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Kemble railway station

Coordinates: 51°40′34″N 2°01′23″W / 51.676°N 2.023°W / 51.676; -2.023
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Kemble
General information
LocationGloucestershire
Coordinates51°40′34″N 2°01′23″W / 51.676°N 2.023°W / 51.676; -2.023
Managed byGreat Western Railway
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeKEM
History
Original companyGreat Western Railway
Key dates
1882Opened
1964Tetbury branch closed
1964Cirencester branch closed

Kemble railway station is a railway station that serves the village of Kemble in Gloucestershire, England. The station is on the Swindon to Gloucester "Golden Valley" line. Despite its rural location, Kemble station has a high number of passengers, due mainly to the proximity of Cirencester.

History

The station was opened by the Great Western Railway (GWR) as an exchange station on 12 May 1845 with the line opening from Swindon to Gloucester. Only on 1 May 1882 did it become a public station replacing the nearby Tetbury Road.[1] Until the 1960s the station was a junction, with branch lines to Cirencester Town and Tetbury. Both the Tetbury branch line and the Cirencester Branch Line were closed to traffic under The Reshaping of British Railways, the first day without service being 6 April 1964.

Diesel-hauled Up stopping train in 1962
Diesel and steam in 1962
Signals at Kemble Station
Platforms at Kemble Station

British Rail reduced the line to Swindon to single track in 1968 but the second track was reinstated in 2014 (see Golden Valley Line).

Description

The former Cirencester platform at Kemble, June 2009

The station has two platforms in use. The former Tetbury bound platform remains but the track has been lifted. The building on the down platform (no. 2) has been out of use for several years, containing toilets and a waiting room, which are still in situ. On the former Cirencester platform, a short stub of track remains for the occasional stabling of track machines. This ends at a buffer stop just before the station car park. In 2013, Cotswold District Council refused an application by Network Rail to demolish part of the Grade II listed Cirencester bay platform in connection with the redoubling of the line from Swindon.[2] According to the Council, the platform was still in a good state of repair and any public benefit from the demolition would not outweigh the damage that would be caused to the historical significance of the station.[2] The station has a ticket office and a small café. The limestone bridge, at the south end of the station, was Grade II listed from 5 Nov 2015[3] and the station[4] and water tank from 27 Feb 1986.[5]

Services

Great Western Railway operates services from London Paddington to Gloucester and Cheltenham Spa using HST trains and local services from Swindon to Gloucester and Cheltenham Spa using the Great Western Railway Class 150, Class 153 and Class 158 DMUs.

Kemble station is served on a Monday to Friday by:

Making an off peak service of one train every two hours to London, with trains to Swindon, Cheltenham and Gloucester every hour. The station is occasionally served by Cardiff Central / Swansea services diverted during engineering works. On Sundays there are twelve trains each way, seven of which run to or from London.

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Swindon   Great Western Railway
London/Swindon - Cheltenham
  Stroud
  Great Western Railway
Cheltenham-Westbury
 
  Historical railways  
Tetbury Road
Line open, station closed
  Great Western Railway
Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway
  Minety and Ashton Keynes
Line open, station closed
Terminus     Oaksey Halt
Line open, station closed
Disused railways
Park Leaze Halt
Line and station closed
  Great Western Railway
Cirencester Branch Line
  Terminus
Jackament's Bridge Halt
Line and station closed
  Great Western Railway
Tetbury branch line
  Terminus

References

  1. ^ Quick, Michael (2009). Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain. p. 229.
  2. ^ a b Milner, Chris (August 2013). "Platform demolition refused". The Railway Magazine. 159 (1, 348): 89.
  3. ^ "Railway bridge approximately 110m south of Kemble Station, Kemble - 1429827| Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  4. ^ "KEMBLE STATION, Kemble - 1304289| Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  5. ^ "WATER TANK ON WEST PLATFORM OF KEMBLE STATION, Kemble - 1089288| Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  6. ^ Table 125 National Rail timetable, May 2016