Truncated railway station termini
A truncated railway station terminus is when an original station site is sold for redevelopment and a new, usually smaller station is constructed back down the line. Whilst there are many examples of station buildings and other structures, such as the redundant platforms at Whitby being sold for redevelopment. The truncation at Whitby however, is only partial, as one platform still survives in its original location. This article is about new stations which have been fully truncated and cut short from a former location.
Truncating usually happens when traffic has declined to such an extent that an original station site is no longer required and the land is deemed to have a greater commercial value. The argument for truncating would state that the money gained from the sale of a station site can then be reinvested in new facilities. However, as a result of this policy, newly constructed stations can often be sited farther away from a town or city centre. Many old stations have been redeveloped as shopping destinations with the aim of generating footfall from passengers as they walk to the new platforms. The policy of truncating continues to this day, with a plan to relocate Lowestoft railway station some 400 m to the west and redevelop the land for retail. This proposal is currently under discussion.[1]
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Old Bradford Forster Square railway station prior to demolition in 1990. Construction workers can be seen in the foreground ready to start work on the new station
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The new (truncated) Bradford Forster Square station just after opening with the old station in the background. The old station was closer to the city centre
| Station | Notes |
|---|---|
| Balloch | The original terminus of the North Clyde Line extended right up to the shores of the Loch Lomond. Following the end of steamer services, Balloch Pier fell into decline and closed in September 1986. Balloch Central, the next stop down the line, was later closed in April 1988 to avoid the Balloch Road level crossing. The modern truncated station is called simply Balloch. |
| Blackpool South | The former Blackpool Central station was right in the heart of the town, but, following a decline in traffic and Blackpool North's becoming the principal statio,n Blackpool Central was closed and the railway was cut right down so that the land could be redeveloped and used for car and coach parking. |
| Bradford Forster Square | In 1990, a new smaller station was constructed about 100 m back down the line. The original station site was to be redeveloped as part of new shopping centre, but due the early 1990s recession stopped that from happening. A new tax office was later built on the site. |
| Bradford Interchange | The original Bradford Exchange railway station was closed in the early 1970s, and a new station was constructed about a 100 m to the south as part of a combined rail and bus station facility. Interestingly, there has been a long-held aspiration to link both of Bradford's railway stations together via a cross city link. However, the policy of truncation made both of Bradford's stations actually farther apart. |
| Falmouth Docks | |
| Felixstowe | A new smaller station was constructed to the east of the original in the 1980s, with much of the old site becoming a car park and a shopping centre called 'Great Eastern Square'. The original station building, as well as some of the original platform canopies, still survives as a pub/restaurant. |
| Fort William | The original station was alongside Loch Linnhe and was combined with a ferry pier. To facilitate the construction of a new road, a new station was built in 1975 and this lies about half a mile to the west of the original.[2] |
| Henley-on-Thames | The station was cut back in 1975. |
| London Victoria | Brighton-bound platforms were truncated in the 1980s to make way for extra shops as part of the Victoria Place shopping centre development. |
| Looe Cornwall | The original station extended 100 m in the town and was connected to the quayside. The new station opened in April 1968. |
| Morecambe | The old Morecambe Promenade station closed in May 1994, with a new, smaller station built 400 m to the west. The old station building survives as a pub/restaurant, with the rest of the site now occupied by a cinema and an indoor market. |
| North Berwick (East Lothian) | The North Berwick branch line had been under threat of closure following the publication of the Beeching Report in the 1960s. By the 1980s the threat of closure had gone but the old station was demolished and a new car park and residential development was built in its place. At the same time, a smaller, unstaffed station, with cut-back platforms, was built back down the line. |
| St. Ives (Cornwall) | The original station was nearer to the town and featured a long curved platform. The new station (with a straight platform) was constructed back down the line in the early 1970s. Much of the old station site is now a car park. |
| Uckfield | The original station was 50 m to the south. A new station was constructed in 1991 to avoid the nearby level crossing. |
| Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex) | Only one short platform survives from the original station layout. The main platforms ran a few metres further on to the original terminus. Most of this land is now a car park, with the original station house now converted into flats. |
| Windermere | The original train shed is now a Booths supermarket with a new truncated station constructed 50 m back down the line in 1986.[3] |
| Windsor & Eton Central | The site redeveloped as the Royal Windsor Shopping Centre, and only one truncated platform of the old station remains. |