History
The first Pilning station was opened on 8 September 1863 by the Bristol and South Wales Union Railway, absorbed by the Great Western Railway in 1868. When the Severn Tunnel was opened in 1886, the new line diverged from the original B&SWUR line to New Passage just south of Pilning station. The line to New Passage, including the original station, was closed, and a new station was opened on the new line nearby.
In 1900 the GWR reopened the old line to goods traffic, connecting with a new line through Severn Beach to Avonmouth. In 1928 passenger services were started on the line to Avonmouth, and a new station, Pilning Low Level, was opened on the site of the original Pilning station. The station on the Severn Tunnel line was renamed Pilning High Level.
Pilning continued to have two stations from 1928 to 1964, when the line from Pilning to Severn Beach was closed. Pilning High Level station was then renamed Pilning.
From 1924 to 1966 Pilning High Level was the terminus of a car transport service through the tunnel to Severn Tunnel Junction.
Read more about this topic: Pilning Railway Station
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