Everything about Barnstaple Railway Station totally explained
Barnstaple railway station is the terminus of a long branch line, known as the
Tarka Line 63 km (39 miles) north west of
Exeter St Davids, in
Devon.
The single platform is on the east (right) of trains arriving from
Exeter. There is level access to the station car park. The centre of
Barnstaple is reached by crossing the Long Bridge over the
River Taw 300 m from the station.
A footpath from the station leads onto the cycleway along the abandoned railway line to
Bideford which forms part of the
South West Coast Path.
The station is operated by
First Great Western.
History
A railway for goods traffic was operated from
Fremington Quay, opening in August
1848. On
1 August 1854 the
North Devon Railway opened from
Barnstaple to
Crediton. Trains were extended via Fremington to
Bideford on
2 November 1855. This route was eventually extended to loop back to
Okehampton via
Torrington and
Halwill Junction.
The station became
Barnstaple Junction on
20 July 1874 when the railway opened the
Ilfracombe branch line. The line crossed the river on a large bridge to a station at
Barnstaple Quay which in turn was replaced by
Barnstaple Town on an adjacent site in
1892 when the
narrow gauge Lynton and Barnstaple Railway was opened. This station is now a smart shopping centre.
On
1 June 1887 a loop line was laid to connect the station with the
Devon and Somerset Railway, later taken over by the
Great Western Railway, which had opened its own Barnstaple station at
Victoria Road as the terminus of the line from
Taunton on
1 November 1873.
The North Devon Railway was amalgamated into the
London and South Western Railway on
1 January 1865, this railway passing to the
Southern Railway in
1923 which was in turn
nationalised into
British Railways in
1948.
The Junction station was extended in
1874 for the
Ilfracombe services and again in
1924.
The first services to be withdrawn were the passenger trains to Bideford on
2 October 1965. Passenger services had been transferred from Victoria Road in January 1960 and the line to Taunton closed on
3 October 1966. Victoria Road remained open for goods traffic, accessed via the loop line from Barnstaple Junction, until
5 March 1970, when it closed entirely. The line to Ilfracombe was closed later that year, on
5 October 1970, and so the station became plain
Barnstaple once more.
On
21 May 1971 the track was simplified and the line to
Umberleigh was reduced to just one track. A new booking office was opened on
10 November 1981 but goods trains beyond on the Fremington line were withdrawn on
31 August 1982 leaving the station as a terminus.
In
2006 the bridges that carried Sticklepath Hill (the A3125) across the former Bideford and Ilfracombe lines were demolished to make way for a road junction for the
Barnstaple Western Bypass, which opened in
May 2007. The roundabout here has been built on a raised platform in order to allow for the reopening of the line to Bideford should this be proved viable in the future.
Services
Barnstaple is served by typically eleven trains each weekday and six on Sundays. Most services run to
Exmouth, passing through
Exeter St Davids railway station where connections with main line services are available.
Community railway
The railway between Exeter and Barnstaple is designated as a
community railway and is supported by marketing provided by the
Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership. The line is promoted under the "
Tarka Line" name.
Three
pubs at Barnstaple are included in the Tarka Line
rail ale trail.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Barnstaple Railway Station'.
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