Yeovil Pen Mill railway station

Yeovil Pen Mill
National Rail
General information
LocationYeovil, Somerset,
England
Coordinates50°56′42″N 2°36′47″W / 50.945°N 2.613°W / 50.945; -2.613
Grid referenceST570163
ManagerGreat Western Railway
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeYVP[1]
ClassificationDfT category E
History
Original company
Great Western Railway
Key dates
1 September 1856Opened
Passengers
2020/21Decrease 37,770
 Interchange Decrease 915
2021/22Increase 0.121 million
 Interchange Increase 2,321
2022/23Increase 0.147 million
 Interchange Increase 12,400
2023/24Increase 0.166 million
 Interchange Increase 16,090
2024/25Increase 0.170 million
 Interchange Increase 21,348
Location
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Yeovil Pen Mill is one of two railway stations that serve the town of Yeovil, in Somerset, England; the other is Yeovil Junction. It is situated just under a mile to the east of the town centre. The station is located 59.5 miles (96 km) south of Bristol Temple Meads, on the Heart of Wessex Line. It is managed by Great Western Railway, which operate services along with South Western Railway.

History

Railways in Yeovil

The station was opened by the Great Western Railway (GWR), as part of the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth route on 1 September 1856. [2]The route was completed to Weymouth on 20 January 1857. The Bristol and Exeter Railway's (B&ER) line from Taunton, which initially terminated at Yeovil Hendford, was extended to connect with the GWR at Yeovil Pen Mill from 2 February 1857.[3] The B&ER line was mixed and had trains of both gauges from 12 November 1868 but broad gauge trains ceased operation after 30 June 1879 by which time the B&ER had been taken over by the GWR.[4]

All trains then used the 'up' platform, one of the original two platforms, built for trains towards Frome and London Paddington, until the station was rebuilt in the 1880s.[4]

The GWR opened a locomotive depot at the station in September 1856, which operated until January 1959 when it was closed and the locomotives were transferred to Yeovil Town depot.[5]

A connection between the GWR line and the Southern Railway line to Exeter was established during World War II to allow trains direct access between Yeovil Junction and Yeovil Pen Mill. This was opened on 13 October 1943 and offered a new route for trains of war materials, as well as a diversion route in the event of bomb damage.[4]

1913 accident

A passenger train, hauled by GWR City Class 4-4-0 No. 3710 City of Bath, overran a signal on 8 August 1913 and hit the rear of another passenger train. Two people were killed and ten injured.[6][7]

Facilities

The station has a ticket office, accessible toilets, a car park, waiting rooms, help points and live departure screens.[8] There is step-free access to the northbound platform, but the island platform can only be reached by the footbridge.[9]

Passenger volume

Passenger volume at Yeovil Pen Mill[10]
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 98,536 99,041 102,643 104,700 110,546 115,882 126,786 132,358 129,252 133,264 136,644 130,020 141,014 136,832 139,732 143,732 37,770 120,742 147,106 166,136 169,742
Interchanges 0 0 0 0 0 0 916 2,035 2,150 4,016 3,240 7,318 12,669 5,738 6,918 5,245 915 2,321 12,400 16,090 21,348

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

South Western Railway (left) and Great Western Railway (right) trains

Great Western Railway operates the majority of services at Pen Mill, on their route between Weymouth and Gloucester, via Bristol Temple Meads.[11]

South Western Railway operates a few services between London Waterloo and Pen Mill, some via Yeovil Junction and others via Westbury.[12]

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Castle Cary   Great Western Railway
Heart of Wessex Line		   Thornford
  South Western Railway
Heart of Wessex Line		   Yeovil Junction

Community rail

The station, along with others on the Heart of Wessex Line, is part of the South Wessex Community Rail Partnership.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  2. ↑ Quick 2023, p. 500.
  3. ↑ E T MacDermot, History of the Great Western Railway, Volume 2, Published by the Great Western Railway, London, 1931
  4. 1 2 3 Jackson, B.L. (2003). Yeovil, 150 Years of Railways. Usk: Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-612-4.
  5. ↑ "Yeovil's Virtual Museum, the A-to-Z of Yeovil's History - by Bob Osborn". www.yeovilhistory.info. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
  6. ↑ Hoole, Ken (1983). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 4. Truro: Atlantic Books. p. 17. ISBN 0-906899-07-9.
  7. ↑ "Great Western Railway" (PDF). Board of Trade. 27 August 1913. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  8. ↑ "Yeovil Pen Mill train station | Departures, arrivals and tickets | GWR". www.gwr.com. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
  9. ↑ "Yeovil Pen Mill Station | National Rail". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
  10. ↑ "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 11 June 2026.
  11. ↑ "Train Times". Great Western Railway. 2 June 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  12. ↑ "Timetables". South Western Railway. 2 June 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  13. ↑ "Home - South Wessex Community Rail Partnership". 14 February 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2026.

Bibliography

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