Stonehouse railway station is a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

that serves the town of Stonehouse in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) 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. The county town is the city of Gl ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The station is located on the

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

"Golden Valley" line.

History

The station was formerly called Stonehouse Burdett Road to distinguish it from a second station, Stonehouse (Bristol Road), on the line between Bristol and Gloucester. Stonehouse Bristol Road closed to passengers under the

Beeching Axe The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the ...

in 1965 and to goods traffic the following year.

Description

The station has two platforms, and is operated by

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

. The station has a ticket office, located on the Gloucester-bound platform; it is normally only open in the mornings, until the end of the peak period. The platforms are short: only about each. This is long enough to accommodate the two-coach trains used on – local services; but Class 800s running to or from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

or Cheltenham Spa may be up to nine coaches. Since long trains cannot be accommodated entirely, such trains running towards Gloucester normally stop with the front two coaches in the platform, and those running toward London normally stop with the rear two in the platform. Passengers intending to alight at Stonehouse are advised earlier in their journeys to proceed along the train to the relevant coaches. Since trains from Cheltenham reverse at Gloucester, this can lead to confusion for cyclists as to which end of the train in which to load their bicycles.

Station upgrade

In December 2017 the station completed a £300,000 upgrade. The work included ground levelling, improved access and a new footbridge. In 2018, improvements were made to the provision of service information for passengers, comprising the installation of LED dot-matrix passenger information screens and the provision of automated announcements. Works to extend the short platforms by around 100m were completed in 2019. These changes were required for introduction of Class 166 trains, which are longer than the previous rolling stock used on the line.

Services

operate services from

London Paddington Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services pro ...

and

Cheltenham Spa Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

using Class 800s, and limited local services from to Gloucester and Cheltenham using Class 165 two carriage sets. Trains call hourly in each direction Mon-Sat and also on Sundays (though with some two hour gaps).

References

External links

Old photos of Stonehouse Burdett Road Station - Stonehouse History Group
* {{Transport in Gloucestershire Stroud District Railway stations in Gloucestershire DfT Category E stations Former Great Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1845 Railway stations served by Great Western Railway