Lelant railway station
Lelant  | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Lelant, Cornwall England | ||||
| Coordinates | 50°11′02″N 5°26′13″W / 50.184°N 5.437°W | ||||
| Grid reference | SW547372 | ||||
| Manager | Great Western Railway | ||||
| Platforms | 1 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | LEL[1] | ||||
| Classification | DfT category F2 | ||||
| History | |||||
Original company | Great Western Railway | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| Opened | 1877 | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2020/21 |  16,600 | ||||
| 2021/22 |  29,788 | ||||
| 2022/23 | 25,160 | ||||
| 2023/24 | 27,722 | ||||
| 2024/25 | 31,072 | ||||
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Lelant railway station is on the waterfront of the Hayle estuary below the village of Lelant in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is 322 miles 6 chains (518.3 km) from London Paddington, measured via St Erth and Box, on the St Ives Bay Line between Lelant Saltings and Carbis Bay.[2]
History
The station was opened by the Great Western Railway on 1 June 1877[3] on their new branch line from St Erth to St Ives (although the branch opened for goods trains carrying fish on the 28 May).[4] No goods sidings were ever provided at the station, but a line was laid from the station out to sidings on Lelant Wharf where traffic could be transferred between railway wagons and boats. The St Ives branch was laid using 7 ft (2,134 mm) broad gauge, but in 1888 a third rail was added to the line from St Erth to allow 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge goods trains to reach the wharf.[5]
The last broad gauge train ran on Friday 20 May 1892; since the following Monday all trains have been standard gauge.[6]
The station was briefly closed in 1955, between 4 April and 14 May.[3] Goods traffic was withdrawn in May 1956[7] and the station is now unstaffed. The station, along with the rest of the St Ives line, was earmarked for closure under the Beeching cuts, but was saved after intervention by then-Minister for Transport, Barbara Castle.[8] The village is at the top of the road that climbs the hill opposite the station entrance. The Old Station house served cream teas up until summer 2012.[9]
In 2022, the platform was extended by 13 metres (43 feet) to allow it to accommodate trains with five carriages.[10]
Description
The station is 1 mile (1.6 km) north of St Erth and faces the Hayle Estuary. There is just a single platform, which is on the left of trains arriving from St Erth.[11]
Limited car parking is available, adjacent to the platform. The village is at the top of the road that climbs the hill opposite the station entrance.
Passenger volume
| 2004–05 | 2005–06 | 2006–07 | 2007–08 | 2008–09 | 2009–10 | 2010–11 | 2011–12 | 2012–13 | 2013–14 | 2014–15 | 2015–16 | 2016–17 | 2017–18 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entries and exits | 8,697 | 1,653 | 250 | 240 | 560 | 324 | 1,842 | 2,908 | 2,322 | 2,494 | 2,874 | 8,104 | 8,322 | 9,618 | 10,632 | 21,608 | 16,600 | 29,788 | 25,160 | 27,722 | 31,072 |
The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.
Services
The station has an irregular service of up to 13 trains per day in each direction. These call only on request which means passengers wanting to join the train need to signal to the driver, and those who wish to alight need to inform the conductor.[13]
| Preceding station | National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carbis Bay towards St Ives |
Great Western Railway | Lelant Saltings towards St Erth | ||
Cultural references
In the book, "Tiny Stations", Lelant is the first station Dixe Wills visits on his tour of UK request stops.[14]
References
- ↑ "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
- ↑ Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (2023). Railway Track Diagrams; 3: Western & Wales (7th ed.). Frome: TRACKmaps. p. 11. ISBN 978 1999627164.
- 1 2 Quick 2023, p. 280.
- ↑ Wills 2014, p. 16.
- ↑ Long, Richard C. (2022). The St Ives Branch Line: A History. Pen and Sword. pp. 54–55. ISBN 978-1-39900-200-4.
- ↑ MacDermot, E. T. (1931). History of the Great Western Railway. Vol. II (1st ed.). London: Great Western Railway. OCLC 4106652.
- ↑ Jenkins, Stanley C (1992). "the St Ives Branch". Great Western Railway Journal (Cornish Special Issue). Wild Swan Publications Ltd: 2–34.
- ↑ Wills 2014, p. 23.
- ↑ Wills 2014, p. 20.
- ↑ White, Chloe (18 March 2022). "An extra 2,000 seats per day for the St. Ives branch line". RailAdvent. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
- ↑ Jacobs, Gerald (2005). Railway Track Diagrams Book 3: Western. Bradford-on-Avon: Trackmaps. ISBN 0-9549866-1-X.
- ↑ "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 11 June 2026.
- ↑ "K5 train times" (PDF). Great Western Railway. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
- ↑ Wills 2014, p. 15.
Bibliography
- Quick, Michael (2023). Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain: A Chronology (PDF) (5th ed.). London: Railway and Canal Historical Society.
- Wills, Dixe (2014). Tiny Stations (Paperback, 1st reprint ed.). Basingstoke: AA Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7495-7732-2.
External links
- Train times and station information for Lelant railway station from National Rail
This station offers access to the South West Coast Path Distance to path 0.25 miles (0.40 km) Next station anticlockwise Carbis Bay 1 mile (1.6 km) Next station clockwise Lelant Saltings 0.25 miles (0.40 km)