Perranwell railway station

Perranwell station is on the Maritime Line between Truro and Falmouth Docks in south-west England. It is 304 miles 78 chains (490.8 km) measured from London Paddington (via Box and Plymouth Millbay).[1] The station is managed by, and the services are operated by, Great Western Railway.

Perranwell
Looking towards Falmouth
Location
PlacePerranarworthal
Local authorityCornwall
Coordinates50.217°N 5.112°W / 50.217; -5.112
Grid referenceSW780398
Operations
Station codePRW
Managed byGreat Western Railway
Number of platforms1
DfT categoryF2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15 35,646
2015/16 30,530
2016/17 34,652
2017/18 31,504
2018/19 31,920
History
Original companyCornwall Railway
Pre-groupingGreat Western Railway
Post-groupingGreat Western Railway
'Perran' opened1863
Renamed 'Perranwell'1864
National Rail – UK railway stations
  • Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Perranwell from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

History
The old goods shed

The station was opened with the Cornwall Railway Falmouth extension on 24 August 1863. It was called Perran until it was renamed Perranwell on 19 February 1864 to avoid confusion with nearby Penryn.

The Cornwall Railway was amalgamated into the Great Western Railway on 1 July 1889. The Great Western Railway was nationalised into British Railways from 1 January 1948 but was then privatised in the 1990s.

The goods shed still stands in the forecourt despite goods traffic ceasing on 4 January 1965. A dry drinking fountain can be seen on the platform, a reminder of more important days. The signal box here was very distinctive, being sited on girders above the track alongside the goods shed.

The original Carnon viaduct

A short distance on either side of the station, valleys had to be crossed on lofty timber viaducts. To the north, Carnon viaduct crossed 96 feet above the Carnon River valley and the Redruth and Chasewater Railway. In the other direction, trains crossed the smaller Perran Viaduct (56 feet high, 339 feet long).

In the 1980s the station had become run down with only a small aluminium shelter with polycarbonate panels offering protection for passengers. However, during the late 1990s a new brick waiting shelter was built as part of a refurbishment programme at all the "Maritime Line" stations.

Description

There is just one platform with level access from the car park. Trains going north towards Truro run from left to right; southbound trains towards Falmouth Docks run from right to left.

Services

The new loop at Penryn allowed services on the Maritime Line to be doubled in frequency from 17 May 2009 to give up to a half-hourly service, however when two trains are operating only alternate services call at Perranwell.[2]

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Truro   Great Western Railway
Maritime Line		   Penryn

References
  1. Yonge, John; Padgett, David (August 2010) [1989]. Bridge, Mike (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 3: Western (5th ed.). Bradford on Avon: Trackmaps. map 10A. ISBN 978-0-9549866-6-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. "Truro to Falmouth: The Maritime Line (Timetable K4)" (PDF). Great Western Railway. Retrieved 8 February 2018.

Further reading
  • The Great Western Railway in Mid Cornwall, Alan Bennett, Kingfisher Railway Publications, Southampton 1988. ISBN 0-946184-53-4
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