page_title: Saltash railway station
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Saltash railway station / History
caption_attribution_description: The plaque at Saltash railway station, Cornwall, United Kingdom to commemorate the 125th anniversary of its opening on 2 May 1859 by His Royal Highness, Prince Albert. It is situated on the signal interlocking on the down platform.
context_page_description: Saltash railway station serves the town of Saltash in Cornwall, England. It is on the south side of the town between the Royal Albert Bridge which crosses the River Tamar and the Coombe Viaduct which spans a small tributary of the same river. Trains are operated by Great Western Railway. The station is 250 miles 8 chains from London Paddington via Bristol Temple Meads.
  The platform nearest the town is served by trains to Plymouth and the north, and the other platform closest to the River Tamar is served by trains to Penzance. The line singles at the east end of the station passing over the Royal Albert Bridge.
context_section_description: The station opened with the Cornwall Railway on 4 May 1859. It was described at the time as being "at the head of that town. It consists of an arrival and departure station, both being stone buildings, and possessing all requisite offices for the accommodation of the traffic. New and convenient approaches are likely to be made to that station by the corporation and the owners of adjoining property, which will prove a great public benefit." A goods shed was opened early in 1863 and the station was rebuilt in 1880-1881.
  The Cornwall Railway was amalgamated into the Great Western Railway on 1 July 1889. To counter competition from electric trams, the Great Western Railway opened several small stations in Plymouth and began to operate an intensive service of local trains between Saltash, Plymouth and Plympton in July 1904. The services were vastly reduced after the Tamar road bridge opened in 1961.
  The Great Western Railway was nationalised into British Railways from 1 January 1948 which was in turn privatised in the 1990s. It had been hoped to restore the buildings as a visitor centre for the Royal Albert Bridge, but they have now been sold to a property developer.
caption: A plaque on the westbound platform commemorates the 125th anniversary opening of the Royal Albert Bridge on 2 May 1859
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