Perranwell railway station

Perranwell station (Cornish: Fentenberan) is on the Maritime Line between Truro and Falmouth Docks in Cornwall, England. The station is managed by, and the services are operated by, Great Western Railway.

Perranwell Fentenberan
Looking towards Truro in 2013
General information
Location	Perranarworthal, Cornwall England
Coordinates	50.217°N 5.112°W / 50.217; -5.112
Grid reference	SW780398
Managed by	Great Western Railway
Platforms	1
Other information
Station code	PRW
Classification	DfT category F2
History
Original company	Cornwall Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Western Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
Key dates
Opened as 'Perran'	24 August 1863
Renamed 'Perranwell'	19 February 1864
Passengers
2018/19	31,920
2019/20	33,168
2020/21	10,718
2021/22	29,566
2022/23	31,926
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

The old goods shed in 2009

The station was opened as 'Perran' on 24 August 1863 when the Cornwall Railway opened the line from Truro to Falmouth. It was renamed 'Perranwell' on 19 February 1864 to avoid confusion with nearby Penryn.^[1][2]

There were originally two platforms either side of a passing loop, and a goods shed with several sidings to south, one of which was equipped with a two-ton crane. The yard was able to accommodate live stock and most types of goods. The signal box was very distinctive, being sited on girders above the track alongside the goods shed.^[3][4]

A GWR camp coach was sited at the station from 1936 to 1939,^[5] and the Western Region also provided one from 1952 to 1964.^[6]

The Cornwall Railway was amalgamated into the Great Western Railway on 1 July 1889. The Great Western Railway was nationalised into British Railways from 1 January 1948, and was privatised in the 1990s.

The goods shed still stands in the forecourt despite goods traffic ceasing on 4 January 1965. A drinking fountain on the platform is a reminder of more important days, although it is no longer in use.

The original Carnon viaduct

A short distance on either side of the station, valleys had to be crossed on lofty timber viaducts. To the north, Carnon viaduct crossed 96 feet (29 m) above the Carnon River valley and the Redruth and Chasewater Railway. In the other direction, trains crossed the smaller Perran Viaduct, which was 56 feet (17 m) high and 339 feet (103 m) long.

By the 1980s, the station had become run down, with only a small aluminium shelter with polycarbonate panels offering protection for passengers. However, during the late 1990s a new brick waiting shelter was built as part of a refurbishment programme at all the "Maritime Line" stations.

Facilities

There is one platform with level access from the car park, and information boards and a waiting shelter on the platform. A ticket machine was installed in 2023.

Services

A new loop at Penryn allowed the services frequency on the Maritime Line to be doubled from 17 May 2009, giving up to a half-hourly service. However, when two trains are operating, only alternate services call at Perranwell.^[7]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Truro		Great Western Railway (Maritime Line)		Penryn

Community Rail

The railway from Truro to Falmouth is designated as a community rail line and is supported by marketing provided by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership. The line is promoted under the name "Maritime Line".^[8]

• Cornwall portal

References

1. Quick, Michael (2022) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (PDF). version 5.04. Railway & Canal Historical Society. p. 360. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 November 2022.
2. Grant, Donald J. (2017). Directory of the Railway Companies of Great Britain (1st ed.). Kibworth Beauchamp, Leicestershire: Troubador Publishing Ltd. p. 127. ISBN 978-1-78803-768-6.
3. "Perranwell station on OS 25 inch map Cornwall LXIV.10 (Gwennap; Mylor; Perranarworthal)". National Library of Scotland. 1907. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
4. The Railway Clearing House (1970) [1904]. The Railway Clearing House Handbook of Railway Stations 1904 (1970 D&C Reprint ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles Reprints. p. 431. ISBN 0-7153-5120-6.
5. McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Vol. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One). Foxline. p. 31. ISBN 1-870119-48-7.
6. McRae, Andrew (1998). British Railways Camping Coach Holidays: A Tour of Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. Vol. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part Two). Foxline. pp. 80 & 95. ISBN 1-870119-53-3.
7. "Truro to Falmouth: The Maritime Line (Timetable K4)" (PDF). Great Western Railway. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
8. Department for Transport, Rail Group (2006), Route prospectus for the … The Maritime Line

Further reading

• The Great Western Railway in Mid Cornwall, Alan Bennett, Kingfisher Railway Publications, Southampton 1988. ISBN 0-946184-53-4

External links

• Train times and station information for Perranwell railway station from National Rail