Bruton railway station
Bruton railway station serves a largely rural area in the county of Somerset in England. The station is situated in the small town of Bruton.
Bruton  | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Bruton, South Somerset England |
| Coordinates | 51.11170°N 2.44732°W |
| Grid reference | ST687347 |
| Managed by | Great Western Railway |
| Platforms | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Station code | BRU |
| Classification | DfT category F1 |
| History | |
| Original company | Great Western Railway |
| Key dates | |
| 1856 | Opened |
| Passengers | |
| 2015/16 |  36,950 |
| 2016/17 | 40,660 |
| 2017/18 | 41,364 |
| 2018/19 | 42,798 |
| 2019/20 | 48,818 |
| Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road | |
The station is on the Bristol to Weymouth line some 32.75 miles (53 km) south of Bath Spa. Trains on the Reading to Taunton line pass through the station but do not normally stop. Services are operated by Great Western Railway (who also manage the station) and South Western Railway.
History
The station was opened by the Great Western Railway on 1 September 1856 on its Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth main line. At that time this was just a single track but a loop was provided at Bruton to allow trains to pass. Stone buildings were erected on both platforms, and a footbridge linked the platforms from 1895. A signal box was provided from 1877 at the west end of the station.[1]
The goods yard, which was on the north side of the line opposite the signal box, was closed on 5 April 1965 and the station was downgraded to an unstaffed halt from 6 October 1969 under the Western Region of British Railways.
Description
The station has two platforms with a modern glass-and-metal waiting shelter on each. A footbridge enables passengers to cross the line. There is no wheelchair access to the far platform (for trains arriving from Bristol and going to Weymouth). The station has a bike rack and help points.
The cutting in which the railway is built is a Site of Special Scientific Interest as one of the best places in England to demonstrate the stratigraphic distinction of ammonites in the subcontractus zone and the morrisi zone.[2]
Services
Great Western Railway operates eight trains each way on the Bristol to Weymouth line during the week and five on Sundays. It is not a regular service; there are some gaps of up to three hours between trains. To the north services run to and from Bath Spa and Bristol Temple Meads via Westbury. Most are extended beyond Bristol to and from Gloucester. To the south trains run to Yeovil Pen Mill and Weymouth.[3]
South Western Railway operates four services per day (one on Saturdays and Sundays) to London Waterloo via Westbury and Salisbury.[4]
A faster and more frequent service to London is available at Castle Cary station from where Great Western Railway operates trains into London Paddington.
| Preceding station | National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castle Cary | Great Western Railway Heart of Wessex Line |
Frome | ||
| Great Western Railway Weymouth Wizard (Summer Saturdays Only) (North-bound only) |
||||
| South Western Railway Heart of Wessex Line |
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References
- Oakley, Mike (2006). Somerset Railway Stations. Bristol: Redcliffe Press. ISBN 1-904537-54-5.
- English Nature citation sheet for the site Archived 10 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 7 August 2006)
- National Rail Timetable (May 2016), Table 123
- "South Western Railways Timetable, Table 20A, 15 December 2019 to 16 May 2020" (PDF).
External links
- Bruton - Least Used Station in Somerset, 2018 YouTube film about the station and its status as the station with lowest passenger numbers in Somerset
Media related to Bruton railway station at Wikimedia Commons