Pewsey railway station

Pewsey
File:PewseyRailStn.jpg The old railway sign at Pewsey Station
General information
Location	Kennet
Managed by	First Great Western
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	PEW

Pewsey Station

Pewsey railway station is a railway station in the village of Pewsey in the county of Wiltshire in England. The station is on the Berks and Hants line and is served by intercity services operated by First Great Western to and from the West Country. The average journey time to London Paddington from Pewsey is just over an hour. Services to Bedwyn, the next station up the line, are infrequent with most east-bound services next calling at Hungerford, Newbury or Reading instead. This is a hangover from when Bedwyn was the most westerly point of the Network Southeast on this line whilst Pewsey was an Intercity station. Train services from this station, along with other stations on this line, have suffered poor service, overcrowding and frequent delays in recent years. The line and company operating it are widely accepted to be the worst in the UK. Travellers on the line staged a "fare strike" on 28 January 2008 to draw attention to the problems which were greatly worsened by the Department of Transport allowing First Great Western to reduce the rolling stock available to the service.

The original railway station was built in 1862 when Pewsey was connected to the railway network by the Berks and Hants Extension Railway. The current buildings, which include a waiting room on the London bound side and a waiting room and ticket office on the Country bound side, were constructed in 1936.

Pewsey station (despite its relatively few services) has decent passenger usage due to its proximity to Marlborough (about 10km) and other nearby towns and villages which do not have railway stations.

Station Manager

The current Station Manager is Trevor Beaven who has held the post for over 40 years. Prior to managing Pewsey, Mr Beaven worked at the former Woodborough Station for 6 years. Mr Beaven was awarded an MBE for his services in 1999.

145th birthday

On Friday 9 November, 2007, Pewsey Station celebrated its 145th birthday. A cake was cut by Pewsey Parish Council chairman, Alex Carder, with First Great Western service delivery manager Alison Stone.

Trivia

Pewsey Station is mentioned in the December 2005 film, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The train evacuating the Pevensie children from London Paddington stops at a rural station which is identified by the train guard as Pewsey. In actuality, the scene was shot at Highley Station on the preserved Severn Valley Railway. Even so, the film is correct inasmuch as any train going to Coombe Halt, the ultimate destination of the Pevensie children, would have to pass through Pewsey on its way from London Paddington.

External links

• Train times and station information for Pewsey railway station from National Rail

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Bedwyn or Hungerford		First Great Western local services Reading-Plymouth line		Westbury
Newbury or Reading		First Great Western High Speed services Reading-Plymouth line		Westbury