Hopton Heath railway station

Hopton Heath
265px The original station building and present-day platform, looking north.
Location
Place	Hopton Heath
Local authority	Shropshire Council
Grid reference	SO380774
Operations
Station code	HPT
Managed by	Arriva Trains Wales
Number of platforms	1
DfT category	F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	904
2005/06	745
2006/07	726
2007/08	1,470
2008/09	1,268
2009/10	680
2010/11	1,074
2011/12	1,554
2012/13	2,244
2013/14	2,990
History
Key dates	Opened 1861 (1861)
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Hopton Heath from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Hopton Heath railway station is a railway station (though in present times is more akin to a halt) in Hopton Heath, a hamlet in Shropshire, England (which is alternatively spelled as a single word "Hoptonheath"). It lies on the Heart of Wales Line, south west of Shrewsbury.

The station is situated in a very rural area; the nearest sizeable settlement is Hopton Castle and further afield are the larger villages of Clungunford and Leintwardine (the latter in Herefordshire). The station was for a number of years the least used National Rail station in Shropshire, however passenger numbers have recently increased and now Broome is the county's least used station.

The station and line was constructed by the Knighton Railway and opened in 1861. Further construction and route openings in 1865 and 1868 subsequently put the station on a through route between Shrewsbury and Swansea.

The railway station is located below street level, to the south of the B4385 road bridge. The original station building is now private houses. Originally there were two tracks running through, but one has been lifted with the "singling" of the line in general. The station has two platforms: the original, but now disused, Shrewsbury-bound platform extends entirely to the south of the bridge; the remaining passenger platform (originally for Swansea-bound trains, but now used for all trains) extends under the bridge, though at present only the part to the south is usually used by passengers.

Access to the platform is via steps from the road bridge or alternatively via a level footpath (which cycles are also allowed to use) which runs south from the station to the "Ashlea Pools" holiday park entrance.

Services

There are five trains a day in each direction from Monday to Friday, four on Saturdays and two on Sundays. This is a request stop, whereby passengers have to signal to the driver to board or alight from the train. A normal weekday service operates on most Bank holidays.

All trains serving the station are operated by Arriva Trains Wales.

Bus service

A local bus service (the 740, run by Arriva) calls near the station, which travels between Ludlow and Knighton and calls at the nearby villages of Bedstone, Clungunford and Leintwardine. Currently 3 buses per day call at Hopton Heath in each direction.

See also

• Railways of Shropshire

External links

• Train times and station information for Hopton Heath railway station from National Rail

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Bucknell		Arriva Trains Wales Heart of Wales Line		Broome