This article needs additional citations for verification .(October 2024) |
General information | |||||
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Location | Bere Ferrers, West Devon England | ||||
Coordinates | 50°27′00″N4°10′52″W / 50.450°N 4.181°W | ||||
Grid reference | SX452635 | ||||
Managed by | Great Western Railway | ||||
Platforms | 1 | ||||
Other information | |||||
Station code | BFE | ||||
Classification | DfT category F2 | ||||
Passengers | |||||
2019/20 | 15,026 | ||||
2020/21 | 4,410 | ||||
2021/22 | 10,786 | ||||
2022/23 | 11,258 | ||||
2023/24 | 13,026 | ||||
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Bere Ferrers station on the Tamar Valley Line is situated near the village of Bere Ferrers in Devon,England. The station is on the former Southern main line between Exeter and Plymouth via Okehampton. It is currently operated by Great Western Railway (GWR).
The Plymouth,Devonport and South Western Junction Railway opened the station on 2 June 1890 with its main line from Lydford to Devonport,which gave the London and South Western Railway a route into Plymouth that was independent of the Great Western Railway. [1] [2]
The station was originally called Beer Ferris after the local Beer family who owned several nearby villages. However,in 1897,the railway authorities of the time decided that this name promoted an unrefined image of the village due to the association with beer,and therefore changed the name to Bere Ferrers. The original spelling can still be seen on the sign on the signal box in the heritage centre.
The station was host to a Southern Railway camping coach from 1936 to 1939. [3] A camping coach was also positioned here by the Southern Region from 1954 to 1959,and two coaches from 1960 to 1964. [4]
Through services beyond Bere Alston were withdrawn on 6 May 1968 and the line was reduced to a single track on 7 September 1970.
The station was the scene of a fatal railway accident on 24 September 1917. Ten soldiers from New Zealand were being transported from Plymouth to Salisbury following their arrival in Britain. At Bere Ferrers station they alighted from their troop train for a brief rest (on the wrong side of the train, between the tracks) and, being unaccustomed to British railways, were struck and killed by an oncoming express. The men are buried in a Plymouth war cemetery, and a plaque was unveiled in 2001 in their memory in the village centre. [5] [6]
Bere Ferrers is served by GWR trains on the Tamar Valley Line from Gunnislake to Plymouth. Connections with main line services can be made at Plymouth. [7] There are nine services each way calling on weekdays, eight on Saturdays and either five or six on a Sunday (depending on the time of year).
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
St Budeaux Victoria Road | Great Western Railway Tamar Valley Line | Bere Alston |
The sidings alongside the station form the Tamar Belle Heritage Centre. This includes some old carriages which are used as a restaurant and as camping coaches. [8] The LSWR signal box was erected here in 1989/90 but was formerly at Pinhoe railway station on the outskirts of Exeter.
The railway from Plymouth to Gunnislake is designated as a community railway and is supported by marketing provided by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership. The line is promoted under the "Tamar Valley Line" name.
The Olde Plough Inn takes part in the Tamar Valley Line rail ale trail, which is designed to promote the use of the line.[ may be outdated as of March 2022 ] The line is also part of the Dartmoor Sunday Rover network of integrated bus and rail routes.[ may be outdated as of March 2022 ]
The Tamar is a river in south west England that forms most of the border between Devon and Cornwall. A large part of the valley of the Tamar is protected as the Tamar Valley National Landscape, and some is included in the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape due to its historic mining activities.
The Tamar Valley Line is a railway line from Plymouth, Devon, to Gunnislake, Cornwall, in England, also known as the Gunnislake branch line. The line follows the River Tamar for much of its route. Like all railway lines in Devon and Cornwall, it is unelectrified and all trains are diesel powered. The entire line is single track past St. Budeaux Junction.
Bere Alston is a village in West Devon in the county of Devon in England. It forms part of the civil parish of Bere Ferrers.
