Copplestone railway station is on the Tarka Line serving the village of Copplestone in Devon, England. It is on the Tarka Line to between Yeoford and Morchard Road, from , measured via Andover. The station and trains are operated by Great Western Railway. The station is on the northern edge of Copplestone.
History
The station was opened by the North Devon Railway on 1 August 1854. The railway was single track. A passing loop was provided at Copplestone but there was initially only one platform. A second platform was added and in 1873 a ten-lever signal box was built at the northern end of the new platform where there was a view of the goods yard on the other side of the line. Ten years later the line from Copplestone to was doubled, the second track being ready for use on 4 November 1883.
The goods yard closed on 6 September 1965. The double track was taken out of use on 17 October 1971 and the signal box closed. The remains of the second platform can still be seen but there is no track on that side of the station.
Rail campaign group Railfuture propose that Copplestone should have improved parking and public transport facilities, to provide connections to other local communities in the area, including Bow.
1861 accident On 16 July 1861 the 06:30 train from was waiting at the platform when the 07:45 train from was routed onto the same line. Thirteen passengers and a guard on the second train were injured in the collision. The signalman was imprisoned for a month after admitting causing the accident during a lapse of concentration. The points and signals were not interlocked at that time, but a second platform was added and in 1873 a ten-lever signal box was built at the northern end of the new platform where there was a view of the goods yard on the other side of the line. Ten years later the line from Copplestone to was doubled, the second track being ready for use on 4 November 1883.
Facilities The station has a small car park and cycle storage, a shelter and a help point. As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.
Services All services at Copplestone are operated by Great Western Railway. There is generally one train per hour in each direction between and but a very small number of services continue to or from other routes in East Devon on weekdays.
Community railway The railway between Exeter and Barnstaple is designated as a community railway and is supported by marketing provided by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership. The line is promoted as the Tarka Line.
Passenger volume +Passenger volume at Copplestone2004–052005–062006–072007–082008–092009–102010–112011–122012–132013–142014–152015–162016–172017–182018–192019–202020–212021–222022–232023–242024–25Entries and exits3561,0902,2834,5637,4228,16410,02412,68210,99014,05813,47612,30413,52215,26217,86819,4388,66223,06830,38035,01441,732 The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.
References
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