Hayle railway station serves the town of Hayle

Hayle

Hayle is a small town, civil parish and cargo port in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated at the mouth of the Hayle River and is approximately seven miles northeast of Penzance...

, Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

, United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. The station is operated by First Great Western

First Great Western

First Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....

 and is on the Cornish Main Line

Cornish Main Line

The Cornish Main Line is a railway line in the United Kingdom, which forms the backbone for rail services in Cornwall, as well as providing a direct line to London.- History :...

 7.25 miles (12 km) north east of .

History

The station was opened by the West Cornwall Railway

West Cornwall Railway

The West Cornwall Railway was a railway company in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, formed in 1846 to operate the existing Hayle Railway between Hayle and Redruth and extend the railway to Penzance and Truro....

 on 11 March 1852 when it replaced the original Hayle Railway

Hayle Railway

The Hayle Railway was an early Cornish railway, built to standard gauge, and opened in 1837. The railway served the engineering works and copper quays at Hayle with the copper mines of Redruth and Camborne carrying ore to the port and coal to the mines, before the construction of the Saltash Bridge...

 terminus, located in what is now the Isis RNLI

Royal National Lifeboat Institution

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as on selected inland waterways....

 Memorial Gardens. It was demolished shortly after the end of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

During the 19th century, Hayle was a busy junction with goods lines running all round the town, many connecting from the embankment which is still visible behind the 'up' platform (accessed over the barrow crossing from the car park). However, the decline of shipping in the Hayle estuary

River Hayle

The River Hayle is a small river in west Cornwall, UK which issues into St Ives Bay at Hayle on Cornwall's Atlantic coast.The River Hayle is approx 12 miles long and it rises south-west of Crowan village. Its course is west for approx 5 miles...

 meant that these freight lines were no longer of any use and were closed in 1982. Hayle signal box

Signal box

On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...

 was closed and demolished at the same time.

Description

The main entrance is to the platform served by trains to Penzance, which is approached by a road from Foundry Square. A footpath allows level access to the other platform too, and this continues along the route of a closed railway track down towards the wharves opposite a bridge which leads across the water to the Towans. There is also access between the platforms over a foot crossing, which is unusual for a main line station where fast services pass through without stopping.

A camping coach

Camping coach

Camping coaches were offered by many railway companies in the United Kingdom as accommodation for holiday makers in rural or coastal areas.The coaches were old passenger vehicles no longer suitable for use in trains, which were converted to provide basic sleeping and living space at static locations...

 adjacent to the westbound platform offers holiday accommodation.

Services

Hayle is served by many of the First Great Western

First Great Western

First Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....

 trains on the Cornish Main Line

Cornish Main Line

The Cornish Main Line is a railway line in the United Kingdom, which forms the backbone for rail services in Cornwall, as well as providing a direct line to London.- History :...

 between and . Some trains run through to or from London Paddington station, including the Night Riviera

Night Riviera

The Night Riviera is a sleeper train service operated by First Great Western. It is one of only two remaining sleeper services on the railway in Great Britain...

 overnight sleeping car service.

There is one train each day operated by CrossCountry

CrossCountry

CrossCountry is the brand name of XC Trains Ltd., a British train operating company owned by Arriva...

 providing a service to Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 in the morning and returning in the evening.