Pewsey railway station serves the large village of Pewsey in the county of Wiltshire, England. The station is on the Berks and Hants line, measured from the zero point at , and served by intercity trains operated by Great Western Railway between London and the West Country. The average journey time to London Paddington from Pewsey is just over an hour. Services between Pewsey and Bedwyn, the next station up the line, are infrequent, most eastbound services next calling at Hungerford, Newbury or Reading instead. This is because Bedwyn was the most westerly point of the Network SouthEast on this line, while Pewsey was an InterCity station.
Pewsey station (despite its relatively few services) has decent passenger usage due to its proximity to Marlborough, about away, and is in close proximity to other nearby towns and villages with no railway station.
History
The station was opened by the Berks and Hants Extension Railway on 11 November 1862 when the railway opened, connecting the earlier Berks and Hants Railway with the branch of the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway, thereby creating a shorter route from London Paddington station to . On 2 July 1906 the line became part of the Reading to Taunton line following the opening of the Castle Cary Cut-Off.
The railway was operated from the start by the Great Western Railway and had been built using its broad gauge, but in 1874 it was converted to standard gauge. Initially it was just a single track with a platform on the south side. A passing loop and second platform was installed at Pewsey after a couple of years, and the line was converted to double track in 1899 in preparation for the opening of the Stert and Westbury Railway at . A signal box was situated on the west end of the eastbound platform; it was replaced by a larger signal box in 1933 but this was closed in 1966.
Culture
Pewsey Station is mentioned in the December 2005 film, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The train evacuating the Pevensie children from London Paddington stops at a rural station which is identified by the train guard as Pewsey. In actuality, the scene was shot at Highley Station on the preserved Severn Valley Railway. Even so, the film is correct in as much as any train going to Coombe Halt, the ultimate destination of the Pevensie children, would have to pass through Pewsey on its way from London Paddington.
Services
All services at Pewsey are operated by Great Western Railway. Off-peak there is generally a train every 2 hours between and of which some continue to , or . Additional services call at Pewsey during the peak periods.