Gunnislake railway station

Gunnislake
Location
Place	Gunnislake
Local authority	Cornwall
Coordinates	50.51600°N 4.21929°W / 50.51600; -4.21929
Operations
Station code	GSL
Managed by	First Great Western
Number of platforms	1
Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage
2002/03 *	39,009
2004/05 *	37,190
2005/06 *	43,885
2006/07 *	43,676
2007/08 *	48,747
2008/09 *	49,070
2009/10 *	51,424
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 Gunnislake from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Please note: methodology may vary year on year.

Gunnislake railway station serves the village of Gunnislake in Cornwall, England. There are also connecting buses from here to the town of Tavistock. However the station is located in or nearer to the villages of Drakewalls and Albaston. It is the northern terminus of the Tamar Valley Line from Plymouth.

History

A view of the station in 1972.

The 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge East Cornwall Mineral Railway was opened from the quay at Calstock to Kelly Bray on 8 May 1872. It was replaced by the present Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway route across Calstock Viaduct on 2 March 1908 which saw passenger trains introduced.

Gunnislake became a terminus on 7 November 1966, the service to Callington railway station having closed the previous Saturday. The original station was on the far side of the road but it has now been resited on the Calstock side which has allowed the low (12 feet – 3.6m) bridge to be demolished.

Description

There is a single platform – on the left of trains arriving from Plymouth. The station car park and bus interchange is situated immediately behind the platform.

Services

Gunnislake is the terminus of Tamar Valley Line trains from Plymouth, which is typically a 45 minute journey. 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		Terminus

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.

Six pubs in Gunnislake take part in the Tamar Valley Line rail ale trail, which is designed to promote the use of the line. The line is also part of the Dartmoor Sunday Rover network, with buses to Tavistock and Kit Hill meeting trains at Gunnislake.

References

• Cheesman, AJ (1967). The Plymouth, Devonport and South Wesetern 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. . 
• Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership (2006), Tamar Valley Line Rail Ale Trail