Bedwyn railway station
Railway station in the village of Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire, England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bedwyn railway station serves the village of Great Bedwyn in Wiltshire, England. It is 66 miles 33 chains (66.41 mi; 106.9 km) from the zero point at London Paddington.[2] Along with Pewsey station, it serves the market town of Marlborough which is 6 miles (10 km) away. It is sited between Pewsey to the west (although only a few trains call at both stations) and Hungerford to the east.
Bedwyn  | |||||
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| General information | |||||
| Location | Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire England | ||||
| Coordinates | 51.380°N 1.599°W | ||||
| Grid reference | SU279645 | ||||
| Manager | Great Western Railway | ||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | BDW[1] | ||||
| Classification | DfT category F1 | ||||
| History | |||||
| Opened | 1862 | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2020/21 |  20,398 | ||||
| 2021/22 |  74,180 | ||||
| 2022/23 | 81,534 | ||||
| 2023/24 | 93,570 | ||||
| 2024/25 | 99,948 | ||||
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History
Bedwyn station was opened on 11 November 1862 by the Great Western Railway company as part of the Berks and Hants Railway from Hungerford to Devizes;[3] the line continues in use as part of the Reading to Taunton Line. In 1900 the Stert and Westbury Railway allowed Devizes to be bypassed, and Westbury became the next major station west of Bedwyn.[4]
In 1905, to cater for traffic for army camps on Salisbury Plain, the line west of Bedwyn was linked (via the Grafton Curve and a bridge over the Kennet and Avon Canal) to Grafton and Burbage on the north-south Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway.[5] This line was closed in 1961.[citation needed]
Between 2 November 1964 and 5 May 1969, it was known as Bedwyn Halt.[6]
Facilities
The station has basic facilities including a bus-type shelter on both sides, a ticket machine, help points and information screens. The only crossing between platforms is via the road bridge over the railway.[7]
Passenger volume
| 2004–05 | 2005–06 | 2006–07 | 2007–08 | 2008–09 | 2009–10 | 2010–11 | 2011–12 | 2012–13 | 2013–14 | 2014–15 | 2015–16 | 2016–17 | 2017–18 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entries and exits | 78,439 | 74,773 | 77,048 | 81,160 | 83,718 | 83,492 | 94,584 | 106,702 | 119,352 | 111,512 | 115,808 | 121,700 | 120,534 | 116,310 | 109,320 | 129,886 | 20,398 | 74,180 | 81,534 | 93,570 | 99,948 |
The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.
Services
The station is served by local services operated by Great Western Railway between here and Newbury.[9] A crossover and siding at the west of the station allow services to reverse and lay over before returning east. Great Western Railway operates British Rail Class 165 Networker Turbo[10] and British Rail Class 802 IET at this station.[11]
The station is also served by a limited number of services that continue west of here, reaching Westbury, Taunton, Exeter St Davids and beyond.[12]
Services at the station were disrupted throughout 2021 due to cracks found in the Intercity Express Trains, causing the loss of the direct service to London which it previously had (although there are some direct services in peak times).[13] Since 2021, there has been a diesel shuttle to Newbury;[13] 5 years later, despite the cracks being resolved and continued complaints, this service is still in operation.[14][15] Rail magazine reported GWR's position on the matter, saying[13]
The [Bedwyn Trains] passenger group has been in regular contact with GWR, which has told customers it does not know when regular Bedwyn services might be restored. The operator has said it would not be possible to restore even one of the train sets used on the route, which would enable one third of through services. It also told the passenger group that it would not be possible for trains serving nearby Pewsey to make additional stops.
| Preceding station |  National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hungerford | Great Western Railway Newbury to Bedwyn Local Services Reading – Taunton line |
Terminus | ||
| Great Western Railway Limited service Reading – Taunton Line |
Pewsey | |||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Hungerford Line and station open |
Great Western Railway Berks and Hants Extension Railway |
Savernake Low Level Line open, station closed | ||
| Disused railways | ||||
| Grafton and Burbage | Midland and South Western Junction Railway | Savernake Low Level | ||
