Keynsham railway station
Keynsham  | |
|---|---|
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Looking towards Bath from the station footbridge in September 2016. | |
| Location | |
| Place | Keynsham |
| Local authority | District of Bath and North East Somerset |
| Coordinates | 51°25′05″N 2°29′43″W / 51.4180°N 2.4954°WCoordinates: 51°25′05″N 2°29′43″W / 51.4180°N 2.4954°W |
| Grid reference | ST655689 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | KYN |
| Managed by | Great Western Railway |
| Number of platforms | 2 |
| DfT category | F1 |
|
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries | |
| Annual rail passenger usage* | |
| 2009/10 |
 0.250 million |
| 2010/11 |
 0.279 million |
| 2011/12 |
0.306 million |
| 2012/13 |
0.329 million |
| 2013/14 |
0.358 million |
| History | |
| Original company | Great Western Railway |
| 31 August 1840 | Opened as Keynsham |
| 1 February 1925 | Renamed Keynsham and Somerdale |
| 6 May 1974 | Renamed Keynsham |
| National Rail – UK railway stations | |
| * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Keynsham from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
 UK Railways portal | |
Keynsham railway station is a railway station serving the town of Keynsham in Bath and North East Somerset, England. It is located on the London-Bristol and Bristol-Southampton trunk routes.
History
The station was opened on 31 August 1840 with the completion of the Great Western Railway line between Bristol and Bath. It was renamed Keynsham and Somerdale on 1 February 1925 with the opening of the Fry's chocolate factory at Somerdale, which had its own siding.[1] The station was rebuilt in 1931 to accommodate longer trains bringing in workers who had transferred from a factory in Bristol belonging to the company.[2]
The station's name reverted to Keynsham on 6 May 1974. By this time many workers had relocated to Keynsham, or commuted by car. The factory had its own rail system which was connected to the mainline. The connection to Fry's chocolate factory was taken out of use on 26–27 July 1980.[3] The trackbed of which can still be seen opposite the entrance to the station car park.
The station was rebuilt in 1985 as a joint project between British Rail and Avon County Council. The rebuilding provided a new brick built shelter on platform 2, a new footbridge and the enlargement of the car park. Further construction work began in mid-2009. In 2011 a campaign group was formed to gain improved access for the disabled at the station.[4] Recently a new disabled access ramp was built which provides wheelchair access between the footbridge and Platform 1. In addition to this, dot matrix display boards have been put up on both platforms. These displays are accompanied by audio announcements.
Services
Passenger services are operated by Great Western Railway[5] and South West Trains.[6]
Keynsham Station has at least an hourly service in each direction between Monday and Saturday, with roughly a 2 hourly service on Sunday. Destinations include: Brighton; Southampton; London Waterloo; Weymouth; Cardiff; Bath Spa; Gloucester; and Bristol Temple Meads. The majority of its services are a combination of 2 hourly Weymouth trains and 2 hourly Southampton trains eastbound and an hourly service to Bristol and Gloucester in the other direction. On summer Saturdays an extra train is put on between Bristol Temple Meads and Weymouth formed of a full 8-coach HST set, calling at Keynsham at 0914 and 2001 return, this train does not call at Freshford, Avoncliff, Thornford, Yetminster, Chetnole or Upwey. There is one direct service from London Paddington on Monday to Friday that calls here at 0810. There is no return service.[7] Passengers wishing to travel to London should either change at Bath or travel on the direct services to London Waterloo which are operated by South West Trains.
It is common to see a range of different train classes. These include: Class 43; Class 150; Class 153; Class 158; Class 159. Keynsham also used to be a stop on West Coast Railway Company's Weymouth Seaside Expess on Summer Sundays from July to September, although this train hasn't run since the railway upgrade works east of Bath in August 2015.
| Preceding station | National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol Temple Meads | South West Trains Bristol Temple Meads - London Waterloo |
Bath Spa | ||
| Great Western Railway Great Malvern/Gloucester - Westbury/South Coast |
Oldfield Park | |||
Electrification
As part of the electrification of the Great Western Main Line, the line through Keynsham closed for 1 week in April 2016 so Network Rail could carry out preparation work for the installation of the overhead wires. This involved the lowering of the track under the road bridge and the replacement of the canopy on platform 1. Also the brick shelter on the Bath platform was made bigger.[8][9] The canopy on Platform 2 was removed between 14 and 18 March 2016.
Bus links
The following bus services stop just outside the station on Station Road:
- 17 Keynsham to Southmead Hospital via Hanham[10]
- 19A Bath to Cribbs Causeway via Oldland Common, North Common, Kingswood[11]
All the services are operated by First Bus. First Bus services 38, 38A, 39 and 178 stop in the town centre just a short walk away.
References
- ↑ Leitch, Russell (1997). Railways of Keynsham: Featuring Fry's Chocolate Passenger and Freight Operations. The Railway Correspondence and Travel Society. ISBN 978-0901115829.
- ↑ "Keynsham & Somerdale Railway Station in 1932". Time Capsules. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- ↑ "Keynsham". Bristol Rail. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- ↑ "9 Nov 2011 : Column 386". Hansard. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- ↑ "Keynsham". Great Western Railway. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
- ↑ "Keynsham". South West Trains. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
- ↑ "Timetable C1 (15 May - 14 December 2016)" (PDF). Great Western Railway. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ↑ "The Week In (issue 407)" (PDF). The Week In. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
- ↑ "Bristol and Bath railway modernisation April 2016". Great Western Railway. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
- ↑ "17" (PDF). First Group. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
- ↑ "19A" (PDF). First Group. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
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