Yatton railway station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Yatton | |||
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|---|---|---|---|
| Location | |||
| Place | Yatton | ||
| Local authority | North Somerset | ||
| Operations | |||
| Station code | YAT | ||
| Managed by | First Great Western | ||
| Platforms in use | 2 | ||
| Live departures and station information from National Rail | |||
| Annual Passenger Usage | |||
| 2004/05 ** | 0.247 million | ||
| History | |||
| 1841 | Opened | ||
| National Rail - UK railway stations | |||
| Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Yatton (source) | |||
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Yatton railway station is a National Rail railway station operated by First Great Western serving the village of Yatton, North Somerset, England. It is on the south-west main line from Bristol to Penzance.
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[edit] History
Yatton railway station was constructed as part of the Bristol and Exeter Railway, and was designed to the broad gauge standard by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
The station is constructed to typical Great Western style. It originally had long canopies over both platforms. Only the one on the north side remains.
The station opened on 14 June 1841 with the name Clevedon Road. Its name was changed to Yatton on 28 July 1847 when the branch line from the station to Clevedon was opened.
[edit] Branch lines
The Cheddar Valley line was opened in 3 August 1869, from the south side of the station through to Congresbury and Cheddar. Its primary motivation was for the transport of Cheddar Valley strawberries, but also saw passenger use. The line was extended to Wells in 1870. This joined with the East Somerset Railway line from Witham (constructed between 1859 and 1862), and through services from Yatton to Witham became the standard for this line.
On 4 December 1901, the Wrington Vale Light Railway opened a branch from Congresbury to Blagdon.
In the early days of the railway, Yatton was not seen as a commuter village. This changed in the mid Victorian era, however, with many more houses being built, and trains to Bristol starting service at 7am.
At the height of the railway's popularity, Yatton was a very busy station, especially due to its nature as a junction, and up to 40 people were employed there. The neighbouring Railway Hotel (now the Railway Inn pub) was built to support this business.
[edit] Decline
The branch lines from Yatton were not to survive, however. The Wrington Vale line lost passenger services on 14 September 1931, and goods traffic on 1 November 1950.
The Cheddar Valley line and Clevedon branch both survived until the Beeching Axe, however. The Cheddar branch closed to passengers on 9 September 1963 and to goods in 1964. The Clevedon branch closed on 3 September 1966, with passenger services surviving goods traffic by over 3 years.
[edit] The station today
The area where the branch lines left the station is now used as car parks. The station itself is still in use, however, and is attractive to commuters as being an easy way into Bristol, as well as providing occasional intercity trains stopping at the station for London.
During the day, there are typically two trains per hour on the Bristol to Weston-super-Mare commuter service, increasing to three per hour in peak times. In the morning there are also several direct trains to London Paddington, and an hourly direct return service from London in the evenings.
The former Cheddar Valley branch line is now the Strawberry Line railway walk.
[edit] External links
- Train times and station information for Yatton railway station from National Rail
- Street map and aerial photo of Yatton railway station from Multimap.com
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nailsea & Backwell | First Great Western Great Western Main Line |
Worle * or Weston-super-Mare |
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| * Not all trains call at this station | ||||
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| Bristol-Taunton line / Great Western Main Line |
Taunton • Bridgwater • Highbridge and Burnham • Weston-super-Mare • Weston Milton • Worle • Yatton • Nailsea and Backwell • Parson Street • Bedminster • Bristol Temple Meads • Keynsham • Oldfield Park • Bath Spa |
| Wessex Main Line: | Bristol Temple Meads • Keynsham • Oldfield Park • Bath Spa • Freshford • Avoncliff • Bradford on Avon • Trowbridge |
| Severn Beach Line | Bristol Temple Meads • Lawrence Hill • Stapleton Road • Montpelier • Redland • Clifton Down • Sea Mills • Shirehampton • Avonmouth • St Andrews Road • Severn Beach |
| Bristol to Cardiff | Bristol Temple Meads • Lawrence Hill • Stapleton Road • Filton Abbey Wood • Bristol Parkway • Patchway • Pilning • Severn Tunnel Junction • Newport • Cardiff Central |
| Bristol to Cheltenham | Bristol Temple Meads • Lawrence Hill • Stapleton Road • Filton Abbey Wood • Bristol Parkway • Yate • Cam and Dursley • Gloucester • Cheltenham Spa |
