997 to 2001 and Wessex Trains from 14 October 2001 until 31 March 2006; operation of the station has now transferred to Great Western Railway.
Description
There is a single platform – on the right when arriving from Exeter. The main station entrance leads to the bus station, but when the station is unstaffed another gate leads directly from the platform into a car park, from where access can be had to the bus station and the town centre.
It was reported in the Exmouth Journal during December 2005 that Exmouth station could be rebuilt as part of the redevelopment of the surrounding area. The paper printed rough plans of four options, all four provided for a new twin track station (as opposed to the current single track). However local opposition to the redevelopment scheme is high in particular because of the planned new supermarket on the estuary waterfront.
Services
Exmouth is served by trains on the Avocet Line from Exmouth to Exeter St Davids running every 30 minutes during the day (including Sundays) and every hour in the evening. Beyond St Davids they generally continue to either Paignton or Barnstaple. Connections are available at Exeter Central for services to Axminster, Salisbury, Basingstoke, Woking and London Waterloo; passengers for other main line stations change at Exeter St Davids.