Bruton railway station


Bruton railway station serves a largely rural area in the county of Somerset in England. The station is situated in the small town of Bruton.
The station is on the Bristol to Weymouth line some south of Bath Spa. Trains on the Reading to Taunton line pass through the station but do not normally stop. Services are operated by Great Western Railway and South Western Railway.

History

The station was opened by the Great Western Railway on 1 September 1856 on its Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth main line. At that time this was just a single track but a loop was provided at Bruton to allow trains to pass. Stone buildings were erected on both platforms, and a footbridge linked the platforms from 1895. A signal box was provided from 1877 at the west end of the station.
The goods yard, which was on the north side of the line opposite the signal box, was closed on 5 April 1965 and the station was downgraded to an unstaffed halt from 6 October 1969 under the Western Region of British Railways.

Description

The station has two platforms with a modern glass-and-metal waiting shelter on each. A footbridge enables passengers to cross the line. There is no wheelchair access to the far platform. The station has a bike rack and help points.
The cutting in which the railway is built is a Site of Special Scientific Interest as one of the best places in England to demonstrate the stratigraphic distinction of ammonites in the subcontractus zone and the morrisi zone.

Services

Great Western Railway operates eight trains each way on the Bristol to Weymouth line during the week and five on Sundays. It is not a regular service; there are some gaps of up to three hours between trains. To the north services run to and from and via. Most are extended beyond Bristol to and from. To the south trains run to and.
South Western Railway operates four services per day to via and.
A faster and more frequent service to London is available at station from where Great Western Railway operates trains into.