Hungerford railway station
Hungerford  | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| General information | |||||
| Location | Hungerford, West Berkshire England | ||||
| Coordinates | 51°24′54″N 1°30′43″W / 51.415°N 1.512°W | ||||
| Grid reference | SU340685 | ||||
| Manager | Great Western Railway | ||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | HGD | ||||
| Classification | DfT category F1 | ||||
| History | |||||
| Opened | December 1847 | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2020/21 |  71,826 | ||||
| 2021/22 |  0.186 million | ||||
| 2022/23 | 0.230 million | ||||
| 2023/24 | 0.288 million | ||||
| 2024/25 | 0.312 million | ||||
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Hungerford railway station is a railway station that serves the historic market town of Hungerford in Berkshire, England. It is 61 miles 43 chains (61.54 mi; 99.0 km) measured from the zero point at London Paddington.[1]
The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by Great Western Railway.
History
The Great Western Railway opened the station in 1847 as a temporary terminus of the Berks and Hants Line which started at Reading. In 1862 the Berks and Hants was extended to Patney and Chirton. It eventually reached Taunton on 2 April 1906 to allow the running of express trains from London Paddington through to the south west without taking the longer route through Bristol.[2] The station ceased to deal with goods traffic in 1970, and became an unstaffed halt with subsequent demolition of the station buildings (except the 1902 footbridge over the lines) in 1971. The footbridge was replaced by the current modern structure in 1999. A freight train crashed on 10 November 1971 partially demolishing the GWR signal box, which was then replaced by a modern wooden flat roofed signal box which served until the end of semaphore signalling and the introduction of colour light signals on 17 July 1978.[3]
Services
The station is served by local services operated by Great Western Railway between Newbury and Bedwyn in Wiltshire (a few weekday peak services reach London Paddington).[4] It is also served by semi-fast Great Western Railway trains between London and Exeter St Davids using Class 800 and Class 802 trains.
Services at the station were disrupted throughout 2021 due to cracks found in the Intercity Express Trains, causing the loss of the regular direct service to London which it previously had (although there are some direct services in peak times).[5] Since 2021, there has been a diesel shuttle between Newbury and Bedwyn;[5] 5 years later, despite the cracks being resolved and continued complaints, this service is still in operation.[6][7] Rail (magazine) reported GWR's position on the matter, saying[5]
The [Bedwyn Trains] passenger group has been in regular contact with GWR, which has told customers it does not know when regular Bedwyn services might be restored. The operator has said it would not be possible to restore even one of the train sets used on the route, which would enable one third of through services. It also told the passenger group that it would not be possible for trains serving nearby Pewsey to make additional stops.
| Preceding station | National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newbury | Great Western Railway Semi-fast services Reading-Taunton line |
Pewsey | ||
| Kintbury | Great Western Railway Newbury to Bedwyn Local services Reading-Taunton line |
Bedwyn | ||
References
- ↑ Padgett, David (June 2018) [1989]. Munsey, Myles (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 3: Western & Wales (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. map 12B. ISBN 978-1-9996271-0-2.
- ↑ GWR Hungerford branch. Retrieved 2 September 2007
- ↑ (Source Hungerford Historical Association)
- ↑ "GWR Timetable December 2024" (PDF).
- 1 2 3 "Bedwyn passengers protest at lack of services due to IET cracks issue". Rail (magazine). No. 934. July 2021. p. 21.
- ↑ eNRT May 2026 Edition, Table 122 (Network Rail)
- ↑ Clifton, Paul. "GWR "hasn't responded" to passenger group's concerns over withdrawn services". www.railmagazine.com. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
External links
- Train times and station information for Hungerford railway station from National Rail