Bere Ferrers, sometimes called Beerferris, is a village and civil parish on the Bere peninsula in West Devon in the English county of Devon. It is located to the north of Plymouth, on the west bank of the River Tavy. It has a railway station on the Tamar Valley Line.
Dawlish Warren railway station serves the seaside resort and holiday camps of Dawlish Warren in Devon, England; it is located at the mouth of the River Exe. The station is on the Exeter to Plymouth line, 10 miles 46 chains (17.0 km) down the line from Exeter St Davids and 204 miles 37 chains (329.1 km) from London Paddington via Box. From here to Teignmouth, the South Devon Railway sea wall runs alongside the Riviera line railway.
Plymouth railway station serves the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. It is on the northern edge of the city centre, close to the North Cross roundabout. It is the second busiest station in the county of Devon and the largest of the six surviving stations in Plymouth.
The Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway (PD&SWJR) was an English railway company. It constructed a main line railway between Lydford and Devonport, in Devon, England, enabling the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) to reach Plymouth more conveniently than before.
Devonport railway station serves the Devonport area of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is 248 miles 28 chains (399.7 km) from London Paddington measured via Box and Plymouth Millbay. It is managed by Great Western Railway.
Dockyard railway station is a Great Western Railway suburban station on the Cornish Main Line in Devonport, Plymouth, England. As the name implies, it serves Devonport Dockyard. It is 248 miles 60 chains (400.3 km) from London Paddington via Box and Plymouth Millbay.
Keyham railway station is a suburban station in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. It is 249 miles 25 chains (401.2 km) from London Paddington via Box and Plymouth Millbay. The station is close to the Devonport dockyard.
St Budeaux Victoria Road railway station is a suburban station in St Budeaux, Plymouth, Devon, England. The station is managed and served by Great Western Railway.
Bere Alston railway station serves the village of Bere Alston in Devon, England, 10+1⁄4 miles (16.5 km) north of Plymouth on the Tamar Valley Line to Gunnislake.
Perranwell station is on the Maritime Line between Truro and Falmouth Docks in Cornwall, England. The station is managed by, and the services are operated by, Great Western Railway.
Calstock railway station is an unstaffed railway station on the Tamar Valley Line serving the village of Calstock in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated at the north end of Calstock Viaduct which carries the railway at high level over the River Tamar.
Gunnislake railway station serves the village of Gunnislake in Cornwall, England. There are also connecting buses from here to the town of Tavistock. However the station is located in or nearer to the villages of Drakewalls and Albaston. It is the northern terminus of the Tamar Valley Line from Plymouth.
The East Cornwall Mineral Railway was a 1,067 mm gauge railway line, opened in 1872 to connect mines and quarries in the Callington and Gunnislake areas in east Cornwall, England, with shipping at Calstock on the River Tamar. The line included a rope-worked incline to descend to the quay at Calstock.
The Exeter to Plymouth railway of the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) was the westernmost part of a route competing with that of the Great Western Railway (GWR) and its 'associated companies' from London and Exeter to Plymouth in Devon, England. Whereas the GWR route from Exeter followed the coast to Newton Abbot and then went around the southern edge of Dartmoor, the LSWR route followed the northern and western margins of Dartmoor, passing through the towns of Crediton, Okehampton, and Tavistock.
This article describes the history and operation of the railway routes west of Salisbury built by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) and allied companies, which ultimately became part of the Southern Railway in the United Kingdom. Salisbury forms a natural boundary between the Southern Railway core routes in the counties surrounding London, and the long route connecting with the Devon and Cornwall lines.
The network of railways in Plymouth, Devon, England, was developed by companies affiliated to two competing railways, the Great Western Railway and the London and South Western Railway. At their height two main lines and three branch lines served 28 stations in the Plymouth area, but today just six stations remain in use.
Tavistock railway station is a proposed new station to serve Tavistock in Devon, England, in order to reinstate a rail connection between the town and Plymouth, about 13 miles (21 km) to the south.