Gloucester railway station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gloucester | |
| |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Place | Gloucester |
| Local authority | Gloucester |
| Operations | |
| Station code | GCR |
| Managed by | First Great Western |
| Platforms in use | 4 |
| Annual entry/exit | 0.810 million * |
| National Rail - UK railway stations | |
| * based on sales of tickets in 2004/05 financial year which end or originate at Gloucester. Disclaimer (PDF) | |
Gloucester railway station (formerly known as Gloucester Central station) serves the city of Gloucester. The station is unusual as it is located off the main Bristol-Birmingham line, meaning trains that call at Gloucester usually have to reverse. Only trains that continue along the line to Chepstow do not have to reverse. At 602.69 metres (1977 ft. 4 ins.) Gloucester has the longest railway platform in Great Britain. The reason for this extreme length is due to a break-of-gauge between the Great Western Railway (7ft 0¼ in (2140 mm)) and London Midland and Scottish Railway (4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm)) tracks here prior to the latter's adoption as standard gauge in 1892.
The footbridge had a direct connection into Gloucester Eastgate railway station until that station closed in 1975, due to level crossings affecting the city's road traffic. Eastgate station provided sharply curved through platforms on the Bristol-Birmingham (former Midland Railway) Line, avoiding the current problems with trains having to reverse.
The station is served by several operators.
- Arriva Trains Wales operate an hourly local service between Maesteg, Cardiff Central and Gloucester.
- Central Trains operate an hourly Cardiff-Nottingham "Citylink" service with 2 trains in the early morning stopping at Lydney, Chepstow, Caldicot and Severn Tunnel Junction.
- First Great Western operate services to London Paddington and local services to Swindon via the Golden Valley Line, and an hourly Weston-Super-Mare & Bristol to Worcester & Great Malvern service.
- Virgin Trains serve the city as part of their Cross-Country operations. However, only 1 train in each direction stops at Gloucester a day as this avoids the train having to reverse (Thus the intention of the new Gloucestershire Parkway station located on the main Bristol to Birmingham line just before the branch). Instead passengers for Gloucester have to change at Cheltenham Spa for a connecting service.
Contents |
[edit] Current Services & Ticket Office Information
Gloucester station is served on a Monday to Friday by:
> about 6 trains every hour
> a 2-hourly service to/from Ashchurch, Worcester & Great Malvern provided by First Great Western, former Wessex Trains routes
> a 2-hourly service to/from London with an infrequent additional service to/from Swindon, also provided by First Great Western
> 1 train a day in each direction to/from Plymouth & Edinburgh by Virgin Trains
> an hourly service to/from Weston-Super-Mare & Bristol
> 1 slow (Arriva Trains Wales) and 1 fast (Central Trains) service an hour to Cardiff
> an hourly Central Trains service to/from Nottingham
> 2/3 trains an hour to/from Cheltenham Spa.
The station does have a ticket office, located just inside the Station entrance, which is open for the majority of the day 7 days a week:
Monday - Friday: 0600 to 2000
Saturday: 0600 to 1930
Sunday: 0900 to 2030
The station is also staffed for about 19 hours a day, opening at 0530 on Mondays to Saturdays and 0800 on Sundays.
Ticket Machines can be found in the booking hall itself.
Snacks & Drinks are also served in the cafe on platform 2.
[edit] Greater Western Franchise New Timetable from December 2006
From December 2006, First Great Western's new timetable will come into effect. It will bring in a number of improvements for train services at Gloucester, including:
> A new hourly clockface timetable between Cheltenham & Swindon, with a train every 2 hours during the day continuing to Reading & London, thus also giving an extra train an hour to/from Cheltenham. This timetable also gives Stonehouse, Stroud & Kemble a solid hourly train.
> All Weston-Super-Mare to Great Malvern local journeys will extend to Taunton with some to Exeter, giving an hourly sevice at Highbridge & Burnham and Bridgewater. A constant 2-hourly timetable to Ashchurch, Worcester & Great Malvern has been kept. A new hourly-clockface service at Cam & Dursley has also been introduced.
[edit] Further Service Changes at Gloucester
In 2007, the Central Trains franchise will end and will be split up into the Virgin Cross Country route and other routes as well. Further changes to services can be expected then.
[edit] External links
- Train times and station information for Gloucester railway station from National Rail
- Map and aerial photo of Gloucester railway station from Multimap.com
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lydney | Arriva Trains Wales Maesteg-Cardiff-Gloucester | Terminus | ||
| Lydney Limited Service in the early morning | Central Trains Cardiff-Nottingham | Cheltenham Spa | ||
| Newport | Central Trains Cardiff-Nottingham | Cheltenham Spa | ||
| Stonehouse | First Great Western Intercity services Golden Valley Line | Cheltenham Spa | ||
| Cam and Dursley | First Great Western Local services Weston-Super-Mare - Great Malvern | Cheltenham Spa | ||
| Stonehouse | First Great Western Local services Golden Valley Line | Cheltenham Spa | ||
| Stonehouse | First Great Western Local services Cheltenham-Swindon-Westbury (from 11 December) | Cheltenham Spa | ||
| Bristol Parkway | Virgin Trains Cross-Country Route Limited Service at Gloucester 1 train a day in each direction | Cheltenham Spa | ||
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