15: Rail Link To So Much More

To many it’s a route to work, but Axminster Railway Station is also a tourist gateway for those who love the beautiful Jurassic Coast. It was built while Queen Victoria was on the throne and opened in 1860, some 144 miles down the line from London Waterloo. 

In 1903, Axminster became a junction when the Lyme Regis branch line was opened, featuring a steep climb out of Axminster to the east and then dropping again to Lyme Regis station . There, it breathed life into tourism as a substitute for the declining port trade. The branch closed with the nationwide cuts of the mid-1960s.

Limited by being in the middle of a 15-mile single track section of the route, Axminster benefitted from a £20m investment in 2009 when a new platform was added with footbridge, lifts and waiting shelter. With other developments, including a three-mile passing loop, trains became able to pass at Axminster with a resulting improved service frequency. Today the services to Exeter and London Waterloo run very regularly allowing residents and visitors to access the wider rail network with ease.