Honeybourne railway station
Honeybourne FGW 43164 leads a Paddington to Hereford service through Platform 1 in July 2013. | |||||
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General information | |||||
Location | Honeybourne, Wychavon England | ||||
Coordinates | 52°06′04″N 1°50′06″W / 52.101°N 1.835°W | ||||
Grid reference | SP114448 | ||||
Managed by | Great Western Railway | ||||
Platforms | 2 | ||||
Other information | |||||
Station code | HYB | ||||
Classification | DfT category F2 | ||||
History | |||||
Original company | Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway | ||||
Pre-grouping | Great Western Railway | ||||
Post-grouping | Great Western Railway | ||||
Key dates | |||||
4 June 1853 | Opened | ||||
5 May 1969 | Closed | ||||
22 May 1981 | Reopened | ||||
Passengers | |||||
2018/19 | ![]() | ||||
2019/20 | ![]() | ||||
2020/21 | ![]() | ||||
2021/22 | ![]() | ||||
2022/23 | ![]() | ||||
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Honeybourne railway station serves the village of
The station was closed in 1969, after the withdrawal of stopping services to Stratford-upon Avon and closure to freight. The whole of the Stratford to Cheltenham line was closed in late August 1976, after derailment of some wagons on a goods train damaged a section of the track. Honeybourne was reopened in 1981, in connection with residential development near the station. The Heritage
History
Opening and expansion
Honeybourne was one of the original stations opened on 4 June 1853 by the
The original station layout at Honeybourne was basic: a two platform station on the
A 40-foot (12 m)
With the opening of the Cheltenham line as far as
Decline and closure
Honeybourne generated very little traffic of its own and the agricultural produce that it did handle was dwarfed by interchange returns.
The station became unstaffed from 16 January 1967.
Present day
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/HoneybourneStation_1998%E2%80%932015.png/269px-HoneybourneStation_1998%E2%80%932015.png)
Residential development around Honeybourne partly due to its proximity to
By the turn of the 21st century, passenger numbers at Honeybourne were slowly increasing: from an estimated 13,360 in 1997–98 to an estimated 22,077 in 2004–05. Since then the number of passengers using the station has increased rapidly, and the estimated total for 2018–19 was more than 66,000.[47] Estimated passenger totals have risen by 78% in 10 years and trebled in 14 years.
Until 22 August 2011 only a single platform face was in use at the station. However, as part of a £67 million project to redouble the Cotswold Line between Evesham and Moreton-in-Marsh and
The track to the east remains as a link to the large ex-Ministry of Defence depot at Long Marston.[56] The Stratford on Avon and Broadway Railway Society aimed to adopt this stretch as a heritage railway and restore the line to Stratford. The society has since been dissolved, however, leaving any heritage connection to be made by the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway.
The Shakespeare Line Promotion Group is promoting a scheme to reinstate the 9 miles (14 km) "missing Link" between Honeybourne and Stratford. Called the "Avon Rail Link", the scheme (supported as a freight diversionary route by DB Schenker[57]) would make Stratford-upon-Avon railway station a through station once again with improved connections to the Cotswolds and the South.[58] The scheme faces local opposition.[59] There is, however, a good business case for Stratford-Cotswolds link.[60]
Passenger services at Honeybourne are operated by Great Western Railway.
Preceding station | ![]() |
Following station | ||
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Evesham | Great Western Railway Hereford - Oxford |
Moreton-in-Marsh | ||
Historical railways | ||||
Littleton and Badsey Line open, station closed |
Great Western Railway Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway |
Mickleton Halt Line open, station closed | ||
Disused railways | ||||
Pebworth Halt Line open, station closed |
Honeybourne Line
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Weston-sub-Edge Line and station closed | ||
![]() |
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Terminus | Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway Broadway to Honeybourne extension |
Weston-sub-Edge Line and station closed | ||
Proposed reopening | ||||
Stratford-upon-Avon Line closed, station open |
Avon Rail Link | TBD |
References
Notes
- ^ Jenkins & Quayle 1977, p. 36.
- ^ a b c Butt 1995, p. 122.
- ^ Jenkins & Quayle 1977, p. 63.
- ^ Awdry 1990, p. 39.
- ^ Jenkins & Quayle 1977, p. 66.
- ^ Awdry 1990, p. 51.
- ^ a b c d Potts 1985, p. 86.
- ^ Baker 1994, p. 62.
- ^ a b c Baker 1994, p. 63.
- ^ Oppitz 2004, p. 35.
- ^ Baker 1994, p. 31.
- ^ Yorke 2009, p. 82.
- ^ Maggs & Nicholson 1985, p. 17.
- ^ Maggs & Nicholson 1985, p. 62.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Potts 1985, p. 89.
- ^ a b c Maggs & Nicholson 1985, p. 91.
- ^ a b c d Siviter 2003, p. 78.
