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Cheltenham Spa railway station

Coordinates: 51°53′49″N 2°06′00″W / 51.897°N 2.100°W / 51.897; -2.100
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Cheltenham Spa
National Rail
Platforms at Cheltenham Spa station in June 2018
General information
LocationCheltenham, Gloucestershire
England
Coordinates51°53′49″N 2°06′00″W / 51.897°N 2.100°W / 51.897; -2.100
Grid referenceSO931220
Managed byGreat Western Railway
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeCNM
ClassificationDfT category C1
History
Original companyBirmingham and Gloucester Railway
Pre-groupingMidland Railway
Post-groupingLMS
Key dates
24 June 1840Opened as Cheltenham
1 February 1925Renamed Cheltenham Spa (Lansdown)
1 January 1948Renamed Cheltenham Spa
Passengers
2019/20Increase 2.591 million
 Interchange Increase 0.241 million
2020/21Decrease 0.462 million
 Interchange Decrease 41,713
2021/22Increase 1.794 million
 Interchange Increase 0.169 million
2022/23Increase 1.965 million
 Interchange Increase 0.222 million
2023/24Increase 2.045 million
 Interchange Increase 0.235 million
Location
Map
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Cheltenham Spa railway station serves the spa town of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, England. Situated on the Bristol–Birmingham main line, it is managed by Great Western Railway, although most services are operated by CrossCountry. The station is about one mile from the town centre. The official name of the station is Cheltenham, however when the station was renamed in 1925, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway chose to add Spa to the station name.[1] It is a regional interchange and the second busiest station in Gloucestershire, as well as one of the busiest railway stations in South West England.

History

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A 1910 Railway Clearing House map of railways in the vicinity of Cheltenham Spa (shown here as Queen's Road, Lansdown)
Former MR Johnson 1P 2-4-0 20216 at Cheltenham Spa station in July 1949

The first railway to Cheltenham was the broad-gauge Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway (C&GWUR), authorised by Act of Parliament in 1836, and opened between Cheltenham and Gloucester in 1840. In the same year, the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway (B&GR) opened its line between Cheltenham and Bromsgrove, whence trains ran on mixed-gauge tracks to Gloucester. Both railways had their own stations, but the B&GR station, which was then on the edge of the town and was named Lansdown after a housing development in that area,[2] is the only one remaining. The buildings were designed by the architect Samuel Daukes and the station was opened by the B&GR on 24 June 1840.[1]

The C&GWUR was taken over by the Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1844, and the B&GR by the Midland Railway in 1846. Within the town, there were three other passenger railway stations: Malvern Road, St James's and Cheltenham South and Leckhampton; there was also High Street Halt and the Racecourse Platform, open only on race days.

From 1892, there was a route from Cheltenham to the docks at Southampton, via Andoversford and the Midland and South Western Junction Railway.

The station was renamed Cheltenham Spa (Lansdown) on 1 February 1925 by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, and renamed again as Cheltenham Spa by British Railways at some point after 1 January 1948.[3]

Stationmasters

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  • William Turnbull 1844–1872[4] (discharged for failing to report his ticket collector for fraud)[5]
  • Joseph Vizard Bendall 1872[4]–1900[6] (formerly station master at Harpenden)
  • Henry Ward 1900–1907[6] (afterwards station master at Bedford)
  • Horace E. Horne 1907[6]–1909 (formerly station master at Harpenden)
  • Charles Williams 1910–1913 (formerly station master at Hay)
  • G.Preston Heggs 1913–1914 (afterwards station master at Sheffield)
  • Henry Pitt 1914[7]-1918 (formerly station master at Rushden)
  • Arthur Ernest Chandler 1918–1928[8] (afterwards station master at Burton upon Trent)
  • John Richard Needham from 1956[9] (formerly station master at Lancaster Green Ayre)

Services

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South entrance to the station in October 2013

Cheltenham Spa station is served by 8 to 12 trains every hour during the daytime on Mondays to Saturdays; services are less frequent on Sundays. Three train operating companies services stop here:

