Lympstone Commando railway station
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| Lympstone Commando | |||
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| Location | |||
| Place | Lympstone | ||
| Local authority | East Devon, Devon | ||
| Coordinates | Coordinates: | ||
| Operations | |||
| Station code | LYC | ||
| Managed by | First Great Western | ||
| Platforms in use | 1 | ||
| Live departures and station information from National Rail | |||
| Annual Rail Passenger Usage | |||
| 2004/05 * | 55,875 | ||
| 2005/06 * | 62,141 | ||
| History | |||
| Key dates | Opened 3 May 1976 | ||
| National Rail - UK railway stations | |||
| * Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Lympstone Commando from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. | |||
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Lympstone Commando railway station is a railway station on the branch line from Exeter to Exmouth in Devon, England.
The station is a rare example of a passenger station not open to the general public: it is exclusively for the use of visitors to the Royal Marine Commando Training Centre at Lympstone.
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[edit] History
The station was opened on 3 May 1976. This caused some confusion with the older Lympstone railway station, but this has since been renamed "Lympstone Village".[1]
For many years troop trains were a feature of its operation about three times each year. The trains were operated with a locomotive at each end as there is no way to run around a train south of Topsham; the leading locomotive on arrival was dragged back to Exeter Central where it was detached. The trains were considerably longer than the platform and loading the passengers was a slow operation as they had to make their way through the train from the centre coaches. A similar operation today is difficult to arrange as the regular timetabled passenger service is much more intensive than in the 1980s.
[edit] Description
The station is situated on the banks of the estuary of the River Exe. It consists of a single platform , which is on the left of trains arriving from Exeter. Access to the commando base is by way of an armed sentry post – this is the only access to and from the platform.
[edit] Services
About half the trains on the Avocet Line from Exmouth to Exeter St Davids call at Lympstone Commando – this means that passengers alighting here must tell the conductor that they wish to do so, and those waiting to join must signal clearly to the driver as the train approaches.
Beyond Exeter St Davids they generally continue to either Paignton or Barnstaple. Connections are available at Exeter Central for Pinhoe and stations to Waterloo; passengers for other main line stations change at St Davids.[2]
Note that only people having business at the commando base are allowed to board or alight at this station. Passengers for Lympstone itself must use Lympstone Village railway station.
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lympstone Village | First Great Western | Exton | ||
[edit] References
- ^ Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (1992). Branch Lines to Exmouth. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 1-873793-00-6.
- ^ National Rail Timetable 136.
[edit] External links
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