Place Kemble Station code KEM DfT category D Number of platforms 2 Original company Great Western Railway | Grid reference ST985975 Managed by Great Western Railway 2011/12 0.357 million | |
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Address Kemble, Cirencester GL7 6AU, United Kingdom Similar Swindon railway station, Brimscombe railway station, Cheltenham Spa railway st, Dousland railway station, Stroud railway station | ||
Kemble railway station is a railway station that serves the village of Kemble in Gloucestershire, England. The station is on the Swindon to Gloucester "Golden Valley" line. Despite its rural location, Kemble station has a high number of passengers, due mainly to the proximity of Cirencester.
Contents
History
The station was opened by the Great Western Railway (GWR) as an exchange station on 12 May 1845 with the line opening from Swindon to Gloucester. Only on 1 May 1882 did it become a public station replacing the nearby Tetbury Road. Until the 1960s the station was a junction, with branch lines to Cirencester Town and Tetbury. Both the Tetbury branch line and the Cirencester Branch Line were closed to traffic under The Reshaping of British Railways, the first day without service being 6 April 1964.
British Rail reduced the line to Swindon to single track in 1968 but the second track was reinstated in 2014 (see Golden Valley Line).
Description
The station has two platforms in use. The former Tetbury bound platform remains but the track has been lifted. The building on the down platform (no. 2) has been out of use for several years, containing toilets and a waiting room, which are still in situ. On the former Cirencester platform, a short stub of track remains for the occasional stabling of track machines. This ends at a buffer stop just before the station car park. In 2013, Cotswold District Council refused an application by Network Rail to demolish part of the Grade II listed Cirencester bay platform in connection with the redoubling of the line from Swindon. According to the Council, the platform was still in a good state of repair and any public benefit from the demolition would not outweigh the damage that would be caused to the historical significance of the station. The station has a ticket office and a small café.
Services
Great Western Railway operates services from London Paddington to Gloucester and Cheltenham Spa using HST trains and local services from Swindon to Gloucester and Cheltenham Spa using the Great Western Railway Class 150, Class 153 and Class 158 DMUs.
Kemble station is served on a Monday to Friday by:
Making an off peak service of one train every two hours to London, with trains to Swindon, Cheltenham and Gloucester every hour. The station is occasionally served by Cardiff Central / Swansea services diverted during engineering works. On Sundays there are twelve trains each way, seven of which run to or from London.