Digby and Sowton railway station

Digby and Sowton
General information
Location	Digby, Exeter England
Coordinates	50°42′50″N3°28′26″W / 50.714°N 3.474°W / 50.714; -3.474
Grid reference	SX960914
Managed by	Great Western Railway
Platforms	1
Other information
Station code	DIG
Classification	DfT category F1
History
Original company	Railtrack
Key dates
23 May 1995	Opened
Passengers
2019/20	0.624 million

v t e Exeter railway stations
Legend
Avocet Line to Exmouth Topsham Newcourt Digby and Sowton Polsloe Bridge West of England line to London Waterloo via Salisbury Pinhoe St James Park Exeter Central Bristol–Exeter line to Bristol and London Paddington Exeter St Davids Tarka Line to Barnstaple Exeter St Thomas Marsh Barton Riviera Line to Paignton & Exeter–Plymouth line to Plymouth and Penzance

Digby and Sowton ^[1] is a railway station on the Avocet Line of the Devon Metro in Exeter, England.

History

A small station known as Clyst St Mary and Digby Halt was opened by the London and South Western Railway on 1 June 1908 to serve Clyst St Mary and Digby Hospital. The 120 foot (37 m) long platforms were built from old railway sleepers. It was closed by the new British Railways on 27 September 1948. ^[2]

The present Digby and Sowton station, which was constructed at a cost of £700,000, was funded by Devon County Council and Tesco Stores Limited as part of an initiative to reduce traffic congestion in Exeter. ^[3] Construction began on 9 November 1994 and it opened on 23 May 1995. ^[4] It is situated about 380 yards (350 m) south of the site of the old station to serve new housing on the site of the now closed psychiatric hospital, and also a light industrial estate at nearby Sowton.

The station was operated by Wessex Trains, until 31 March 2006 when First Great Western (renamed Great Western Railway in 2015) took over the franchise.

Facilities

Digby and Sowton was included in a 2009 scheme to improve local railway stations. Shelter space for passengers was doubled, better surface and lighting was installed, and a new footpath was created. The station has a cycle network connecting stations along the Avocet Line from Exmouth to Exeter St Davids was improved. ^[5]

Location

The station serves the Sowton Industrial Estate via a long foot/cycle path that runs along the railway line and the housing estates around the former Digby Hospital through a step free access bridge, with divided sections for cycles and pedestrians. The station is also a short walk to/from the Sandy Park rugby ground, the home of the Exeter Chiefs.

Passenger volume

There has been considerable growth in passenger usage of Digby & Sowton. During the twelve months ended March 2003, over 120,000 people used the station, and this doubled within five years. ^[6] In 2009, over 275,000 passengers used the rail station, making it one of the busiest unstaffed railway stations in the area. ^{[5] [ needs update ]}

	2002-03	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08
Entries	60,818	68,208	78,811	101,063	125,299
Exits	59,687	66,596	77,011	100,891	122,153
Total	120,505	134,804	155,822	201,954	247,452

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

The station is served by all trains on the Avocet Line between Exmouth, Exeter St Davids and Paignton.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Polsloe Bridge towards Exeter St Davids		Great Western Railway Avocet Line		Newcourt towards Exmouth

References

1. The Secretary of State for Transport; First Greater Western Limited (14 June 2022). "First Greater Western Limited 2022 national rail contract" (PDF). Department for Transport. pp. 134, 379. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 May 2024. Digby & Sowton
2. Oakley, Mike (2007). Devon Railway Stations. Wimbourne: The Dovecote Press. ISBN   978-1-904349-55-6.
3. Abbott, James, ed. (July 1995). "Three new stations in summer timetable". Modern Railways . 52 (562): 388.
4. Maggs, Colin G. (1997) [1980]. The Exeter and Exmouth Railway. Locomotion Papers. Usk: Oakwood Press. p. 41. ISBN   0-85361-430-X. LP203.
5. "Exeter rail station wins revamp cash". Express & Echo . 20 August 2009. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013.
6. "Station Usage". Rail Statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Archived from the original on 4 July 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2009.

External links

• Train times and station information for Digby and Sowton railway station from National Rail