Bere Alston railway station
Bere Alston  |
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| Looking west towards the junction | |
| Location | |
| Place | Bere Alston |
| Local authority | West Devon |
| Coordinates | 50°29′11″N 4°11′59″W / 50.4863°N 4.19982°WCoordinates: 50°29′11″N 4°11′59″W / 50.4863°N 4.19982°W |
| Operations | |
| Station code | BAS |
| Managed by | First Great Western |
| Number of platforms | 1 |
| Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries |
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| Annual rail passenger usage | |
| 2002/03 * | 37,944 |
| 2004/05 * | 29,552 |
| 2005/06 * | 27,263 |
| 2006/07 * | 26,866 |
| 2007/08 * | 28,936 |
| 2008/09 * | 32,454 |
| 2009/10 * | 36,272 |
| National Rail - UK railway stations | |
| A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | |
| * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Bere Alston from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Please note: methodology may vary year on year. | |
Bere Alston railway station is an unstaffed halt situated near the village of Bere Alston in Devon, England, 10.25 miles (16.50 km) north of Plymouth on the branch to Gunnislake.
The survival of the route is almost entirely because Bere Alston, Bere Ferrers, and Calstock are situated in an area which for geographical reasons has relatively poor road connections.
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[edit] History
Beer Alston station was opened for passenger traffic on 2 June 1890 by the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway as an intermediate station on that company's line from Lydford to Devonport,[1] which – being in effect an extension of the London and South Western Railway's main line from London Waterloo station to Lydford, enabling the LSWR to reach Plymouth independently of the Great Western Railway – was immediately leased to the LSWR. Bere Alston station was 220 miles and 15 chains (354.35 km) from Waterloo.
The station was renamed "Bere Alston" in 1898.[2]
On 2 March 1908 it became a junction, with the opening of a branch line to Callington Road.[3] The PDSWJR became part of the Southern Railway in 1923 and British Railways on 1 January 1948.
The line from Lydford to Bere Alston was closed on 6 May 1968, which left just the Gunnislake service running through from Plymouth and reversing at Bere Alston. The line from Plymouth was reduced to just a single track on 7 September 1970 and the junction changed to allow the train guard to operate the points.
On 18 March 2008 Devon County Council backed a proposal by developers Kilbride Community Rail to construct 750 houses in Tavistock that includes reopening the 5.5 miles (9 km) line from Bere Alston to a new Tavistock railway station at a cost of £18.5million.[4]
[edit] Gallery
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Bere Alston in 1930. -
The station in 1964 -
Bere Alston with a Gunnislake branchline train in 1970. -
A view of the station in 1970.
[edit] Services
Bere Alston is served by trains on the Tamar Valley Line from Gunnislake to Plymouth. Connections with main line services can be made at Plymouth, although a small number of Tamar Valley services continue to or from Exeter St Davids.
| Preceding station |  National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calstock | First Great Western Tamar Valley Line |
Reversal | ||
| Bere Ferrers | ||||
| Disused railways | ||||
| Bere Ferrers | Southern Region Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway |
Tavistock North | ||
[edit] Community railway
The railway from Plymouth to Gunnislake is designated as a community railway and is supported by marketing provided by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership. The line is promoted under the "Tamar Valley Line" name.
The Edgcumbe Hotel in Bere Alston village is part of the Tamar Valley Line rail ale trail, which is designed to promote the use of the line.[5] The line is also part of the Dartmoor Sunday Rover network of integrated bus and rail routes.
[edit] References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bere Alston railway station |
- ^ Cheesman, AJ (1967). The Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway. Blandford Forum: Oakwood Press.
- ^ Clinker, CR (1963). The Railways of Cornwall 1809 - 1963. Dawlish: David and Charles.
- ^ Crombleholme, Roger; Gibson, Bryan; Stickey, Douglas; Whetmath, CFD (1967). Callington Railways. Brackenll: Forge Books. doi:1985. ISBN 0904662144.
- ^ Harris, Nigel (2008). "Taking trains back to Tavistock". Rail (Bauer) (590): 40–45.
- ^ Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership (2006), Tamar Valley Line Rail Ale Trail
[edit] External links
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