Stonehouse railway station

Stonehouse railway station serves the town of Stonehouse in Gloucestershire, England. The station is a stop on the Golden Valley Line between Swindon and Gloucester; it is located 104 miles 74 chains (168.9 km) down the line from London Paddington.[1]

Stonehouse
National Rail
General information
LocationStonehouse, Stroud
England
Coordinates51°44′46″N 2°16′48″W / 51.746°N 2.280°W / 51.746; -2.280
Grid referenceSO808052
Managed byGreat Western Railway
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeSHU
ClassificationDfT category E
Key dates
1 June 1845opened
17 Sept.1951renamed Stonehouse Burdett Road
6 May 1968renamed Stonehouse
Passengers
2018/19Increase 0.166 million
2019/20Increase 0.174 million
2020/21Decrease 40,100
2021/22Increase 0.123 million
2022/23Increase 0.157 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

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A 1909 Railway Clearing House map of railways in the vicinity of Stonehouse, shown here as G.W. STA.

The station was formerly called Stonehouse Burdett Road to distinguish it from a second station, Stonehouse (Bristol Road), on the line between Bristol and Gloucester. Stonehouse Bristol Road closed to passengers under the Beeching Axe in 1965 and to goods traffic the following year.

Description

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The station has two platforms, and is operated by Great Western Railway. The station has a ticket office, located on the Gloucester-bound platform; it is normally only open in the mornings, until the end of the peak period.

The platforms were originally short: only about 55 yards (50 m) each. This was long enough to accommodate the two-coach trains used on SwindonCheltenham Spa local services; but Class 800s running to or from London or Cheltenham Spa may be up to nine coaches. Since long trains cannot be accommodated entirely, such trains running towards Gloucester stopped with the front two coaches in the platform, and those running toward London normally stop with the rear two in the platform. Passengers intending to alight at Stonehouse are advised earlier in their journeys to proceed along the train to the relevant coaches.[2] Since trains from Cheltenham reverse at Gloucester, this can lead to confusion for cyclists as to which end of the train in which to load their bicycles.[3]

Station upgrade

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In December 2017 the station completed a £300,000 upgrade. The work included ground levelling, improved access and a new footbridge.[4]

In 2018, improvements were made to the provision of service information for passengers, comprising the installation of LED dot-matrix passenger information screens and the provision of automated announcements.

Works to extend the short platforms by around 100m were completed in 2019.[5] These changes were required for introduction of Class 166 trains, which are longer than the previous rolling stock used on the line.

Services

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Great Western Railway operate services from London Paddington to Gloucester and Cheltenham Spa using Class 800s, and limited local services from Swindon to Gloucester and Cheltenham using Class 165 two carriage sets. Trains call hourly in each direction Mon-Sat. On Sundays, hourly services between Cheltenham and Swindon with 3 services a day onwards to Paddington.

Preceding station   National Rail Following station
Gloucester   Great Western Railway
London/Swindon - Cheltenham
  Stroud
  Great Western Railway
Cheltenham-Westbury
 
  Historical railways  
Gloucester
Line and station open
  Great Western Railway
Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway
  Ebley Crossing Halt
Line open, station closed

References

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  1. ^ Padgett, David (June 2018) [1989]. Munsey, Myles (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 3: Western & Wales (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. map 16C. ISBN 978-1-9996271-0-2.
  2. ^ "Short platform stopping changes for High Speed Trains". First Great Western. 3 June 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2009.
  3. ^ "Cycling by train" (PDF). First Great Western. 9 December 2007. pp. 3–5. Retrieved 5 August 2009.
  4. ^ "Over £300,000 station improvements completed at Stonehouse". Stroud News and Journal. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  5. ^ "Plans to bring 'vital investment' to district by extending platform at Stonehouse rail station met with approval". Stroud News and Journal. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
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