Truro Truru  | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| General information | |||||
| Location | Truro,Cornwall England | ||||
| Coordinates | 50°15′50″N5°03′52″W / 50.26400°N 5.06432°W /50.26400; -5.06432 | ||||
| Grid reference | SW817449 | ||||
| Managed by | Great Western Railway | ||||
| Platforms | 3 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | TRU | ||||
| Classification | DfT category C1 | ||||
| History | |||||
| Original company | Cornwall Railway and West Cornwall Railway | ||||
| Pre-grouping | Great Western Railway | ||||
| Post-grouping | Great Western Railway | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| Opened | 1859 | ||||
| Line to Falmouth | 1863 | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2019/20 |  1.211 million | ||||
| Interchange |  0.229 million | ||||
| 2020/21 |  0.420 million | ||||
| Interchange | 74,848 | ||||
| 2021/22 | 1.049 million | ||||
| Interchange | 0.215 million | ||||
| 2022/23 | 1.101 million | ||||
| Interchange | 0.241 million | ||||
| 2023/24 | 1.188 million | ||||
| Interchange | 0.255 million | ||||
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Truro railway station (Cornish:Truru) serves the city ofTruro, Cornwall, England. The station is on theCornish Main Line and is the junction for theMaritime Line toFalmouth Docks. It is situated at milepost 300.75miles (484.01 km) fromLondon Paddington, which is measured viaBristol Temple Meads, although most trains use the shorter route viaNewbury.
The station is managed byGreat Western Railway, which serves the station alongsideCrossCountry.
It is the busiest station in Cornwall.[1]
The station opened with theCornwall Railway on 4 May 1859[2] when it was very different from today. Atrain shed roofed over the space between the two platforms and the level crossing was much busier and at the other end of the building, where the branch platform is today. A contemporary report tells us that:
the passenger station here is a handsome stone building, one hundred and thirty feet long, with large projecting roof; and containing in the centre of the building a spacious booking office, having separate entrances for first, second and third class passengers. On each side of this are comfortable first and second class waiting rooms, parcels' room, superintendent's office, and the other conveniences of a first class station. Inside the station is the passenger platform, one hundred and sixty-one feet long by fourteen feet wide, and beyond this three lines ofbroad gauge rails. Then the arrival platform, which is of the same length of that on the opposite side, and twenty feet wide. The whole of the space occupied by these rails and platforms are covered by a double roof, of the respective spans of fifty-seven and forty-one feet, with iron tie and suspension rods on a novel principle. The light, airy and forceful appearance of these roofs has excited the admiration of every person who has viewed them.[3]
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A stonegoods shed was built in front of the station and anengine shed beyond the passenger platforms: "one hundred feet long, and forty-five feet wide, with double line of rails, and accommodation for six engines. Outside of the latter building are a smithery and workmens' shops, in which any casual repairs that may be required, can be executed. This building being erected on 'made ground' is constructed of timber, as being lighter than stone".[3]
TheWest Cornwall Railway shared the station, which was managed by joint committee of the two railways. This line came fromPenzance through the tunnel but was onlystandard gauge until 1 March 1867 when it had a third rail laid to allow bothbroad gauge and standard gauge trains (the rail had actually been laid the previous year but was only used for goods trains for a while). In the meantime theCornwall Railway had extended its rails toFalmouth. The West Cornwall Railway kept its station at Newham Quay to handle goods traffic to the town (Truro did not become a city until 1877) and waterfront, the branch crossing the Falmouth line on the level just beyond Highertown Tunnel at Penwithers Junction.[4]
Two ofBrunel's timber viaducts carried the line high above the town. Immediately outside the station was Carvedras Viaduct, 86 feet above St George's Road and 969 feet long. After passing the site of the castle, the line then passed over Truro Viaduct, which with 20 stone piers stretched to 1,329 feet and was the longest viaduct in Cornwall, although it was only 92 feet high. They were replaced with stone viaducts in 1902 and 1904 respectively, although the original piers still stand.[5]
The Cornwall Railway was amalgamated into theGreat Western Railway on 1 July 1889.[6]
The goods shed was rebuilt quite early on to accommodate the heavy traffic handled. The passenger station was rebuilt in 1897 when the roof was removed, new buildings provided,[7] a new engine shed built nearer the tunnel, and the level crossing removed to the east end. It was at this time that a third footbridge was added across the station in place of the level crossing, access to this being from the road rather than the platforms.[8]
From 2 January 1905 the station was also used as the terminus of the branch toPerranporth andNewquay, although the actual junction was atChacewater station.[8]
The Great Western Railway wasnationalised intoBritish Railways from 1 January 1948 which was privatised in the 1990s.
