Digby and Sowton railway station

Digby and Sowton
Digby and Sowton
Location
Place	Digby
Local authority	Exeter
Coordinates	50.714°N 3.474°W
Grid reference	SX960914
Operations
Station code	DIG
Managed by	Great Western Railway
Number of platforms	1
DfT category	F1
	Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections; from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15	0.572 million
2015/16	0.561 million
2016/17	0.589 million
2017/18	0.631 million
2018/19	0.666 million
History
Original company	Railtrack
23 May 1995	Opened
	National Rail – UK railway stations
	* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Digby and Sowton from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

Digby and Sowton railway station is on the Avocet Line in Devon, England. The station is unstaffed[1] and an automated ticket machine sells tickets for immediate travel. As a result of this, the station is part of a new Penalty Fare Zone, where passengers could be charged a £20 penalty fare if a ticket is not purchased, prior to joining the train.

Exeter railway stations

to Exmouth

West of England line

to London Waterloo via Salisbury

Pinhoe

St James Park

Exeter Central

Bristol–Exeter line

to Bristol and London Paddington

Exeter St Davids

Tarka Line

to Barnstaple

Exeter St Thomas

Riviera Line

to Paignton

&

Exeter–Plymouth line

to Plymouth and Penzance

History

A small station known as Clyst St Mary and Digby Halt was opened by the London and South Western Railway on 1 June 1908 to serve Clyst St Mary and Digby Hospital. The 120 foot (37 m) long platforms were built from old railway sleepers. It was closed by the new British Railways on 27 September 1948.[2]

The present Digby and Sowton station was funded by Devon County Council and Tesco Stores Limited; construction began on 9 November 1994 and it opened on 23 May 1995.[3] It is situated about 380 yards (350 m) south of the site of the old station to serve new housing on the site of the now closed psychiatric hospital, and also a light industrial estate at nearby Sowton.

The station was operated by Wessex Trains, until 31 March 2006 when First Great Western took over the franchise.

Description

The station serves the Sowton Industrial Estate via a long foot/cycle path that runs along the railway line and the housing estates around the former Digby Hospital through a step free access bridge, with divided sections for cycles and pedestrians.

The station is also a short walk to/from the Sandy Park rugby ground, the home of the Exeter Chiefs.

In 2009, it was included in a two-year scheme to improve local railway stations. Shelter space for passengers was doubled, better surface and lighting was installed, and a new footpath was created.[1] The cycle network connecting stations along the Avocet Line from Exmouth to Exeter, including the Digby and Sowton station, was improved.[1]

Passenger volume

There has been considerable growth in passenger usage of Digby & Sowton. During the twelve months ended March 2003, over 120,000 people used the station, and this doubled within five years.[4] In 2009, over 275,000 passengers used the rail station, making it one of the busiest unstaffed railway stations in the area.[1]

	2002-03	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08
Entries	60,818	68,208	78,811	101,063	125,299
Exits	59,687	66,596	77,011	100,891	122,153
Total	120,505	134,804	155,822	201,954	247,452

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

The station is served by all trains on the Avocet Line between Exmouth, Exeter St Davids and Paignton.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Polsloe Bridge		Great Western Railway Avocet Line		Newcourt

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References

"Exeter rail station wins revamp cash". Express & Echo. 20 August 2009.
Oakley, Mike (2007). Devon Railway Stations. Wimbourne: The Dovecote Press. ISBN 978-1-904349-55-6.
Maggs, Colin G. (1997) [1980]. The Exeter and Exmouth Railway. Locomotion Papers. Usk: Oakwood Press. p. 41. ISBN 0-85361-430-X. LP203.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
"Station Usage". Rail Statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Retrieved 13 March 2009.

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[revamp-1] "Exeter rail station wins revamp cash". Express & Echo. 20 August 2009.

[2] Oakley, Mike (2007). Devon Railway Stations. Wimbourne: The Dovecote Press. ISBN 978-1-904349-55-6.

[3] Maggs, Colin G. (1997) [1980]. The Exeter and Exmouth Railway. Locomotion Papers. Usk: Oakwood Press. p. 41. ISBN 0-85361-430-X. LP203.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

[4] "Station Usage". Rail Statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Retrieved 13 March 2009.