Digby and Sowton railway station

Digby and Sowton railway station is on the Avocet Line in Devon, England.

Digby and Sowton
General information
Location	Digby, Exeter England
Coordinates	50.714°N 3.474°W / 50.714; -3.474
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
2019/20	0.624 million
2020/21	0.299 million
2021/22	0.570 million
2022/23	0.891 million
2023/24	0.804 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 Marsh Barton 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.

The present Digby and Sowton station, which was constructed at a cost of £700,000, was funded by Devon County Council and Tesco Stores Limited as part of an initiative to reduce traffic congestion in Exeter. Construction began on 9 November 1994 and it opened on 23 May 1995. 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 (renamed Great Western Railway in 2015) took over the franchise.

Facilities

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. The cycle network connecting stations along the Avocet Line from Exmouth to Exeter, including the Digby and Sowton station, was improved. The station is unstaffed 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.

Location

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.

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. In 2009, over 275,000 passengers used the rail station, making it one of the busiest unstaffed railway stations in the area.

	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.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Polsloe Bridge		Great Western Railway Avocet Line		Newcourt

External links

• Train times and station information for Digby and Sowton railway station from National Rail