  • GWR operates approximately hourly trains to Swindon via Gloucester; some services extend through to Didcot Parkway, Reading and ‹See TfM›London Paddington. One train to/from London Paddington per day is extended to Worcester Shrub Hill, calling additionally at Ashchurch for Tewkesbury. GWR also operates local services on the Bristol (Temple Meads/Parkway) to Gloucester and Worcester Shrub Hill route; these serve Cheltenham every two hours each way, with some southbound services continuing onwards to Westbury and Weymouth.[10]
Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Gloucester   Transport for Wales
Maesteg - Cheltenham
  Terminus
Gloucester   CrossCountry
Cardiff – Nottingham
  Worcestershire Parkway or Ashchurch for Tewkesbury
Bristol Parkway   CrossCountry
South West – North East and Scotland
  Birmingham New Street
  CrossCountry
Bristol – Manchester
 
Gloucester   Great Western Railway
Cheltenham – London/Swindon
  Terminus
Gloucester   Great Western Railway
Great Malvern – Westbury
  Ashchurch for
Tewkesbury
Disused railways
Badgeworth   Birmingham and
Gloucester Railway
  Swindon (Glos)
Churchdown   Midland Railway   Cheltenham High Street
Terminus   Great Western Railway
Midland and South Western Junction Railway
  Leckhampton
Line and station closed
Heritage Railways  Proposed Heritage railways
Cheltenham Malvern Road
Line and station closed
  Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway   Terminus

Redevelopment proposals

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In early 2012, Cheltenham Council released a concept statement promoting various enhancements at the station.[13] In March 2013, the Gloucestershire Local Transport Body (LTB) asked for bids from the local area for transport projects which could be funded in the period 2015 to 2019. A proposal to significantly enhance the station with new passenger facilities, and install a new south-facing bay platform to enable trains to reverse and increase capacity, was put forward.[citation needed]

During the development phase of the submission, it was found that two new bay platforms were required. This configuration formed the basis of a station regeneration proposal that was submitted to the Gloucestershire Local Transport Body for consideration in early March 2013. Following short-listing to stage 2, a second funding proposal was submitted in May 2013. Proposals for the station and various other transport schemes were published for public consultation on the LTB website in the same month,[citation needed] and the LTB allocated £3.3 million to the scheme, which had an estimated total cost of £20 million.[14]

In February 2014, the scheme was shelved after both Network Rail and train operator First Great Western refused to back the portion of the proposals relating to the additional platforms, though they were supportive of the need to upgrade other passenger facilities; that is, station building, taxi/bus interchange and car parking improvements.[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Cheltonia: The curiosities of Cheltenham Spa, past and present". Archived from the original on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  2. ^ "Cheltonia: The curiosities of Cheltenham Spa, past and present". Archived from the original on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  3. ^ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 59. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  4. ^ a b "1871–1879 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 338. 1871. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Mr. Turnbull and the Midland Railway". Cheltenham Chronicle. England. 27 February 1872. Retrieved 31 May 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ a b c "1899-1908 Coaching; Piece 1027". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 135. 1899. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  7. ^ "Country Notes". Northampton Mercury. England. 7 August 1914. Retrieved 26 December 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "Stationmaster leaving Cheltenham". Cheltenham Chronicle. England. 1 September 1928. Retrieved 31 May 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ "Presentation to Green Ayre Stationmaster". Lancaster Guardian. England. 8 June 1956. Retrieved 24 December 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ^ "Train Times". Great Western Railway. 10 December 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  11. ^ "Timetables". CrossCountry. 10 December 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  12. ^ "Timetables". Transport for Wales. 10 December 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  13. ^ Cheltenham Spa railway station concept statement Archived 3 September 2012 at the Wayback MachineCheltenham Borough Council website; Retrieved 21 March 2015
  14. ^ a b Maidment, Jack (4 February 2014). "Plans for two new platforms at Cheltenham Spa railway station controversially shelved". Gloucestershire Echo. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015 – via Internet Archive.

Further reading

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