Honiton railway station

The first proposal for a railway to Honiton came in 1852 when a Devon and Dorset Railway was promoted jointly by the Great Western Railway and Bristol and Exeter Railway. This would have linked Dorchester with Exeter, running close to Bridport then through Axminster, Honiton and Ottery St Mary. This caused the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) to make a binding commitment to parliament in 1853 that they would build a more direct route from Salisbury to Exeter.^[3] Parliament agreed to the LSWR's plan rather than the Devon and Dorset scheme. The LSWR did not immediately start to build their route but parliament forced them to honour their commitment in 1855 and so they obtained the London and South Western Railway (Exeter Extension) Act 1856 and the line between Yeovil Junction and Exeter Queen Street, including the station at Honiton, opened on 19 July 1860.^[4]

The station was designed by William Tite with the main building on the westbound platform, even though this is the side furthest from the town centre. The station was on an embankment on the west side of New Street and the goods yard with a small goods shed was on the south side beyond the station building. Further sidings were provided on the north side of the line opposite the main goods yard. Goods facilities were withdrawn on 8 May 1967.^[5][6]

A new footbridge was erected at in August 2009 to replace an older footbridge. The new footbridge was located towards the Exeter end of the station.^[7]

Signalling

A signal box was built in 1875 at the Exeter end of the station on the south side of the line. This was replaced by a new building on 16 June 1957 which was on the opposite side of the tracks. On 11 June 1967 the line from Chard Junction to Pinhoe was reduced to a single track^[9] but a loop line was retained at Honiton to allow trains to pass midway on this 29-mile (47 km) section. The westbound platform was signalled to allow eastbound trains to use it when they are not crossing a train coming in the opposite direction. In December 2009 a new loop was installed at Axminster to break up the section towards Chard. One siding was retained to the west of the signal box, worked by a ground frame rather than from the signal box itself.^[10]

Another signal box was provided at Honiton Incline. This was situated on the north side of the line beyond the 1,345-yard (1,230 m) Honiton Tunnel. The line climbs from Feniton towards Honiton at 1 in 100 (1%) and then continues up to the tunnel mouth a slightly steeper gradients, it then drops at 1 in 80 (1.25%) down to the former Seaton Junction.

A modern station building stands on the main platform which is on the southern side of the line. A footbridge to the west of this links the northern platform which has a small waiting shelter. The 1957-built signal box at the Exeter end of this platform closed and was demolished in 2012.^[11] The main station car park is situated behind the former site of the signal box.

The station saw a refurbishment in Spring 2011, providing a new booking hall, more CCTV, shelters and increased accessibility.^[5][12] Work on the improvement scheme started in early December 2010 and the completed refurbishment was officially unveiled on Thursday 23 June 2011.^[13] To mark the completion, Andy Pitt, managing director for South West Trains along with councillor Stuart Hughes from Devon County Council gathered at the station for a photo and unveiling.^[12]

Passengers starting or finishing their journeys at Honiton have exceeded 300,000 every year since 2010 except during 2020 when there were travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[14]

Honiton is served by one South Western Railway train per hour in each direction on the route between London Waterloo and Exeter St Davids.^[15] There is also a single Great Western Railway service from Barnstaple to Axminster each evening Monday to Friday.^[16]

More information Preceding station, National Rail ...

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Feniton		South Western Railway (West of England Line)		Axminster
Feniton		Great Western Railway (West of England Line) Limited service		Axminster

Close

• Southern Railway routes west of Salisbury