Exmouth railway station

Exmouth
Location
Place	Exmouth
Local authority	East Devon
Coordinates	50°37′18″N 3°24′54″W / 50.62179°N 3.41507°W / 50.62179; -3.41507Coordinates: 50°37′18″N 3°24′54″W / 50.62179°N 3.41507°W / 50.62179; -3.41507
Grid reference	SX999811
Operations
Station code	EXM
Managed by	First Great Western
Number of platforms	1
Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2002/03	0.737 million
2004/05	0.624 million
2005/06	0.611 million
2006/07	0.677 million
2007/08	0.697 million
2008/09	0.732 million
2009/10	0.723 million
2010/11	0.779 million
2011/12	0.826 million
History
Original company	London and South Western Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
1861	Opened
1924	Rebuilt
1986	Rebuilt
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
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Exmouth from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Exmouth station serves the town of Exmouth in Devon, England and is 11.25 miles (18 km) south east of Exeter St Davids.

History

The disused platforms and signals in 1969.

The old station canopioes, etc. in June 1969

The railway to Exmouth was opened on 1 May 1861. New docks designed by Eugenius Birch^{[citation needed]} were opened in 1868 and a short branch was laid to connect them to the goods yard.^[1]

A branch line with a junction immediately beyond the end of the platforms was opened on 1 June 1903. This ran around the outskirts of Exmouth on a long, curving viaduct, passing through Littleham and then on to Budleigh Salterton meeting the Sidmouth branch line at Tipton St Johns where it connected with an earlier line to Sidmouth Junction railway station. This route was used for through carriages from London Waterloo station sometimes called the Atlantic Coast Express and also a short while from Clethorpes, which ran via the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway and Templecombe railway station.

The original station consisted of a single platform with a track on either side. It was rebuilt with four platform faces, opening on 20 July 1924. An engine shed was provided from the earliest days on the east side of the station, opposite the platforms. It was closed on 8 November 1963 following the introduction of DMU services on the line.

The signal box was closed on 10 March 1968 after which only one train was allowed south of Topsham and only one platform of the four-platform station was required. The station building was demolished and replaced with the present building. A single face (the old platform 2) was opened on 2 May 1986. The eastern side of the station was used for a new road which opened on 10 December 1981; the town's bus station and a swimming and sports centre are also built on the old station site.

Following the privatisation of British Rail the station was operated by Wales and West from 1997 to 2001 and Wessex Trains from 14 October 2001 until 31 March 2006; operation of the station has now transferred to First Great Western

Description

There is a single platform – on the right when arriving from Exeter. The main station entrance leads to the bus station, but when the station is unstaffed another gate leads directly from the platform into a car park, from where access can be had to the bus station and the town centre.

It was reported in the Exmouth Journal during December 2005 that Exmouth station could be rebuilt as part of the redevelopment of the surrounding area. The paper printed rough plans of four options, all four provided for a new twin track station (as opposed to the current single track). However local opposition to the redevelopment scheme is high in particular because of the planned new supermarket on the estuary waterfront.

Services

Exmouth is served by trains on the Avocet Line from Exmouth to Exeter St Davids. Beyond St Davids they generally continue to either Paignton or Barnstaple. Connections are available at Exeter Central for services to Axminster, Salisbury, Basingstoke, Woking and London Waterloo; passengers for other main line stations change at Exeter St Davids.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Terminus		First Great Western Avocet Line		Lympstone Village
	Disused railways
Terminus		London and South Western Railway Sidmouth and Budleigh Branch Line		Littleham

Gallery

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  A Class 143 ready for its journey

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References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Exmouth railway station.