| Preceding station | Historical railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Services in 1863 | ||||
| Grampound Road | Cornwall Railway | Perranwell | ||
| Terminus | West Cornwall Railway | Chacewater | ||
| Services in 1908 | ||||
| Probus and Ladock Halt | GWRCornish Main Line | Chacewater | ||
| Terminus | GWRTruro & Newquay line | |||
| Terminus | GWRFalmouth branch | Perranwell | ||
Truro station is 300 miles 63 chains (300.79 mi; 484.1 km) from the zero point atLondon Paddington (which is measured on the historical route viaBox andPlymouth Millbay).[9]Platforms:
The platform for trains toPlymouth and beyond can be reached by either of two footbridges, one at either end of the station, but both platforms have step-free access from thelevel crossing at the east end of the platform.[citation needed]
Platform 3 is a bi-directional platform and is able to serve trains in both directions, including trains to and from Falmouth as well. Typically during times where a train to Falmouth has been cancelled and is occupying platform 1, the next Falmouth directly after will use platform 3 if the half-hourly service is still in place.[10]
The main entrance to the brick-built station is on the south side of the line, leading directly to the platform used by trains toPenzance. The station buffet is along this platform on the left, and the bay platform that is used for trains toFalmouth is beyond this.[11] The long-stay car park is situated behind this eastbound platform and access is over the level crossing.[12] There are ticket barriers in operation at the station.[13]
Truro is served by allGreat Western Railway trains on theCornish Main Line betweenPenzance andPlymouth with two trains per hour in each direction. Some trains run through to or fromLondon Paddington, including theNight Riviera overnight sleeping car service, and some through toCardiff Central, as well as one toGloucester daily.
There are a limited number ofCrossCountry trains providing a service toEdinburgh Waverley viaBirmingham New Street andLeeds in the morning, and a few towards Penzance in the evening, including one originating atAberdeen.[14]
TheMaritime Line fromFalmouth Docks terminates in Truro. Since May 2009, this line has run 2 trains per hour in each direction for most of the day, with a reduced, hourly service on Sundays.[15]
| Preceding station |  National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redruth | Great Western Railway Cornish Main Line | St Austell | ||
| CrossCountry Cornish Main Line | ||||
| Perranwell towardsFalmouth Docks | Great Western Railway | Terminus | ||
Signal boxes had been built to control the complex layout at Truro by 1880.[16] These were replaced by a new Truro West signal box in 1897 and a new Truro East in 1899. These were both Great Western Railway Type 7A signal boxes. The West box, which was situated on the north side of the line near the entrance to theengine shed, was closed on 7 November 1971 when the East box, situated on the same side of the line just east of the level crossing, was renamed as just "Truro".[17]
The adjacent signal boxes are atPar railway station to the east, and at Roskear Junction,Camborne, to the west.[18] The Falmouth branch is operated under authority from tokens which are kept in interlocked machines on platform 3 and atFalmouth Docks railway station. In May 2009, the branch was resignalled and a loop installed atPenryn which was controlled from the signal box at Truro.[19] At the same time a new signal (number TR26) was placed at the west end of the eastbound platform to allow trains to reverse back to Penzance or Falmouth without shunting across to another platform.[citation needed]
The signal box and semaphore signals were replaced during 2023-24 with new electric signals installed and controlled fromExeter.[20] The signal box closed in the early hours of the morning of 27 February 2024.[21]
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