Castle Cary

This station is on the Great Western Main Line. It is also served by local trains on the Heart of Wessex/Bristol to Weymouth line*. These leave the mainline immediately west of the station onto the single-track branch.

😆

*Fun unrelated fact - you may have seen this line on YouTube — Geoff Marshall goes to Chetnole and presses buttons on the help point!

This station serves the village of Castle Cary. It also is the closest station to Glastonbury (8 mile bus ride) and gets a temporary footbridge to deal with the crowds at festival season.

It is the closest station to the city of Wells which had its station closed (12 miles, 30 minute drive, over an hour on public transport!). It is a city because of its cathedral, although its 2018 population is about 12000 according to Wikipedia

Platforms

Platform 1 eastbound towards Westbury and London

an island platform across the footbridge, with a Barrow crossing available sometimes:

Platform 2 westbound towards Taunton, Exeter, Plymouth, Penzance; or Bristol to Weymouth trains in either direction
Platform 3 for trains on the Bristol to Weymouth regional/rural line in either direction. This platform has not been lengthened and cannot serve intercity (Azuma) trains

Current accessibility

Platforms 2 and 3 only have SFA via a Barrow crossing at the western end. This can only be used with escort from station staff.

The station is only staffed at these times according to GWR:

Monday to Friday - 06:30 to 21:30 Saturday - 06:30 to 21:30 Sunday - 14:30 to 21:30

Outside these times - and potentially at any time if there’s staff shortages - there is SFA to platform 1 (London bound) only.

Photos

Progress

We are forwarding plans for an accessible lift bridge at the station, providing funding to Network Rail to help develop designs.

Links

Official sources

https://www.gwr.com/stations-and-destinations/stations/castle-cary

News

Blogs/unofficial

Castle Cary railway station

Castle Cary railway station is on the Reading to Taunton line 115.25 miles (185.48 km) south west of London Paddington and the Bristol to Weymouth line 47.75 miles (77 km) south of Bristol Temple Meads. The two routes share tracks between Westbury and Castle Cary stations and are both operated by Great Western Railway, which also manages the station. The station is 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the market town of Castle Cary and 5 miles (8 km) south of Shepton Mallet in a largely rural area of Somerset, England.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Cary_railway_station

Wells, Somerset

Wells is a cathedral city and civil parish in Somerset, located on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, 21 miles (34 km) south-east of Weston-super-Mare, 22 mi (35 km) south-west of Bath and 23 mi (37 km) south of Bristol. Although the population recorded in the 2011 census was only 10,536, and with a built-up area of just 3.244 km2 (1.253 sq mi), Wells has had city status since medieval times, because of the presence of Wells Cathedral. Often described as England's smallest city, it is actually second smallest to the City of London in area and population, but unlike London it is not part of a larger urban agglomeration.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wells,_Somerset

Forums

Castle Cary

The new (east) car park has opened. 193 new spaces (but when I used it last thursday there were a few roped off in one corner). The old car park is still open and both are heavily used. In the...

https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/castle-cary.268121/