- ^ a b c Mitchell & Smith 2005, fig. 39.
- ^ a b c Maggs & Nicholson 1985, p. 37.
- ^ Baker 1994, pp. 65–66.
- ^ a b c Maggs & Nicholson 1985, p. 59.
- ^ Baker 1994, pp. 63, 68.
- ^ Potts 1985, p. 71.
- ^ Baker 1994, pp. 71–72.
- ^ Yorke 2009, p. 85.
- ^ Baker 1994, pp. 60, 64.
- ^ a b Baker 1994, p. 64.
- ^ Baker 1994, pp. 67–68.
- ^ Baker 1994, pp. 64–65.
- ^ Baker 1994, p. 75.
- ^ Oppitz 2004, p. 37.
- ^ a b Yorke 2009, p. 92.
- ^ Baker 1994, p. 136.
- ^ Clinker 1978, p. 64.
- ^ Potts 1985, pp. 89–90.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Potts 1985, p. 90.
- ^ Baker 1994, pp. 68, 75.
- ^ a b c Baker 1994, p. 71.
- ^ Baker 1994, p. 73.
- ^ Baker 1994, p. 69.
- ^ Oppitz 2004, p. 38.
- ^ a b Maggs & Nicholson 1985, p. 39.
- ^ Baker 1994, pp. 69, 75.
- ^ a b Baker 1994, p. 79.
- ^ Whitehouse & Dowling 1994, p. 90.
- ^ Yorke 2009, p. 93.
- ^ Office of Rail and Road data: see infobox at head of article.
- ^ Abbott 2011, pp. 84–85.
- ^ Stretton 2011, pp. 15–16.
- ^ a b Bridge 2011, p. 89.
- ^ Stretton 2011, p. 15.
- ^ Crowder, Ian (20 August 2011). "Double track at Honeybourne once again – and passive provision for GWSR". Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway. Archived from the original on 1 July 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
- ^ Abbott 2011, p. 85.
- ^ Stretton 2011, p. 16.
- ^ Piggott 2011, p. 9.
- ^ Mitchell & Smith 2005, Historical Background.
- ^ DB Schenker Rail (UK) Limited (November 2009). "Response to Network Rail's Great Western Route Utilisation Strategy Draft for Consultation (Published September 2009)" (PDF). Doncaster. pp. 14, 29. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
- ^ Wilson, Matt (25 June 2013). "Campaigners' new report on Stratford to Honeybourne rail link". Stratford Herald. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
- ^ "Rail restore talks on track". Stratford Observer. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
- ^ Railnews (22 October 2012). "Good business case for Stratford-Cotswolds link". Railnews. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
Sources
- Abbott, James (August 2011). "Track doubling projects restore capacity". Modern Railways. 68 (755).
- OCLC 19514063. CN 8983.
- Baker, Audie (1994). The Stratford on Avon to Cheltenham Railway. Grasscroft: Irwell Press. ISBN 978-1-871608-62-5.
- OL 11956311M.
- Bridge, Mike (November 2011). "Trackwatch". Modern Railways. 68 (758).
- Clinker, CR (1978). Clinker's Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots in England, Scotland and Wales 1830–1977. Bristol: Avon-Anglia Publications & Services. ISBN 0-905466-19-5.
- Jenkins, Stanley C; Quayle, HL (1977). The Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway. The Oakwood Library of Railway History. Blandford: Oakwood Press. OL40.
- Maggs, Colin G; Nicholson, Peter (1985). The Honeybourne Line: The continuing story of the Cheltenham to Honeybourne and Stratford upon Avon Railway. Cheltenham: Line One Publishing. ISBN 978-0-907036-12-8.
- Mitchell, Victor E.; Smith, Keith (August 2005) [1998]. Stratford upon Avon to Cheltenham. Country Railway Routes. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 1-901706-25-7.
- Oppitz, Leslie (2004) [2002]. Lost Railways of Herefordshire & Worcestershire. Newbury: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-85306-754-9.
- Piggott, Nick, ed. (November 2011). "First steam through 'new' Honeybourne". Railway Magazine. 157 (1327).
- Potts, C.R. (1985). A Historical Survey of selected Great Western Railway stations. Vol. 4. Poole: Oxford Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-86093-191-1.
- Siviter, Roger (2003) [1997]. The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway. Kettering: Past & Present Publishing. ISBN 1-85895-208-5.
- Stretton, John (October 2011). "The tracks of our years". Railway Magazine. 157 (1326).
- Whitehouse, John; Dowling, Geoff (1994) [1987]. The West Midlands. British Railways Past and Present. Wadenhoe: Past & Present Publishing. ISBN 1-85895-075-9.
- Yorke, Stan (2009). Lost Railways of Gloucestershire. Newbury: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-84674-163-0.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Train times and station information for Honeybourne railway station from National Rail
- Honeybourne Station on navigable 1946 O.S. map