St Erth railway station

Infobox UK station
name = St Erth


caption = The buffers at the end of platform 3
locale = St Erth
borough = Penwith, Cornwall
latitude = 50.17140
longitude = -5.44374
manager = First Great Western
code = SER
platforms = 3
original = West Cornwall Railway
pregroup = Great Western Railway
postgroup = Great Western Railway
years = 1852
events = Station opened
years1 = 1877
events1 = St Ives branch opened
lowusage0203 = 71,406
lowusage0405 = 90,541
lowusage0506 = 88,341
lowusage0607 = 67,004

St Erth railway station serves the village of St Erth, Cornwall, UK. The station is about 3/4 mile from the village. It is the junction for the St Ives Bay Line to St Ives. The station is operated by First Great Western as is every other station in Cornwall.

Semaphore signals still exist at the station, and some old sidings still remain. The station has 3 platforms, 1 & 2 for mainline services, and platform 3 (which is slightly lower than the other two) for the services to St Ives.

It is mentioned in the song "Slow Train" by Flanders and Swann.

Originally named 'St Ives Road' until the branch line was opened in 1877, the station retains its buildings from that time.

Passengers from the East of St Erth bound for the St Ives Bay Line, are entitled to change trains at Penzance, however, since not all services call at St Erth. This is contrary to the normal principle of UK rail travel which prohibits passing the same station twice, however is allowed by an 'easement' of the rules in the National Routeing Guide.

Platform usage

*Platform 2 – for Eastbound First Great Western, CrossCountry and South West Trains services towards London Paddington and London Waterloo.
*Platform 1 – for Westbound First Great Western, CrossCountry and South West Trains services towards Penzance.
*Platform 3 – Used by First Great Western services running to and from St Ives on the St Ives Bay Line.

Passenger volume

St Erth sees more passengers change train than any other station in Cornwall however, unlike most others, passenger numbers at St Erth and on the St Ives branch line have been declining since 2005. [cite web|title =Station Usage| url=http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.1529|work =Rail Statistics|publisher =Office of Rail Regulation|accessdate = 2008-06-30] The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

ervices

St Erth is served by most First Great Western trains on the Cornish Main Line between Penzance and Plymouth. Some trains run through to or from London Paddington station, including the Night Riviera overnight sleeping car service and the Golden Hind which offers an early morning service to London and an evening return. Other fast trains are the mid-morning Cornish Riviera and the afternoon Royal Duchy.

There are a limited number of CrossCountry trains providing a service to Scotland in the morning and returning in the evening. One of the local services to Penzance each weekend runs from and to London Waterloo station and is operated by South West Trains.

It is also the junction for the scenic St Ives Bay Line, one or two trains of which are extended from or to Penzance each day to facilitate crew changes.

References

External links

* [http://www.urban75.org/vista/st_erth.html Panoramic photograph of platforms at night]
* [http://www.urban75.org/vista/st_erth1.html Panoramic photograph of platforms in day]