Yeoford railway station

Yeoford
Location
Place	Yeoford
Local authority	Mid Devon
Coordinates	50°46′37″N 3°43′34″W / 50.777°N 3.726°WCoordinates: 50°46′37″N 3°43′34″W / 50.777°N 3.726°W
Grid reference	SX783988
Operations
Station code	YEO
Managed by	Great Western Railway
Number of platforms	1
DfT category	F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2002/03	7,993
2004/05	6,883
2005/06	6,848
2006/07	7,701
2007/08	7,445
2008/09	7,946
2009/10	10,504
2010/11	12,948
2011/12	14,164
2012/13	13,746
2013/14	15,588
2014/15	17,128
History
Original company	North Devon Railway
Pre-grouping	London and South Western Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
Opened	1854
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Yeoford from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Yeoford railway station is a rural station on the Tarka Line serving the village of Yeoford in Devon, England. It is served by trains between Barnstaple and Exeter.

History

Yeoford station on 14 July 1969

The station was opened by the North Devon Railway on 1 August 1854. On 1 November 1865 the first section of the Okehampton Railway opened, joining the main line at Coleford Junction, a short distance north of Yeoford.^[1] This route was part of the London and South Western Railway main line between Exeter and Plymouth, and was the main junction of the LSWR's Plymouth and Barnstaple routes (being called Yeoford Junction for some time), but this lost its through trains beyond Okehampton in May 1968 and closed to passengers in 1972.

Passenger trains have since been restored to the Okehampton line, but they only operate on summer Sundays and do not call at Yeoford. The two tracks passing through the station are actually independent single lines, with the one running through the disused (former northbound) platform used for Okehampton line trains, including stone traffic from the Aggregate Industries quarry at Meldon. The Tarka Line trains utilise what used to be the Exeter (southbound) platform in both directions, with the two lines connecting further south at Crediton.

The station has been used by many operators, but recently, over the last decade by Wales & West, a regional West Country and south Wales train operator, which in 2001 divided into Wessex Trains and Wales & Borders. Since then, Yeoford has been served by Wessex Trains and more recently by the Greater Western franchise, owned and operated by FirstGroup and now known as Great Western Railway.

Services

All trains stop every hour on weekdays and Saturdays and every two hours on Sundays on the Barnstaple to Exmouth line. Services are scheduled to stop at Yeoford, but as a request stop. Trains connect with main line services at Exeter St Davids.^[2]

Community railway

The railway between Exeter and Barnstaple is designated as a community railway and is supported by marketing provided by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership. The line is promoted under the Tarka Line name.

The Mare and Foal pub at Yeoford is included in the Tarka Line rail ale trail.

Future

The Dartmoor Railway plan to reopen the disused platform at the station in order to create an interchange with the Tarka Line (and thus the national network). Through running from Yeoford to Okehampton was intended to commence in 2009 but this was delayed pending the finalising of transfer arrangements with Network Rail.^[3] Accordingly, the "Sunday Rover" service run by Great Western Railway again operated on Sundays throughout the summer of 2009, although not calling here.^[4] Though the GWR summer trains have continued to operate since (running again each summer from 2013-16), agreement over the use of Yeoford as an interchange has still not been reached and it is unclear as to when (or if) this will be possible.

In popular culture

Doctor Who recurring character Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (Beverley Cressman), not yet working with UNIT, arrives at Yeoford railway station at the beginning of Dæmos Rising.

References

1. Nicholas, John (1992). The North Devon Line. Sparkford: Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 0-86093-461-6.
2. "National Rail Timetable 136 (Summer 2009)" (PDF). Network Rail. Retrieved 2009-05-11.
3. Dartmoor Railway - News Dartmoor Railway website; retrieved 2009-07-16
4. Dartmoor Railway Timetables Dartmoor Railway website; retrieved 2009-05-07