St Ives (Cornwall) railway station

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St Ives
Location
Place	St Ives
Local authority	Penwith
Operations
Managed by	First Great Western
Platforms in use	1
Annual entry/exit 04/05	0.220 million **
History
1 June 1877 23 May 1971	Original station opened Rebuilt on new site
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 St Ives. Disclaimer (PDF)

St Ives railway station serves the busy coastal town of St. Ives, Cornwall.

The station is at the end of the St Ives Bay Line. There is just a single platform, on the left of the train when it arrives from St Erth. A large car park is situated adjacent to the platform and the town centre is a short walk down the hill from the car park entrance. Many local bus services terminate at the car park entrance.

A path leads from the car park to Porthminster beach, from where the South West Coast Path can be followed back to Carbis Bay, or through the town and beyond.

[edit] History

The station was opened by the Great Western Railway on 1 June 1877 as the terminus of a branch line from St Erth which, until then, had been known as St Ives Road. The platform was on a sharp curve with a goods shed behind it. The town end of the platform was used to load railway trucks with fish that was caught by the many local boats, many of which were drawn up on Porthmintser beach, just below the station. A small engine shed was situated on the far side of the viaduct at the end of the platform.

The Great Western Railway purchased the Tregenna Castle which was situated on the hill above the station and turned it into an hotel.

The original station has now been demolished to provide a larger car park, with a new platform being opened on 23 May 1971 on the site of the goods shed. This has enabled the sharp curve in the platform to be eased out.

The station was referred to in the song "Slow Train" by Flanders and Swann.

[edit] Further reading

The Great Western Railway in West Cornwall by Alan Bennett, Runpast Publications 1988, ISBN 1-870754-12-3
The St Ives Branch by Stanley C Jenkins, Great Western Railway Journal, Late Summer issue 1992, Wild Swan Publications