Cheltenham Spa railway station
Encyclopedia
Cheltenham
Spa railway station is in Gloucestershire
, England, on the Bristol-Birmingham main line. It is managed by First Great Western
and is about one mile from the town centre.
(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 in the town, and the principal one, Cheltenham Spa (Lansdown), named from the principal road in the area, is the only one remaining, although without its secondary title. It was opened by the B&GR on 24 June 1840; was renamed Cheltenham Spa (Lansdown) on 1 February 1925 by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
, and again renamed Cheltenham Spa by British Railways at some point after 1 January 1948.
The C&GWUR was taken over by the Great Western Railway
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.
Cheltenham Spa Malvern Road West Signal Box, and its east equivalent, had the longest namesigns on the GWR.
First Great Western
operate approx hourly Cheltenham Spa/Gloucester/Stonehouse/Stroud/Kemble/Swindon services, some (operated by InterCity 125 High Speed Trains) extended to Reading & London Paddington. A small number of these services extend beyond Cheltenham Spa to/from Worcester; a few extend at the Swindon end via Melksham to Westbury and beyond.
First Great Western also operates local services on the Bristol (Temple Meads/Parkway), Yate, Cam & Dursley, Gloucester and Cheltenham Spa route, most extending north to Ashchurch/Worcester (and some beyond there to Great Malvern). South of Bristol, many services operate through from stations on the Bristol TM/Bath Spa/Westbury route continuing to Weymouth, Salisbury/Southampton or Portsmouth/Brighton.
CrossCountry Trains serve Cheltenham Spa on two routes, the Cardiff/Gloucester/Cheltenham Spa/University/Birmingham/Nottingham service and the longer-distance Penzance/Cheltenham Spa/Aberdeen route, giving Cheltenham excellent and frequent rail connections to Birmingham, Manchester, Derby, Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle and Edinburgh.
Arriva Trains Wales
operate approx. hourly with a Maesteg
via Bridgend, Cardiff & Newport to Chepstow/Lydney/Gloucester/Cheltenham Spa service.
Stagecoach in Cheltenham Bus Service D serves the station forecourt, providing a very regular link to Cheltenham Town Centre which is approx 2km to the North-East.
The London Midland
Worcester
to Gloucester
service was discontinued from the start of the December 2009 railway timetable due to low passenger usage.
. Local fears were that this would severely impact services to Cheltenham Spa; , the project is currently shelved.
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
(which currently terminates at some few miles away) intend (after a further couple of years) to eventually extend to a new heritage platform or two (next door to the mainline station), to where it could interchange with services on the Cross-Country Route which runs by.
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
Spa railway station is in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, England, on the Bristol-Birmingham main line. It is managed by First Great Western
First Great Western
First Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....
and is about one mile from the town centre.
History
The first railway to Cheltenham was the broad-gauge Cheltenham and Great Western Union RailwayCheltenham and Great Western Union Railway
The Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway was a broad gauge railway that linked the Great Western Railway at Swindon, Wiltshire, with Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England...
(C&GWUR), authorised by Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
in 1836, and opened between Cheltenham and Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
in 1840. In the same year the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway
Birmingham and Gloucester Railway
The Birmingham and Gloucester Railway is a railway route linking Birmingham to Gloucester in England.It is one of the world's oldest main line railways and includes the famous Lickey Incline, a dead-straight stretch of track running up the 1-in-37 gradient of the Lickey Ridge...
(B&GR) opened its line between Cheltenham and Bromsgrove
Bromsgrove
Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England. The town is about north east of Worcester and south west of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 29,237 in 2001 with a small ethnic minority and is in Bromsgrove District.- History :Bromsgrove is first documented in the early 9th century...
, whence trains ran on mixed-gauge tracks to Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
. Both railways had their own stations in the town, and the principal one, Cheltenham Spa (Lansdown), named from the principal road in the area, is the only one remaining, although without its secondary title. It was opened by the B&GR on 24 June 1840; was renamed Cheltenham Spa (Lansdown) on 1 February 1925 by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
, and again renamed Cheltenham Spa by British Railways at some point after 1 January 1948.
The C&GWUR was taken over by the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
in 1844, and the B&GR by the Midland Railway
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
in 1846. Within the town there were three other passenger railway stations: Malvern Road
Cheltenham Spa Malvern Road railway station
-History:The station was opened by the Great Western Railway on 30 March 1908, as Cheltenham Malvern Road. It was provided so that trains along the line to would not have to start and terminate at , which involved a reversal. The station took its name from the road to the north from which a long...
