Penzance railway station

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Penzance
Location
Place	Penzance
Local authority	Penzance
Operations
Managed by	First Great Western
Platforms in use	4
Annual entry/exit 04/05	0.403 million **
History
Key dates	Opened 11 March 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
** based on sales of tickets in 2004/05 financial year which end or originate at Penzance. Disclaimer (PDF)

Penzance railway station serves the town of Penzance, Cornwall, UK. The station is the terminus of the Great Western Main Line from London though the Westcountry. The current journey time to or from London is about 5 hours.

Most of the platforms are covered by a large roof but some services use a platform on the south side which is uncovered. A large stone at the end of this platform welcomes people to Penzance in both 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 the southernmost and westernmost station in England, although not the UK 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 terminus of the Night Riviera sleeper train from London Paddington station.

1 Bus station
2 History
3 Further reading
4 External links

[edit] Bus station

The 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.

[edit] History

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 before being moved out to its present site at Long Rock.

[edit] Further reading

The Great Western Railway in West Cornwall by Alan Bennett, Runpast Publications 1988, ISBN 1-870754-12-3

[edit] External links

Train times and station information for Penzance railway station from National Rail
Street map and aerial photo of Penzance railway station from Multimap.com

Preceding station		Following station
St Erth	First Great Western Great Western Main Line	Terminus
St Erth	Virgin Trains Cross-Country Route	Terminus
St Erth	South West Trains very limited service	Terminus