Bere Alston railway station
![]() Looking west towards the junction | |||||
General information | |||||
Location | Bere Alston, West Devon England | ||||
Coordinates | 50°29′10″N 4°12′00″W / 50.486°N 4.200°W | ||||
Grid reference | SX440674 | ||||
Managed by | Great Western Railway | ||||
Platforms | 1 | ||||
Other information | |||||
Station code | BAS | ||||
Classification | DfT category F2 | ||||
Passengers | |||||
2018/19 | ![]() | ||||
2019/20 | ![]() | ||||
2020/21 | ![]() | ||||
2021/22 | ![]() | ||||
2022/23 | ![]() | ||||
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Bere Alston railway station serves the village of Bere Alston in Devon, England, 10+1⁄4 miles (16.5 km) north of Plymouth on the Tamar Valley Line to Gunnislake.
The route escaped complete closure in the 1960s mainly because places on the line have relatively poor road connections. However, one section of the branch, beyond Gunnislake to Callington, did not survive.
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/Bere_Alston_station%2C_Devon%2C_1930.jpg/220px-Bere_Alston_station%2C_Devon%2C_1930.jpg)
Beer Alston station was opened for passengers on 2 June 1890 by the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway as an intermediate station on that company's line from Lydford to Devonport,[1] which – being in effect an extension of the London and South Western Railway's main line from London Waterloo station to Lydford, enabling the LSWR to reach Plymouth independently of the Great Western Railway – was immediately leased to the LSWR. Bere Alston station was 220 miles and 15 chains (354.35 km) from Waterloo.
The station was originally called Beer Alston after the local Beer family who owned several nearby villages. However, in 1897, the railway authorities of the time decided that this name promoted an unrefined image of the village due to the association with beer, and therefore changed the name to Bere Alston in 1898.[2]
On 2 March 1908 it became a junction, with the opening of a branch line to
The
Services
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/18/Bere_Alston_150127.jpg/220px-Bere_Alston_150127.jpg)
Bere Alston is served by trains on the Tamar Valley Line from Gunnislake to Plymouth. Connections with main line services can be made at Plymouth. In 2023 there are nine services each way on Mondays to Fridays, eight on Saturdays and five on Sundays (with an extra evening trip from May to early September).[4]
Preceding station | ![]() |
Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Calstock | Great Western Railway Tamar Valley Line |
Train Reverses | ||
Bere Ferrers | ||||
Disused railways | ||||
Bere Ferrers | Southern Region Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway |
Tavistock North |
Community railway
The railway from Plymouth to Gunnislake is designated as a
The Edgcumbe
Proposed reopening to Tavistock
In March 2008 Devon County Council backed a proposal by developers
There have also been proposals put forward to reopen the entire route through to Okehampton and Exeter St Davids as a diversionary/relief route to maintain the rail link between Plymouth and Cornwall and the rest of the UK should the coastal main line via Dawlish be blocked by bad weather, as was the case in early 2014.[8]
References
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- ^ Cheesman, AJ (1967). The Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway. Blandford Forum: Oakwood Press.
- ^ Clinker, CR (1963). The Railways of Cornwall 1809 - 1963. Dawlish: David and Charles.
- ISBN 0-904662-14-4.
- ^ Table 137 National Rail timetable, May 2023
- ^ "Tamar Valley Line Rail Ale Trail". Great scenic railways - Devon & Cornwall. Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ Harris, Nigel (2008). "Taking trains back to Tavistock". Rail (590). Bauer: 40–45.
- ^ White, Laura (13 October 2023). "Tavistock to Bere Alston line to be reinstated". The Moorlander. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ "Storm-hit Dawlish: Where could a second rail line run?" Gallagher, Neil; BBC News article 12-03-2014; Retrieved 2014-03-28