Pilning railway station is a minor station in Pilning, South Gloucestershire, England. It is 116.5 miles (187.5 km) from London Paddington and is the last station on the English side before the Severn Tunnel through to Wales. Much of the village of Pilning is closer to Severn Beach railway station.
In 2015 Pilning was the sixth least used station in the United Kingdom, with just 68 passenger entries/exits recorded for the entire year.
In 2016 it was announced that the footbridge would be removed to allow for the electrification of the Great Western Main Line, that the "down" (westbound) platform would be closed and that there would no longer be any Wales-bound services calling at the station.
Video Pilning railway station
Description
Pilning railway station is located in the Pilning area of South Gloucestershire, 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the Bristol conurbation. The surrounding area is primarily farmland, with the village itself some 0.75 miles (1.2 km) further west. The station is on the South Wales Main Line between Bristol Parkway and Newport (South Wales), 9 miles 43 chains (15.3 km) from Bristol Temple Meads and 126 miles 51 chains (203.8 km) from London Paddington via Bristol Parkway.
Maps Pilning railway station
Service
Prior to the timetable change in December 2006, Pilning was served by one train each way on weekdays. From December 2006 First Great Western decided to cut the service to just one train a week in each direction on Saturdays only. The eastbound departure is the 08:35 service to Taunton via Bristol Temple Meads and Weston-super-Mare. The westbound departure was the 15:41 service to Cardiff Central, calling at Severn Tunnel Junction, Newport and Cardiff Central. Both services were booked for a Class 150 Sprinter unit.
From 5 November 2016 the 15:41 to Cardiff Central was withdrawn and replaced by a 13:34 service to Taunton, due to the closure of the Westbound/Down Platform; from 1 January 2018 the 13:34 stop was replaced by a 15:34 stop, also on a service to Taunton.
History
Pilning railway station first opened on 8 September 1863 when services began on the Bristol and South Wales Union Railway (BSWUR), which ran from Bristol Temple Meads to New Passage Pier, north of Bristol on the banks of the River Severn. At New Passage, passengers were transferred to a ferry to cross the Severn to continue on into Wales. The line, engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, was built as single track 7 ft 1/4 in (2,140 mm) broad gauge. Pilning was 9 miles 40 chains (15.3 km) from Temple Meads, initially the fifth station along the line, between Patchway 3 miles 3 chains (4.9 km) east and New Passage 1 mile 76 chains (3.1 km) east. There was a single platform on the north side of the line, and a siding to the south. No further details are known about this iteration of the station, nor are there any photos from its time in use. The station was on the road between Easter Compton, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south, and the main part of Pilning 1 mile (1.6 km) west. The immediate area was farmland with little in the way of housing, although there was a pub, The Plough, across the road from the station. There were initially six trains per day on weekdays in each direction, with three trains per day on Sundays. The BSWUR was amalgamated with the Great Western Railway (GWR), which had from the beginning operated all BSWUR services, in 1868; and in 1873 the line was converted to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1/2 in) standard gauge.
Although the line made travel from Bristol to Wales easier, the change from train to ferry to train was inconvenient, plans to build a tunnel under the Severn were considered even before the railway opened. Parliamentary permission was gained in 1872, with construction beginning in 1873. GWR chairman Daniel Gooch and other directors visited Pilning in 1884 as part of an inspection tour of the works. The route to the tunnel diverged from the New Passage line 35 chains (0.70 km) east of Pilning, necessitating the building of a replacement station on the new line approximately 100 yards (90 m) south of the original. The new station opened with the first passenger services through the tunnel on 1 December 1886. The old station closed the same day, and the New Passage branch fell into general disuse, with the main traffic being coal to the Severn Tunnel pumping station.
The new station was 3 chains (60 m) further along the line from Bristol at 9 miles 43 chains (15.3 km). The next station west was now Severn Tunnel Junction, 6 miles 76 chains (11.2 km) away the other side of the Severn, while Patchway was now 3 miles 46 chains (5.8 km) to the east, having been resited. There were two platforms, either side of the two running lines, the entire route from Bristol having been increased to double track. The northern platform served eastbound trains, the southern one was for westbound trains. The main station building was on the northern platform, a standard GWR design with chimneys and a fretted canopy. There was a smaller matching waiting room on the westbound platform.
In 1900 the GWR reopened the old line to goods traffic, connecting with a new line through Severn Beach to Avonmouth. In 1928 passenger services were started on the line to Avonmouth, and a new station, Pilning Low Level, was opened on the site of the original Pilning station. The station on the Severn Tunnel line was renamed Pilning High Level.
Pilning continued to have two stations from 1928 to 1964, when the line from Pilning to Severn Beach was closed. Pilning High Level station was then renamed Pilning.
From 1924 to 1966 Pilning High Level was the terminus of a car transport service through the tunnel to Severn Tunnel Junction.
Incidents
There have been a number of incidents at Pilning over the years.
- On 31 May 1874, a child, Arthur Edward Claypole, and a woman, Mrs Hall, fell from an express train at Pilning. The child had been leaning on the door when it opened. Hall made an attempt to catch him, but both fell onto the line. Claypole died from the injuries sustained.
- On 26 June 1893, a bottle of unwanted lemon squash was thrown from a passing train at Pilning, smashing against the woodwork of the signal box, causing shards of glass to hit signalman George Hann who suffered severe cuts to his neck and throat.
- On 15 February 1908, a platelayer was hit by a train near Pilning, sustaining a broken arm.
- On 27 August 1929, an eastbound goods train was pulling into Pilning when the driver, James Winnicombe of Taunton, collapsed and died.
- In early 1932, railway worker John Holbrook died in the workmen's cabin at Pilning. A verdict of death from natural causes was recorded.
- At 5am on 9 June 1933, a London, Midland and Scottish Railway excursion train from Worsley to Barnstaple caught fire after passing through the Severn Tunnel. The fire, which started in the restaurant car, spread to two other coaches. The train was stopped at Pilning, where the three burning carriages were removed to a siding and allowed to burn, also setting fire to the grass on the embankment. There were no injuries among the passengers, however an attendant was injured while attempting to rescue property from the affected carriages. The rest of the train continued to Barnstaple and arrived an hour late, however 70 passengers from the affected carriages had to be conveyed by a later train.
- On 17 April 1942, George Daniel Garland, a railway worker, was hit and killed by a train near Pilning. Garland had been part of a work gang spreading ashes on the track when he was hit. Witnesses stated that there had been no lookout, and that the train had not been heard due to high winds.
Future
It has been speculated that a decision was taken to close the station by stealth after the Severnside Stadium housing development stalled. This had been an extensive new housing project near the station and would have provided much commuter traffic from the area.
It was suggested that Severn Beach railway station has a much better service and is in fact nearer to most residential parts of the village of Pilning than Pilning station is; however, Severn Beach is a terminus station, and, unlike Pilning (prior to the removal of the footbridge), does not offer direct services to South Wales. Local residents continuously express their opinion that both Severn Beach and Pilning stations are important and needed.
See also
- Network Rail
Notes
References
External links
- Pilning Station campaign group
- Photos of Pilning station
Source of article : Wikipedia
0 Comments
