Place Topsham Station code TOP DfT category F2 Opened 1861 Number of platforms 2 | Grid reference SX966883 Managed by Great Western Railway 2011/12 0.221 million | |
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Address Topsham, Exeter EX3 0DS, United Kingdom Original company London and South Western Railway Similar Exton railway station, Exmouth railway station, Crediton railway station, Digby and Sowton railway st, Lympstone Commando railway st | ||
Topsham railway station is the railway station serving the town of Topsham in the English county of Devon. It is the passing place for the otherwise single-track branch line from Exmouth Junction to Exmouth. Both the loop and adjacent level crossing are remotely worked from the signal box at Exmouth Junction.
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History
The station, with buildings designed by Sir William Tite, opened with the railway on 1 May 1861. On 23 September 1861 a 700 yards (640 m) branch was opened from the south end of the station, which dropped steeply to the wharf on the River Exe.
The station was initially owned by the London and South Western Railway. In 1923 this became a constituent of the Southern Railway which, in turn was nationalised in 1948. Following the privatisation of British Rail it was operated by Wessex Trains but the franchise has now been transferred to First Great Western.
The old station buildings and signal box are now occupied by offices.
Services
All trains on the Avocet Line from Exmouth to Exeter St Davids call at Topsham. There is a half-hourly daytime service in each direction (including Sundays), dropping to hourly in the evening.
Beyond St Davids they continue alternately to Paignton or Barnstaple. Connections are available at Exeter Central for Pinhoe and stations to Waterloo via Salisbury; passengers for other main line stations should change at Exeter St Davids.
The station is part of the new Penalty Fare Zone, where passengers could be charged a £20 penalty fare if a ticket is not purchased prior to joining the train. It is unstaffed, with a computerised ticket machine on the Exeter-bound platform. The only way to cross between platforms is the adjacent road crossing, closed when trains are approaching and in the station, so extra time should be budgeted if buying an Exmouth ticket, as it is possible to be trapped on the wrong side of the line.