St Austell railway station
St Austell 
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| Location | |
| Place | St Austell |
| Local authority | Cornwall |
| Coordinates | 50°20′23″N 4°47′25″W / 50.3397°N 4.79028°WCoordinates: 50°20′23″N 4°47′25″W / 50.3397°N 4.79028°W |
| Grid reference | SX016525 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | SAU |
| Managed by | Great Western Railway |
| Number of platforms | 2 |
| DfT category | C2 |
| Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries |
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| Annual rail passenger usage* | |
| 2011/12 |
 0.467 million |
| 2012/13 |
0.469 million |
| 2013/14 |
 0.461 million |
| 2014/15 |
0.468 million |
| 2015/16 |
0.464 million |
| History | |
| Original company | Cornwall Railway |
| Pre-grouping | Great Western Railway |
| Post-grouping | Great Western Railway |
| 1859 | Opened |
| 1931 | Level crossing closed |
| 2000 | Main building rebuilt |
| Listed status | |
| Listed feature | St Austell Railway Station and Footbridge |
| Listing grade | Grade II listed |
| Entry number | 1268442 |
| Added to list | 29 May 1988 |
| National Rail – UK railway stations | |
| * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at St Austell from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
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St Austell Station is a Grade II listed station which serves the town of St Austell, Cornwall, United Kingdom. The station is operated by Great Western Railway, as is every other station in Cornwall.
The station is situated on the hillside just above the town. The main buildings were rebuilt in 2000 and face the town's bus station. A dedicated bus service, the Eden Branchline, runs from here to The Eden Project.
The station is served by both local and long-distance trains, including the Night Riviera sleeper service.
St Austell opened with the Cornwall Railway on 4 May 1859. A report when the station opened stated that
The goods shed was adjacent to the road which passed over the line on a level crossing. This was not authorised by the original Act of Parliament but was deemed unavoidable unless the road was given a very steep bridge to climb over the line. Palace Road was built along the back of the station in 1862 to make it possible for traffic from the east of the town to avoid the level crossing. The level crossing was finally closed on 21 September 1931. Road traffic now needs to cross the line on the bridge at the other end of the station, but a footbridge allows foot traffic to still cross the line at the old place.
A large warehouse was added on the town side of the line in 1862 (where St Austell Bus Station now stands), financed by selling the land to a third party who then leased it back to the company. It was replaced by a large new goods depot (200 feet long by 40 feet wide) a short distance east of the station on 2 November 1931. For many years the original goods yard was used by Motorail trains which carried cars to Cornwall from London and many other places in England.
As well as the general traffic for a busy town, the station handled large volumes of china clay from the surrounding district, and of fish from Mevagissey. The steep hill from the town to the station caused problems for the horses hauling heavy wagons.
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Wikipedia