, St James's
Cheltenham Spa St. James railway station
-History:The first station was opened by the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway on 23 October 1847, as Cheltenham. It was the terminus of the final section of that company's line from a junction with the Great Western Railway at , which had opened in stages: to on 31 May 1841; to on 12...
and Cheltenham South and Leckhampton
Cheltenham South and Leckhampton railway station
Cheltenham South and Leckhampton railway station in Gloucestershire served the village of Leckhampton and the southern outskirts of Cheltenham Spa.-History:...
; there was also High Street Halt
Cheltenham High Street Halt railway station
Cheltenham High Street Halt was a railway station on the Great Western Railway's Honeybourne Line between Cheltenham and Birmingham via Stratford-upon-Avon. It opened in 1908 and closed in 1917 due to the First World War, never to be reopened.-Facilities:...
and the Racecourse Platform
Cheltenham Racecourse railway station
Cheltenham Racecourse railway station is a railway station serving Cheltenham Racecourse on the outskirts of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, England....
, open only on race days.
Cheltenham Spa Malvern Road West Signal Box, and its east equivalent, had the longest namesigns on the GWR.
Services
Cheltenham Spa station has a staffed ticket office and two passenger-operated cash-and-card self-service ticket machines. There is a buffet on southbound platform 1, and extensive car parking. The station is served by approx 8 to 12 trains every hour during the daytime on Mondays to Saturdays (less frequent on Sundays).First Great Western
First Great Western
First Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....
operate approx hourly Cheltenham Spa/Gloucester/Stonehouse/Stroud/Kemble/Swindon services, some (operated by InterCity 125 High Speed Trains) extended to Reading & London Paddington. A small number of these services extend beyond Cheltenham Spa to/from Worcester; a few extend at the Swindon end via Melksham to Westbury and beyond.
First Great Western also operates local services on the Bristol (Temple Meads/Parkway), Yate, Cam & Dursley, Gloucester and Cheltenham Spa route, most extending north to Ashchurch/Worcester (and some beyond there to Great Malvern). South of Bristol, many services operate through from stations on the Bristol TM/Bath Spa/Westbury route continuing to Weymouth, Salisbury/Southampton or Portsmouth/Brighton.
CrossCountry Trains serve Cheltenham Spa on two routes, the Cardiff/Gloucester/Cheltenham Spa/University/Birmingham/Nottingham service and the longer-distance Penzance/Cheltenham Spa/Aberdeen route, giving Cheltenham excellent and frequent rail connections to Birmingham, Manchester, Derby, Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle and Edinburgh.
Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...
operate approx. hourly with a Maesteg
Maesteg railway station
Maesteg railway station is one of two railway stations that serve the town of Maesteg in South Wales. The 1992 built station is located in the centre of the town, adjacent to the Somerfield Supermarket store and on former sidings.-History:...
via Bridgend, Cardiff & Newport to Chepstow/Lydney/Gloucester/Cheltenham Spa service.
Stagecoach in Cheltenham Bus Service D serves the station forecourt, providing a very regular link to Cheltenham Town Centre which is approx 2km to the North-East.
The London Midland
London Midland
London Midland is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Legally named London and Birmingham Railway Ltd, it is a subsidiary of Govia, and has operated the West Midlands franchise since 11 November 2007....
Worcester
Worcester Shrub Hill railway station
Worcester Shrub Hill railway station is one of two railway stations serving the city of Worcester in Worcestershire, England. It is managed by London Midland, and it is also served by First Great Western....
to Gloucester
Gloucester railway station
Gloucester railway station serves the city of Gloucester in England. The station was originally built as the terminus of the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway in 1840, but the arrival of the Bristol and Gloucester Railway and Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway in 1844, and then conversion...
service was discontinued from the start of the December 2009 railway timetable due to low passenger usage.
Future plans
Gloucestershire County Council are currently proposing a new station called Gloucestershire Parkway railway stationGloucestershire Parkway railway station
Gloucestershire Parkway railway station is a proposed railway station to be located just outside Gloucester on the A40 road at Elmbridge Court, England, United Kingdom...
. Local fears were that this would severely impact services to Cheltenham Spa; , the project is currently shelved.
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway is a volunteer-run heritage railway on the Gloucestershire/Worcestershire/Warwickshire Borders that has reopened the closed railway line between Laverton Halt and Cheltenham Racecourse railway stations in Gloucestershire/Worcestershire., it currently...
(which currently terminates at some few miles away) intend (after a further couple of years) to eventually extend to a new heritage platform or two (next door to the mainline station), to where it could interchange with services on the Cross-Country Route which runs by.