St Budeaux Victoria Road railway station

St Budeaux Victoria Road railway station is a suburban station in St Budeaux, Plymouth, Devon, England. The station is managed and served by Great Western Railway.

For the station on the Cornish Main Line, see St Budeaux Ferry Road railway station.

St Budeaux Victoria Road
Location
Place	St Budeaux
Local authority	Plymouth
Coordinates	50.402°N 4.188°W / 50.402; -4.188
Grid reference	SX446581
Operations
Station code	SBV
Managed by	Great Western Railway
Number of platforms	1
DfT category	F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15	10,332
2015/16	10,376
2016/17	8,034
2017/18	7,968
2018/19	9,376
History
Key dates	Opened 1890 (1890)
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at St Budeaux Victoria Road from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

History

The Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway opened its St Budeaux station on 2 June 1890 with its main line from Lydford to Devonport,[1][2] which gave the London and South Western Railway a route into Plymouth that was independent of the Great Western Railway. The station was close to the road to the Saltash ferry across the River Tamar.

A connection to the Great Western Railway was installed east of the station on 21 March 1941 to offer the two companies alternative routes between Plymouth and St Budeaux should either line be closed due to bombing during World War II. On 7 September 1964 the original line into Devonport was closed, and all trains use the former Great Western route and the wartime connection to reach St Budeaux, renamed St Budeaux Victoria Road to differentiate it from St Budeaux Ferry Road, opened by the Great Western Railway on 1 June 1904.[3] Weston Mill Halt had been the first stop on the old L&SWR line east to Plymouth Friary between 1906 and 1921.

The line from St Budeaux to Bere Alston was singled on 7 September 1970, services having ceased beyond there (towards Tavistock North and Okehampton) in May 1968.

Description

There is a single platform, on the left of trains arriving from Plymouth.

Trains heading towards Bere Alston must collect the branch train staff from a secure cabinet on the platform before proceeding, as the line is operated on the one train working system with only a single unit allowed on the branch at a time. Conversely the staff has to be returned to the cabinet by the driver on the return journey before the unit can leave the branch and return to Plymouth.[4] This operation was shown in an episode of the Channel 5 documentary series "The Railway - First Great Western" in October 2013.

Services

The station is on the Tamar Valley Line from Gunnislake to Plymouth. Connections with main line services can be made at Plymouth, although a small number of trains continue to or from Exeter St Davids.[5]

Passengers travelling into Cornwall can change at Plymouth, and there are also a few trains from St Budeaux Ferry Road railway station, less than 100 yards (100 m) away.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Keyham		Great Western Railway Tamar Valley Line		Bere Ferrers

Community railway

The Tamar Valley Line is designated as a community railway and is supported by marketing provided by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership. Two pubs on the banks of the River Tamar at St Budeaux are part of the Tamar Valley Line rail ale trail, which is designed to promote the use of the line. The line is part of the Dartmoor Sunday Rover network of integrated bus and rail routes.[6]

See also

• Exeter to Plymouth railway of the LSWR

References

1. Cheesman, AJ (1967). The Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway. Blandford Forum: Oakwood Press.
2. Crombleholme, Roger; Gibson, Bryan; Stickey, Douglas; Whetmath, CFD (1967). Callington Railways. Brackenll: Forge Books.
3. Oakley, Mike (2007). Devon Railway Stations. Wimbourne: The Dovecote Press. ISBN 978-1-904349-55-6.
4. Fenton, Mike (5 May 2017). "Branch line Focus: Rails to Gunnislake". The Railway Magazine. Mortons Media Group Ltd. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
5. Table 139 National Rail timetable, May 2016
6. Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership (2006), Tamar Valley Line Rail Ale Trail

Further reading

• Mosley, Brian (14 July 2006). "St Budeaux Victoria Road Station". Encyclopedia of Plymouth History. Plymouth Data. Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2015.