Exeter St Davids | |
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Location | |
Place | Exeter |
Local authority | Exeter |
Coordinates | 50°43′47″N 3°32′37″W / 50.7296°N 3.5435°WCoordinates: 50°43′47″N 3°32′37″W / 50.7296°N 3.5435°W |
Grid reference | SX911933 |
Operations | |
Station code | EXD |
Managed by | Great Western Railway |
Number of platforms | 6 |
DfT category | C1 |
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries |
|
Annual rail passenger usage* | |
2011/12 | 2.399 million |
– Interchange | 0.785 million |
2012/13 | 2.401 million |
– Interchange | 0.860 million |
2013/14 | 2.356 million |
– Interchange | 0.841 million |
2014/15 | 2.509 million |
– Interchange | 0.939 million |
2015/16 | 2.569 million |
– Interchange | 0.987 million |
History | |
Original company | Bristol and Exeter Railway |
Pre-grouping | Great Western Railway |
Post-grouping | Great Western Railway |
1844 | Opened |
1864 | Rebuilt for LSWR |
1913 | Rebuilt without roof |
National Rail – UK railway stations | |
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Exeter St Davids from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
Exeter St Davids is the principal railway station serving the city of Exeter in Devon, England. It is 193 miles 72 chains (312.1 km) from London Paddington on the line through Bristol which continues to Plymouth and Penzance. It is also served by an alternative route to London Waterloo via Salisbury and branch lines to Exmouth and Barnstaple.
The station opened in 1844 as the terminus of the Bristol and Exeter Railway. It is currently managed by Great Western Railway and is served by trains operated by Great Western Railway, South West Trains and CrossCountry.
The station was opened on 1 May 1844 by the Bristol and Exeter Railway (B&ER). The station was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and was one of his single-sided stations which meant that the two platforms were both on the east side of the line. This was the side nearer the town and so very convenient for passengers travelling into Exeter but did mean that a lot of trains had to cross in front of others.
This was not too much of a problem while the station was at the end of the line, but on 30 May 1846 the South Devon Railway (SDR) opened a line westwards towards Plymouth. A carriage shed was built for the SDR at the south end of the B&ER platform but the goods sheds and locomotive sheds for both companies were to the west, between the station and the River Exe. The SDR was designed to be worked by atmospheric power and an engine house was built on the banks of the river near the locomotive shed. This was only used for its original purpose for about a year but was not demolished until many years later.