Hayle railway station

Hayle railway station serves the small town of Hayle, Cornwall, United Kingdom. Great Western Railway manage the station and operate most train services.

Not to be confused with Hale railway station.

Hayle
Looking east
Location
Place	Hayle
Local authority	Cornwall
Coordinates	50.186°N 5.420°W / 50.186; -5.420
Grid reference	SW559372
Operations
Station code	HYL
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*
2014/15	87,948
2015/16	81,734
2016/17	79,198
2017/18	82,714
2018/19	83,446
History
Original company	West Cornwall Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Western Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
Opened	1852
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Hayle from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

It is on the Cornish Main Line 7 miles (11 km) north-east of Penzance, where the line terminates from Plymouth. It is 319 miles (513 km) measured from London Paddington via Bristol Temple Meads.

History

The station was opened by the West Cornwall Railway on 11 March 1852 when it replaced the original Hayle Railway terminus, located in what is now the Isis RNLI Memorial Gardens. It was demolished shortly after the end of World War II.

During the 19th century, Hayle was a busy junction with goods lines running all round the town, many connecting from the embankment which is still visible behind the 'up' platform. However, the decline of shipping in the Hayle estuary meant that these freight lines were no longer of any use and were closed in 1981.[1] Hayle signal box was closed and demolished at the same time.

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
St Erth		Great Western Railway Cornish Main Line		Gwinear Road

Description

The main entrance is to the platform served by trains to Penzance, which is approached by a road from Foundry Square. A footpath allows level access to the other platform too, and this continues along the route of a closed railway track down towards the wharves opposite a bridge which leads across the water to the Towans.

A camping coach adjacent to the westbound platform offers holiday accommodation.

Services

An FGW Class 150 at Hayle with a service to Plymouth

Hayle is served by many of the Great Western Railway trains on the Cornish Main Line between Penzance and Plymouth. Some trains run through to or from London Paddington station, including the Night Riviera overnight sleeping car service which only calls when going westbound to Penzance.

There are a few trains each day operated by CrossCountry providing a service to and from the North of England and Scotland.[2]

References

1. BR Past and Present no. 17 Cornwall by D.Mitchell page 135
2. Table 135 National Rail timetable, May 2016

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
St Erth		Great Western Railway Cornish Main Line		Camborne
		CrossCountry Cornish Main Line

This station offers access to the South West Coast Path
Distance to path	100 yards (91 m)
Next station anticlockwise	Lelant Saltings 2 miles (3 km)
Next station clockwise	Newquay 35 miles (56 km)