St James Park railway station

St. James Park
Location
Place	Exeter
Local authority	Exeter
Coordinates	50°43′50″N 3°31′20″W / 50.73059°N 3.52233°WCoordinates: 50°43′50″N 3°31′20″W / 50.73059°N 3.52233°W
Grid reference	SX925934
Operations
Station code	SJP
Managed by	Great Western Railway
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2002/03	27,233
2004/05	27,477
2005/06	27,428
2006/07	31,716
2007/08	36,354
2008/09	44,000
2009/10	46,754
2010/11	55,910
2011/12	61,098
2012/13	64,984
2013/14	66,330
History
Original company	London and South Western Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
1906	Opened as Lion's Holt Halt
1946	Renamed St James Park Halt
1969	Renamed St James Park
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at St. James Park from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Exeter Railway Stations
Legend
Avocet Line to Exmouth Topsham Newcourt Digby and Sowton Polsloe Bridge West of England Main Line to London Waterloo via Salisbury Pinhoe St James Park Exeter Central Bristol to Exeter Line to Bristol and London Paddington Exeter St Davids Tarka Line to Barnstaple Exeter St Thomas Riviera Line to Paignton   Exeter to Plymouth Line to Plymouth & Penzance

St James Park railway station is a suburban railway station in Exeter, Devon, England. The station is adjacent the Exeter City F.C football ground. Great Western Railway manage the station and operate the train services.

History

A small station named Lion's Holt Halt was opened in the cutting west of Blackboy Tunnel on 26 January 1906. Mount Pleasant Road Halt was opened at the same time to the east of the tunnel but was closed in 1928.^[1]

The name of Lion's Holt was changed to "St James Park" on 7 October 1946, the name of the Exeter City F.C. football ground, which is next to the station. The club has adopted the station under the community railways scheme and contributes to its upkeep.

Description

Although there are two platforms, the northernmost platform (Platform 2 - toward Exmouth) is very short (about 37m) and can only be served by a one or two (20m) coach train. Other train formations such as a Class 158 must use selective door opening or single door opening. The Exeter-bound platform (Platform 1) is about 73m in length.

Services

About half the trains on the Avocet Line from Exmouth railway station to Exeter St Davids call at St James Park. Beyond St Davids they generally continue to either Paignton or Barnstaple. Connections are available at Exeter Central for Pinhoe and stations to London Waterloo as these trains run through St James Park without stopping; passengers for other main line stations change at Exeter St Davids.

References

1. Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (1992). Branch Lines to Exmouth. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 1-873793-00-6.