The list of closed railway stations in Britain includes the following: Year of closure is given if known. Stations reopened as heritage railways continue to be included in this list and some have been linked. Some stations have been reopened to passenger traffic. Some lines remain in use for freight and mineral traffic. (Recently closed stations are included.)
The Beeching cuts were a major series of route closures and service changes made as part of the restructuring of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain in the 1960s. They are named for Richard Beeching, then-chair of the British Railways Board and the author of two reports – The Reshaping of British Railways (1963) and The Development of the Major Railway Trunk Routes (1965) – that outlined the necessity of improving the efficiency of the railways and the plan for achieving this through restructuring.
The Varsity Line was the main railway line that linked the English university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, operated by the London and North Western Railway.
The Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction Railway was a railway company that built an east-west railway on the southern margin of Edinburgh, Scotland, primarily to facilitate the operation of heavy goods and mineral traffic across the city. The line opened in 1884. Although its route was rural at the time, suburban development quickly caught up and passenger carryings on the line were buoyant; the passenger service operated on a circular basis through Edinburgh Waverley railway station.
The Leicester–Burton upon Trent line is a freight-only railway line in England linking the Midland Main Line near Leicester to the Derby to Birmingham line at Burton upon Trent. The line was built by the Midland Railway, which had acquired the Leicester and Swannington Railway in 1847, improving it and extending it. It opened throughout in 1849. The line connected an exceptional number of collieries and industrial premises, and several industrial branch lines were built radiating from it. Swadlincote was already an established community engaged in industry and there was a complex of branch lines there. The passenger service on the line was discontinued in 1964, and much of the mining-based industry has closed down; quarrying is the dominant residual originating traffic. There are proposals to reopen the passenger service, and these are under review at present (2022).
The Bangor and Carnarvon Railway was a railway company promoted to build a branch railway connecting Caernarfon with the main line at Bangor, in north-west Wales. It opened in 1852 as far as Port Dinorwic and was extended to Caernarfon later in the same year.
Thornhill is a closed station. It served the country town of Thornhill in Dumfries and Galloway. The station site is a mile or so from the town. Four miles north of Thornhill is Drumlanrig Castle, home to the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry. The Glasgow and South Western main line rail route between Kilmarnock and Dumfries is forced to make a long detour to the east of Thornhill and through a long tunnel, rather than the more logical route nearer Thornhill town centre and up the Nith Valley, so as not to be seen from the Buccleuch estate. The distance of the station from Thornhill may be one reason that passenger use was light and stopping services ended in 1965. There was formerly a busy livestock market near to the station, which eventually closed around 2001.
Eynsham railway station served the Oxfordshire town of Eynsham and the Eynsham Sugar Beet Factory on the Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway between Oxford and Witney.
Carterton railway station was a railway station just north of the village of Black Bourton on the Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway between Oxford and Fairford. The station had two stone-built platforms, a passing loop, and a concrete station building.
Wignall, C. J. (1985). Complete British Railway Maps and Gazetteer (1825–1985). Poole, UK: Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 0-86093-294-X.