Exmouth railway station

Exmouth
General information
Location	Exmouth, East Devon England
Coordinates	50°37′18″N 3°24′54″W / 50.62179°N 3.41507°W / 50.62179; -3.41507
Grid reference	SX999811
Managed by	Great Western Railway
Platforms	1
Other information
Station code	EXM
Classification	DfT category D
History
Original company	London and South Western Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
Key dates
1861	Opened
1924	Rebuilt
1976	Rebuilt
Passengers
2019/20	0.896 million
2020/21	0.328 million
2021/22	0.807 million
2022/23	0.898 million
2023/24	0.917 million
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Exmouth railway station serves the town of Exmouth in Devon, England and is 11.25 miles (18 km) south of Exeter St Davids, the terminus of the Avocet Line (which branches off from the West of England Main Line after Exeter Central). The station is managed by Great Western Railway, who operate all trains serving it.

The railway to Exmouth was opened on 1 May 1861.^[1] The first train started from Exeter Station comprising eleven carriages drawn by the engine Comet. The train with its complement of 150 passengers arrived in Exmouth at 8.16am.^[2]

New docks designed by Eugenius Birch^[3] were opened in 1866^[4] and a short branch was laid to connect them to the goods yard.^[5]

A branch line with a junction immediately beyond the end of the platforms was opened on 1 June 1903.^[6] This ran around the outskirts of Exmouth on a long, curving viaduct, passing through Littleham and then on to Budleigh Salterton meeting the Sidmouth branch line at Tipton St Johns where it connected with an earlier line to Sidmouth Junction railway station. This route was used for through carriages from London Waterloo station sometimes called the Atlantic Coast Express and also a short while from Cleethorpes, which ran via the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway and Templecombe. The line was closed to all traffic on 6 March 1967 following publication of the report The Reshaping of British Railways.^[7]

The original station consisted of a single platform with a track on either side. It was rebuilt with four platform faces, opening on 20 July 1924. An engine shed was provided from the earliest days on the east side of the station, opposite the platforms. It was closed on 8 November 1963 following the introduction of DMU services on the line.

The signal box was closed on 10 March 1968 after which only one train was allowed south of Topsham and only one platform of the four-platform station was required. The station building was demolished and replaced with the present building. A single face (the old platform 2) was opened on 2 May 1976. The eastern side of the station was used for a new road which opened on 10 December 1981; the town's bus station and a swimming and sports centre are also built on the old station site.

Following the privatisation of British Rail the station was operated by Wales & West from 1997 to 2001 and Wessex Trains from 14 October 2001 until 31 March 2006 when operation of the station transferred to Great Western Railway.

This station features a single platform, located on the right when arriving from Exeter. The station features a ticket office which is open on Mondays to Saturdays only, between 7:10 and 15:25. Ticket machines, station parking, and bike racks are also available. There are also public toilets just outside the station.

Exmouth is served by trains on the Avocet Line to Exeter St Davids and Paignton. There is one train roughly every 30-40 minutes to Paignton.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Lympstone Village		Great Western Railway Avocet Line		Terminus
	Disused railways
Littleham Line and station closed		British Rail Southern Region Budleigh Salterton Railway		Terminus

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Exmouth railway station.

• [1] Video footage of Exmouth Station in 2016 and 1970

• Train times and station information for Exmouth railway station from National Rail