Purton railway station

Purton
Widham Bridge, with station site beyond, in 2009
Location
Place	Purton
Area	Wiltshire
Coordinates	51°35′38″N 1°51′59″W / 51.5939°N 1.8664°WCoordinates: 51°35′38″N 1°51′59″W / 51.5939°N 1.8664°W
Grid reference	SU093883
Operations
Original company	Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Western Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
Platforms	2
History
31 May 1841	Station opened
2 November 1964	Station closed
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z
UK Railways portal

The Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway through Purton parish was opened in 1841 and was absorbed by the Great Western Railway in 1843. Purton railway station opened in 1841, in the hamlet of Widham, about 700 metres north of Purton village at the bridge over the Purton-Cricklade road. British Railways closed the station in 1964 but the line remains open. The Booking Office building survives with a small part of its platform.^[1]

Trains run along the Golden Valley Line through from London Paddington via Reading, Didcot Parkway and Swindon, then past the three closed stations of Purton, Minety and Oaksey Halt to Kemble, continuing to Stroud, Stonehouse, Gloucester and Cheltenham Spa. When engineering work closes the Severn Tunnel, trains from Paddington to Swansea are diverted from the Great Western Main Line and South Wales Main Line via Bristol Parkway to run via Kemble to Gloucester, then along the Gloucester to Newport Line through Lydney, Chepstow and Caldicot before rejoining the normal line at Severn Tunnel Junction.

Originally built as dual track, British Rail reduced the line between Kemble and Swindon to single track in 1968. Network Rail investigated the options for reinstating the second track, along with the estimated cost (see Golden Valley Line). In the 2011 Budget the Government announced that funding for the redoubling was to be provided^[2] and the works were completed in August 2014.^[3]

References

1. Oakley, Mike (2004). Wiltshire Railway Stations. Wimborne: The Dovecote Press. p. 104. ISBN 1904349331.
2. "Chancellor approves Kemble to Swindon railway upgrade". BBC News. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
3. "£45m rail doubling from Kemble completed". Wiltshire Gazette & Herald. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.

External links

• Purton Station on navigable 1948 O.S. map