Gloucester railway station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gloucester | |||
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|---|---|---|---|
| Location | |||
| Place | Gloucester | ||
| Local authority | Gloucester | ||
| Operations | |||
| Station code | GCR | ||
| Managed by | First Great Western | ||
| Platforms in use | 4 | ||
| Live departures and station information from National Rail | |||
| Annual Rail Passenger Usage | |||
| 2004/05 * | 0.809 million | ||
| 2005/06 * | 0.875 million | ||
| National Rail - UK railway stations | |||
| * Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Gloucester from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. | |||
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Gloucester railway station (formerly known as Gloucester Central station) serves the city of Gloucester. The station is unusual as it is located off the main Bristol-Birmingham line, meaning trains that call at Gloucester usually have to reverse. Only trains that continue along the line to Chepstow do not have to reverse. At 602.69 metres (1977 ft. 4 ins.) Gloucester has the second longest railway platform in Great Britain, just behind Colchester (620m, 2034ft). The reason for this extreme length is due to a break-of-gauge between the Great Western Railway (7ft 0¼ in (2140 mm)) and Midland Railway's (4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm)) tracks here prior to the latter's adoption as standard gauge in 1892.
The footbridge had a direct connection into Gloucester Eastgate railway station until that station closed in 1975, due to level crossings affecting the city's road traffic. Eastgate station provided sharply curved through platforms on the Bristol-Birmingham (former Midland Railway) Line, avoiding the current problems with trains having to reverse.
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[edit] Services
The station is served by several operators.
- Arriva Trains Wales operate an hourly local service between Maesteg, Cardiff Central and Cheltenham Spa.
- CrossCountry operate an hourly Cardiff Central - Nottingham service with 2 trains in the early morning stopping at Lydney, Chepstow, Caldicot and Severn Tunnel Junction. They also serve the city as part of their Cross-Country operations. However, only 1 train in each direction stops at Gloucester a day as this avoids the train having to reverse (Thus the intention of the proposed Gloucestershire Parkway station located on the main Bristol to Birmingham line just before the branch). Instead passengers for Gloucester have to change at Cheltenham Spa for a connecting service.
- First Great Western operates an hourly service to Swindon via the Golden Valley Line with 2-hourly extensions to London Paddington. They also operate an hourly Westbury & Bristol to Worcester & Great Malvern service.
- London Midland operate 1 Friday night service from Birmingham New Street to Gloucester departing at 23:04 and ariving at 00:16.
[edit] Ticket Office Information
The station does have a ticket office, located just inside the Station entrance, which is open for the majority of the day 7 days a week:
Monday - Friday: 0600 to 2000
Saturday: 0600 to 1930
Sunday: 0900 to 2030
The station is also staffed for about 19 hours a day, opening at 0530 on Mondays to Saturdays and 0800 on Sundays.
Ticket Machines can be found in the booking hall itself.
Snacks & Drinks are also served in the cafe on platform 2.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Train times and station information for Gloucester railway station from National Rail
| Railway stations in Gloucestershire | ||
|---|---|---|
| Mainline: |
Cheltenham Spa - Gloucester |
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| On the Golden Valley Line: |
Kemble - Stonehouse - Stroud |
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| On the Bristol-Birmingham Line: | ||
| Others: | ||
 Heritage railway stations in Gloucestershire |
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| Dean Forest Railway: |
Lydney Junction - Lydney Town - Norchard - Parkend - St Mary's Halt - Whitecroft |
|
| Glos-Warks Railway: |
Cheltenham Racecourse - Gotherington - Toddington - Winchcombe |
|
