Place Keynsham Station code KYN DfT category F1 Opened 1840 Original company Great Western Railway | Grid reference ST655689 Managed by Great Western Railway 2011/12 0.306 million Number of platforms 2 | |
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Address Keynsham, Bristol BS31 2BT, United Kingdom Similar Avoncliff railway station, Freshford railway station, Bradford‑on‑Avon railway station, Melksham railway station, Lawrence Hill railway station | ||
Keynsham railway station is on the Great Western Main Line in South West England, serving the town of Keynsham, Somerset. It is 113 miles 63 chains (183.1 km) down-line from London Paddington and is situated between Oldfield Park and Bristol Temple Meads stations.
Contents
It is managed by Great Western Railway, which also operates most of the trains that call. South West Trains operate a limited number of services.
History
The station was opened on 31 August 1840 with the completion of the Great Western Railway line between Bristol and Bath. It was renamed Keynsham and Somerdale on 1 February 1925 with the opening of the Fry's chocolate factory at Somerdale, which had its own siding. The station was rebuilt in 1931 to accommodate longer trains bringing in workers who had transferred from a factory in Bristol belonging to the company.
The station's name reverted to Keynsham on 6 May 1974. By this time many workers had relocated to Keynsham, or commuted by car. The factory had its own rail system which was connected to the mainline. The connection to Fry's chocolate factory was taken out of use on 26–27 July 1980. The trackbed of which can still be seen opposite the entrance to the station car park.
The station was rebuilt in 1985 as a joint project between British Rail and Avon County Council. The rebuilding provided a new brick built shelter on platform 2, a new footbridge and the enlargement of the car park. Further construction work began in mid-2009. In 2011 a campaign group was formed to gain improved access for the disabled at the station. Recently a new disabled access ramp was built which provides wheelchair access between the footbridge and Platform 1. In addition to this, dot matrix display boards have been put up on both platforms. These displays are accompanied by audio announcements.
Services
Passenger services are operated by Great Western Railway
Keynsham Station has at least an hourly service in each direction between Monday and Saturday, with roughly a 2 hourly service on Sunday. Direct destinations include: Brighton; Southampton; Weymouth; Cardiff; Bath Spa; Gloucester; and Bristol Temple Meads. The majority of its services are a combination of 2 hourly Weymouth trains and 2 hourly Southampton trains eastbound and an hourly service to Bristol and Gloucester in the other direction. On summer Saturdays an extra train is put on between Bristol Temple Meads and Weymouth formed of a full 8-coach HST set, calling at Keynsham at 09:14 and 20:01 return, this train does not call at Freshford, Avoncliff, Thornford, Yetminster, Chetnole or Upwey. There is one direct service from London Paddington on Monday to Friday that calls at Keynsham at 08:08. There is no direct return service Paddington. Passengers wishing to travel to London should change at Bath.
It is common to see a range of different train classes. These include: Class 43; Class 150; Class 153; Class 158; Class 159. Keynsham also used to be a stop on West Coast Railway Company's Weymouth Seaside Express on Summer Sundays from July to September, although this train hasn't run since the railway upgrade works east of Bath in August 2015.
Electrification
As part of the electrification of the Great Western Main Line, the line through Keynsham closed for 1 week in April 2016 so that Network Rail could carry out preparation work for the installation of the overhead wires. This involved the lowering of the track under the road bridge and the replacement of the canopy on platform 1. Also the brick shelter on the Bath (up) platform was enlarged. The canopy on Platform 2 was removed between 14 and 18 March 2016.
Bus links
The following bus services stop just outside the station on Station Road:
All the services are operated by First Bus. First Bus services 38, 38A, 39 and 178 stop in the town centre just a short walk away.