Stapleton Road railway station

Infobox UK station
name = Stapleton Road
code = SRD

---

caption = Stapleton Road railway station in 1972
manager = First Great Western
locale = Easton
borough = Bristol
lowusage0405 = 73,202
lowusage0506 = 86,977
lowusage0607 = 98,446
platforms = 2
start = 8 September 1863 [ [http://www.david.frih.net/severn/history.htm History of the Severn Beach Line] ]

Stapleton Road railway station lies in the inner city area of Easton, Bristol, England.

It is a railway station on the Severn Beach Line; although it is also served by hourly trains northbound between Weston-super-Mare and Bristol Parkway; and southbound between Gloucester and Westbury.

The station platform has a long mural by local artist Bill Guilding, which features characters illustrating local and historical themes.

The station is considered a "Railway Crime Hotspot" by the British Transport Police.Fact|date=December 2007

History

Stapleton Road station was opened on 8 September 1863, when the Bristol & South Wales Union Railway was opened. The BSWUR (absorbed by the Great Western Railway in 1868) ran from Temple Meads to New Passage, where a ferry took passengers to South Wales.

The station became a junction station in 1874, when the branch to Clifton Down, now part of the Severn Beach Line, was opened. Express trains started calling at Stapleton Road in 1887, when trains from London to South Wales started using the Severn Tunnel. The London to South Wales trains passed through Bristol until 1903, when the direct line through Badminton was opened. Trains from Cardiff to Portsmouth continued to stop at Bristol (Stapleton Road) instead of Temple Meads until the 1960s.

Future

In March 2007 First Great Western, published details of the improvements they plan to undertake over the next three years [ [http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Documents/Custom/Severn%20Beach%20Line%20Development%20Plan.pdf First Great Western improvement plans] ] , at Stapleton Road they are;

*CCTV
*Help and information points
*Public address system
*Rename station to Easton
*Community garden
*Maintain mural

ervices

Monday to Saturday there are five trains every two hours to/from Bristol Temple Meads.

There are three trains every two hours to Avonmouth via Clifton Down along the Severn Beach Line, with certain journeys extended to Severn Beach. There is an hourly service on Sundays on the line as far as Avonmouth.

In December 2007 the service towards Temple Meads doubled with the introduction of trains that previously did not stop at the station and from May 2008, a more frequent service on the Severn Beach Line led to even more trains calling. In peak hours, up to four trains per hour to/from Bristol Temple Meads call here.

ee also

*First Great Western
*List of all UK railway stations
*Rail services in Bristol

References

*Maggs, C. (1981) "Rail Centres: Bristol" Ian Allan ISBN 0 7110 1153 2

External links

*http://www.severnbeachline.org/stapletonroad.php - Information, Maps & Timetables for Stapleton Road station