Penzance railway station

Penzance
Location
Place	Penzance
Local authority	Cornwall
Coordinates	50.12226°N 5.53223°W / 50.12226; -5.53223
Operations
Station code	PNZ
Managed by	First Great Western
Number of platforms	4
Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage
2002/03 *	0.392 million
2004/05 *	0.403 million
2005/06 *	0.414 million
2006/07 *	0.462 million
2007/08 *	0.498 million
2008/09 *	0.526 million
2009/10 *	0.521 million
History
Original company	West Cornwall Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Western Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
Opened	1852
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 Penzance from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Please note: methodology may vary year on year.

Penzance railway station serves the town of Penzance, Cornwall, UK. The station is the western terminus of the 305.25 miles (491 km) Cornish Main Line from London Paddington station. The current journey time to or from London is between five and six hours.

Platforms 1, 2 and 3 are within the main train shed; Platform 4 on the south side is in the open air. A large stone at the end of this platform welcomes people to Penzance in two languages: English and Cornish. This side of the station is built on the sea wall near the harbour, the other side is cut into the hillside.

It is both the southernmost station on the National Rail network and the westernmost station in England, although not Great Britain as some stations in Scotland are further west. The station is operated by First Great Western as is every other station in Cornwall.

This is the Cornish terminus of the Night Riviera sleeper train to and from Paddington.

Bus station

A bus station is situated immediately outside the station entrance; this good example of transport integration arising from the Great Western Railway's operation of most of the early bus services in the area. History has come full circle, with the First Group again operating a large number of both the buses and trains in the area.

The Tourism Information Centre is located in the middle of the bus station.

There is also a bus service that connects the railway station with the Penzance Heliport, from which there are scheduled flights to the Isles of Scilly.

History

Inside the second station, a Steam Rail Motor waits to depart

The station was opened by the West Cornwall Railway on 11 March 1852 as the terminus of its line from Redruth. This wooden station was replaced by the current buildings in 1879. Further alterations were made in 1937 and again in 1983 when new a ticket office and buffet were opened.

The arch that is blocked up in the wall that retains the hillside behind the platforms was used by the railway as a coal store. Freight traffic, especially the busy fish trade, was handled in a goods yard where the cars are now parked adjacent to the bus station. An engine shed was also situated here before being moved to the opposite side of the line near the end of the retaining wall, but it has since been replaced by the new Penzance TMD outside the station at Long Rock.

The station in 1958

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Terminus		Great Western Railway Cornish Main Line		Marazion

Description

• 

  The station layout

• 

  The station seen from the north east

Passenger volume

Penzance is the second busiest station in Cornwall after Truro. Comparing the year from April 2008 to that which started in April 2002, passenger numbers increased by 64%.

	2002-03	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10
Entries	199,282	205,025	210,998	235,377	253,881	323,269	260,491
Exits	192,726	197,974	202,907	226,387	244,409	323,269	260,491
Interchanges	unknown	2,132	748	699	354	49	200
Total	392,008	405,132	414,653	462,463	498,644	646,538	521,182

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Facilities

^{[citation needed]}

• Booking Hall
• Ticket Office (4 Windows)
• Quick Ticket
• Buffet & Bar
• Vending Machines
• Telephones (x2)
• Help Point
• Taxi/Drop Zone
• Car Park

Services

A First Great Western High Speed Train service to London

Penzance is the terminus of the Cornish Main Line which sees a mixture of local trains to Plymouth and longer distance services to London Paddington station, including the Night Riviera overnight sleeping car service and the Golden Hind which offers an early morning service to London and an evening return. Other fast trains are the mid-morning Cornish Riviera and the afternoon Royal Duchy. The general service is hourly eastbound.

CrossCountry operate three daily services. These leave in the morning to Edinburgh, Glasgow Central and Manchester Piccadilly, and three return in the evening from Aberdeen, Glasgow Central and Edinburgh. One of the arrivals starts at 08:20 from Aberdeen which arrives at 21:50; at 13-and-a-half hours this is the longest direct rail journey in the United Kingdom.^{[citation needed]}

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Terminus		First Great Western Cornish Main Line		St Erth
		CrossCountry Cornish Main Line

References

This station offers access to the South West Coast Path
Distance to path	50 yards (46 m)
Next station anticlockwise	Falmouth Docks 60 miles (97 km)
Next station clockwise	St Ives 41 miles (66 km)