Severn Tunnel Junction Railway Station - History

History

The South Wales Main Line was opened through the village of Rogiet in 1850. At this time Rogiet was little more than a church and a farm, and the expansion of the village did not begin until after the opening of the station in 1886.

During construction of the Severn Tunnel, several maps were printed that labelled the new junction as Rogiet Station, although the station was always named Severn Tunnel Junction from the time that it opened to the public on 1 December 1886.

The junction system consisted of a five-platform station (four through, and an up facing bay), a railway depot, and a major goods yard. The purpose of the yard was to sort coal coming from the South Wales Coalfield to the London and the Midlands; while in reverse, it sorted goods from the rest of the UK to South Wales.

The goods yard was bombed during World War II, due to the large goods yard facility. From 1924 to 1966 Severn Tunnel Junction was the terminus of a car transport service through the tunnel to Pilning. The service was made redundant by the opening of the Severn Bridge in 1966.

As a result of reduced coal and industrial production from the mid-1980s from South Wales, and increases in fixed goods formations, Severn Tunnel Junction goods yard and locomotive depot were closed from 12 October 1987 with residual marshalling moving to Newport railway station. After the tracks were lifted in the early 1990s, part of the site of the former goods yard was used for the toll booths for the Second Severn Crossing.