Digby and Sowton railway station

Digby and Sowton railway station is on the Avocet Line in Devon, England. The station is unstaffed[1] and an automated ticket machine sells tickets for immediate travel. As a result of this, the station is part of a new Penalty Fare Zone, where passengers could be charged a £20 penalty fare if a ticket is not purchased, prior to joining the train.

Digby and Sowton
Location	Digby, Exeter England
Coordinates	50.714°N 3.474°W
Grid reference	SX960914
Managed by	Great Western Railway
Platforms	1
Other information
Station code	DIG
Classification	DfT category F1
History
Original company	Railtrack
Key dates
23 May 1995	Opened
Passengers
2015/16	0.561 million
2016/17	0.589 million
2017/18	0.631 million
2018/19	0.666 million
2019/20	0.624 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Exeter railway stations
Avocet Line to Exmouth Topsham Newcourt Digby and Sowton Polsloe Bridge West of England line to London Waterloo via Salisbury Pinhoe St James Park Exeter Central Bristol–Exeter line to Bristol and London Paddington Exeter St Davids Tarka Line to Barnstaple Exeter St Thomas Riviera Line to Paignton & Exeter–Plymouth line to Plymouth and Penzance

History

A small station known as Clyst St Mary and Digby Halt was opened by the London and South Western Railway on 1 June 1908 to serve Clyst St Mary and Digby Hospital. The 120 foot (37 m) long platforms were built from old railway sleepers. It was closed by the new British Railways on 27 September 1948.[2]

The present Digby and Sowton station was funded by Devon County Council and Tesco Stores Limited; construction began on 9 November 1994 and it opened on 23 May 1995.[3] It is situated about 380 yards (350 m) south of the site of the old station to serve new housing on the site of the now closed psychiatric hospital, and also a light industrial estate at nearby Sowton.

The station was operated by Wessex Trains, until 31 March 2006 when First Great Western took over the franchise.

Description

The station serves the Sowton Industrial Estate via a long foot/cycle path that runs along the railway line and the housing estates around the former Digby Hospital through a step free access bridge, with divided sections for cycles and pedestrians.

The station is also a short walk to/from the Sandy Park rugby ground, the home of the Exeter Chiefs.

In 2009, it was included in a two-year scheme to improve local railway stations. Shelter space for passengers was doubled, better surface and lighting was installed, and a new footpath was created.[1] The cycle network connecting stations along the Avocet Line from Exmouth to Exeter, including the Digby and Sowton station, was improved.[1]

Passenger volume

There has been considerable growth in passenger usage of Digby & Sowton. During the twelve months ended March 2003, over 120,000 people used the station, and this doubled within five years.[4] In 2009, over 275,000 passengers used the rail station, making it one of the busiest unstaffed railway stations in the area.[1]

	2002-03	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08
Entries	60,818	68,208	78,811	101,063	125,299
Exits	59,687	66,596	77,011	100,891	122,153
Total	120,505	134,804	155,822	201,954	247,452

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

The station is served by all trains on the Avocet Line between Exmouth, Exeter St Davids and Paignton.

References

1. "Exeter rail station wins revamp cash". Express & Echo. 20 August 2009. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013.
2. Oakley, Mike (2007). Devon Railway Stations. Wimbourne: The Dovecote Press. ISBN 978-1-904349-55-6.
3. Maggs, Colin G. (1997) [1980]. The Exeter and Exmouth Railway. Locomotion Papers. Usk: Oakwood Press. p. 41. ISBN 0-85361-430-X. LP203.
4. "Station Usage". Rail Statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Retrieved 13 March 2009.