Yate
National Rail
The northbound platform with the former goods shed on the right
General information
LocationYate, South Gloucestershire
England
Coordinates51°32′28″N 2°25′55″W / 51.5411°N 2.4319°W / 51.5411; -2.4319
Grid referenceST701826
Managed byGreat Western Railway
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeYAE
ClassificationDfT category F1
History
Original companyBristol and Gloucester Railway
Pre-groupingMidland Railway
Post-groupingLMS
Key dates
8 July 1844Opened
4 January 1965Closed
11 May 1989Reopened
Passengers
2018/19Decrease 0.342 million
2019/20Steady 0.342 million
2020/21Decrease 68,562
2021/22Increase 0.177 million
2022/23Increase 0.238 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Yate railway station serves the town of Yate in South Gloucestershire, in south west England. The station is located on the main Bristol to Birmingham line between Bristol Parkway and Cam & Dursley, and is operated by Great Western Railway.

History

A 1909 Railway Clearing House map of railways in the vicinity of Yate

The Yate station first opened on 8 July 1844 and closed on 4 January 1965, along with other wayside stations on the former Bristol and Gloucester Railway; the local stopping service on the route having been withdrawn as a result of the Beeching Axe.[1][2] This had both its platforms on the southern side of the road bridge mentioned above - the original 1844 goods shed still stands (now in commercial use) next to the old southbound platform site.[3] The station was reopened by British Rail on 11 May 1989 with the backing of Avon County Council.

When first open, trains headed south along the original B&GR/Midland route via Fishponds to reach Bristol, although a connection was subsequently laid in to link this route with the rival Great Western Railway's 1903 "Badminton Line" from Wootton Bassett to Patchway (the current South Wales Main Line) in 1908. The new connection left the older line by means a flying junction at Yate South[4] before heading southwest to join the SWML at the triangular Westerleigh Junction. Though jointly built by the two companies for the purpose of giving the GWR access to the Severn Rail Bridge and Severn and Wye Railway, it also provided an alternative route to Bristol Temple Meads via Filton and the Great Western soon made use of it to compete with the Midland for Bristol to Birmingham traffic, much to the dismay of the latter company. All services now use this newer line to get to Bristol, as the original 1844 route through Mangotsfield was abandoned in January 1970 following the completion of the Bristol area resignalling scheme. A short section of the old route was retained from Yate South Junction after the rest closed, to serve a domestic waste transfer depot and fuel oil distribution terminal at Westerleigh sidings. This line is still in use today.

It is the junction station for the Thornbury Branchline, however the passenger stations on this branch have long since closed (trains ceased in 1944) and the line remained open to serve Tytherington Quarry until September 2013, when it was placed 'Out of Use' by Network Rail following the mothballing of the quarry at the beginning of the year.[5][6][7] The line has now (summer 2017) returned to use following the reopening of the quarry, with Mendip Rail running periodic stone trains.

In the Strategic Rail Authority’s 2007/08 financial year, Yate was ranked as the 1104th most-used station in the UK. In the Office of Rail and Road's 2019/20 estimations, Yate ranked 1,114th most used station.[8]

Facilities

The station is staffed on weekday mornings.[9] It has two staggered platforms, separated by the A432 road bridge. An automated ticket machine was installed in mid-2007, but stopped functioning due to vandalism and is reported to be "unlikely to be replaced in the foreseeable future".[10] A new ticket machine was installed in 2013 on platform 1, whilst the portakabin ticket office is on the opposite platform. Digital information screens, customer help points and timetable posters provide train running information, whilst CCTV was installed here in 2011.[11] Step-free access to both platforms is available (via ramps from the road bridge to platform 1).

Services

A GWR Class 165 at the northbound platform

The station is served Monday to Saturday by a two trains every hour in both directions between Gloucester and Westbury via Bristol Temple Meads (with hourly extensions to/from Worcester northbound and to/from Weymouth southbound, plus a single service to/from Portsmouth Harbour). In May 2023, additional trains to/from Bristol were introduced as part Phase 2 of the MetroWest scheme. Yate station is also served by a hourly Sunday service. A normal service operates on most bank holidays.

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Bristol Parkway   Great Western Railway
Gloucester - Westbury		   Cam and Dursley
Disused railways
Mangotsfield
Line and station closed		   Bristol and Gloucester Railway
Midland Railway		   Wickwar
Station closed
Terminus   Thornbury Branch Line
Midland Railway		   Iron Acton
Station closed

References

  1. ↑ The Victoria County History of Gloucestershire, Volume 14, Yate: Settlement (draft), p.10 Victoria County History.ac.uk; Retrieved 2013-12-13
  2. ↑ British Railways Board - The Reshaping of British Railways, Part 1 Report (HMSO) 1963, p.121The Railways Archive; Retrieved 2013-12-13
  3. ↑ "Viewfinder - Goods shed, Yate Railway Station, Station Road, Yate, Avon"English Heritage; Retrieved 2013-12-12
  4. ↑ Yate South Junction signalling diagramSignalling Record Society; Retrieved 2013-12-12
  5. ↑ "Establishment of proposed G1 Short Term Network Change: Tytherington Branch (from 0m 30ch) Designation as "Out of Use (temporary)"" (PDF). Swindon: Network Rail. 10 September 2013. STNC/G1/2013/WEST/565. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  6. ↑ "Calls to Restore Railway Line Following Quarry Closure" Souvebois, Marion,Gloucestershire Gazette news article 2-01-2013; Retrieved 2013-12-12
  7. ↑ "New Lease of Life Planned For Tracks Behind Thornbury Quarry" Gardner, Rachel Bristol Post article 5-01-2013; Retrieved 2013-12-12
  8. ↑ "ORR Data Portal"
  9. ↑ National Rail Enquiries - Yate
  10. ↑ Yate Station User Group
  11. ↑ "CCTV to deter Yate station vandalism" BBC News article 1 March 2011; Retrieved 10 April 2017
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