Quintrell Downs railway station

Coordinates: 50°24′14″N 5°01′44″W / 50.404°N 5.029°W / 50.404; -5.029
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Quintrell Downs

Goonkoyntrel
National Rail
Looking east from the level crossing
General information
LocationQuintrell Downs, Cornwall
England
Coordinates50°24′14″N 5°01′44″W / 50.404°N 5.029°W / 50.404; -5.029
Grid referenceSW848604
Managed byGreat Western Railway
Platforms1
Other information
Station codeQUI
ClassificationDfT category F2
History
Original companyGreat Western Railway
Key dates
1911Opened
Passengers
2018/19Increase 2,684
2019/20Decrease 2,412
2020/21Decrease 1,088
2021/22Increase 2,804
2022/23Increase 3,038
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Quintrell Downs railway station (Cornish: Goonkoyntrel) serves the village of Quintrell Downs in Cornwall, England. It is 300 miles 16 chains (300.20 miles, 483.13 km) measured from the zero point at London Paddington (via Box and Plymouth Millbay),[1] on the Atlantic Coast Line. The station is managed by Great Western Railway with local services in each direction all calling here.

History[edit]

The first railway here was a horse-worked line from Newquay Harbour to Hendra Crazey. It was built by Joseph Treffry and completed in 1849. The Cornwall Minerals Railway opened its line from Fowey to St Dennis Junction on 1 June 1874, where it connected with Treffry's Newquay Railway. Although a siding was provided at an early date and passenger trains began passing through from 20 June 1876, the station at Quintrell Downs was not opened until 2 October 1911 (as Quintrell Downs Platform), by which time the line was part of the Great Western Railway. The suffix 'platform' in a GWR station name meant a staffed halt, and a member of staff remained until the gated level crossing was replaced by an open crossing in the 1990s. This crossing was upgraded to automatic half barriers in 2003-04.

Location[edit]

All trains pause at this station when travelling in the up direction towards Par so that the level crossing can be activated. However, such stops are not available to passengers.

Services[edit]

Class 150 with a service to Par

Quintrell Downs is the only intermediate station on the line to not be a request stop. The typical service is one train every two hours in each direction between Par and Newquay, with some services extending to Plymouth and one train in the summer extending to Penzance. There are few local services on summer Saturdays, when intercity trains run through to Newquay. Because of this, there is just one train per day in each direction due to the faster services running through to Newquay. Local trains are usually operated by Class 150 Sprinters.

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
St Columb Road   Great Western Railway
Atlantic Coast Line
  Newquay

Community rail[edit]

Local trains on the Newquay branch are designated as community rail services and are supported with marketing jointly provided by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership and the franchised operator. The route is promoted as the "Atlantic Coast Line".

References[edit]

  1. ^ Padgett, David (June 2018) [1989]. Munsey, Myles (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 3: Western & Wales (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. map 10C. ISBN 978-1-9996271-0-2.
  • Bennett, Alan (1988). The Great Western Railway in Mid Cornwall. Southampton: Kingfisher Railway Publications. ISBN 0-946184-53-4.
  • Cooke, RA (1977). Track Layout Diagrams of the GWR and BR WR, Section 11: East Cornwall. Harwell: RA Cooke.
  • Vaughan, John (1991). The Newquay Branch and its Branches. Sparkford: Haynes/Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 0-86093-470-5.