Place Pilning Station code PIL DfT category F2 Number of platforms 1 Original company Great Western Railway | Grid reference ST566844 Managed by Great Western Railway 2011/12 146 | |
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Address Pilning, Bristol BS35 4JH, United Kingdom Similar Severn Beach railway st, Patchway railway station, New Passage Pier railw, Severn Tunnel Junction r, Ashley Hill railway station | ||
Pilning railway station is a minor railway station in Pilning, South Gloucestershire, England. It is the last station on the English side before the Severn Tunnel through to Wales. Much of the village of Pilning is closer to Severn Beach railway station.
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In 2015 Pilning was ranked as the 6th quietest station in the UK based on passenger entries and exits, with just 68 entries and exits recorded for the entire year.
In 2016 it was announced that the footbridge would be removed to allow for the electrification of the Great Western Mainline, that the down platform would be closed and that there would be no Wales-bound services.
History
The first Pilning station was opened on 8 September 1863 by the Bristol and South Wales Union Railway, absorbed by the Great Western Railway in 1868. When the Severn Tunnel was opened in 1886, the new line diverged from the original B&SWUR line to New Passage just south of Pilning station. The line to New Passage, including the original station, was closed, and a new station was opened on the new line nearby.
In 1900 the GWR reopened the old line to goods traffic, connecting with a new line through Severn Beach to Avonmouth. In 1928 passenger services were started on the line to Avonmouth, and a new station, Pilning Low Level, was opened on the site of the original Pilning station. The station on the Severn Tunnel line was renamed Pilning High Level.
Pilning continued to have two stations from 1928 to 1964, when the line from Pilning to Severn Beach was closed. Pilning High Level station was then renamed Pilning.
From 1924 to 1966 Pilning High Level was the terminus of a car transport service through the tunnel to Severn Tunnel Junction.
Service
Prior to the timetable change in December 2006, Pilning was served by one train each way on weekdays. From December 2006 Great Western Railway decided to cut the service to just one train a week in each direction on Saturdays only. The eastbound departure is the 08:35 service to Taunton via Bristol Temple Meads and Weston-super-Mare. The westbound departure was the 15:41 service to Cardiff Central, calling at Severn Tunnel Junction, Newport and Cardiff Central. Both services are booked for a Class 150 Sprinter unit.
From the 5th November 2016 the 15:41 to Cardiff Central was withdrawn and replaced by a 13:34 service to Taunton, due to the closure of the Westbound/Down Platform.
Future
It has been speculated that a decision was taken to close the station by stealth after the Severnside Stadium housing development stalled. This had been an extensive new housing project near the station and would have provided much commuter traffic from the area.
Severn Beach railway station with a much better service is in fact nearer to most residential parts of the village of Pilning than Pilning station is.