Wolverhampton railway station
Wolverhampton  | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
| Place | Wolverhampton |
| Local authority | City of Wolverhampton |
| Coordinates | 52°35′15″N 2°07′12″W / 52.5875°N 2.1200°WCoordinates: 52°35′15″N 2°07′12″W / 52.5875°N 2.1200°W |
| Grid reference | SO919988 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | WVH |
| Managed by | Virgin Trains |
| Number of platforms | 6 |
| DfT category | B |
|
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries | |
| Annual rail passenger usage* | |
| 2010/11 |
 4.455 million |
| 2011/12 |
 4.189 million |
| 2012/13 |
4.207 million |
| 2013/14 |
4.406 million |
| 2014/15 |
4.496 million |
| Passenger Transport Executive | |
| PTE | Transport for West Midlands |
| Zone | 5 |
| History | |
| Original company | Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Stour Valley Railway |
| Pre-grouping | London and North Western Railway |
| Post-grouping | London, Midland and Scottish Railway |
| 1 July 1852 | Opened as Wolverhampton (Queen Street) |
| 1 June 1885 | Renamed Wolverhampton (High Level) |
| 7 May 1973 | Renamed Wolverhampton |
| National Rail – UK railway stations | |
| * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Wolverhampton from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
 UK Railways portal | |
Wolverhampton railway station in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England is on the Birmingham Loop of the West Coast Main Line. It is served by London Midland, CrossCountry, Virgin Trains and Arriva Trains Wales, and was historically known as Wolverhampton High Level.
History
The first station on this site was opened on 1 July 1852 by the Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Stour Valley Railway, a subsidiary of the London and North Western Railway (LNWR); it was named Wolverhampton Queen Street.[1] The only visible remnant of the original station is the Queen's Building, the gateway to Railway Drive which was the approach road to the station. The building was originally the carriage entrance to the station and was completed three years before the main station building. Today, it forms part of Wolverhampton bus station.[2]
Two years later, on 1 July 1854, the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (OWWR) opened a second station, located behind the older station on lower ground, which became known as the Wolverhampton Low Level station from April 1856, the other becoming known as Wolverhampton High Level from 1 June 1885.[1]
From 1923, the LNWR was amalgamated into the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), and in 1948 it became part of the London Midland Region of British Railways.[3]
Services over the former Grand Junction Railway line to Walsall (and thence to Lichfield City and Burton-on-Trent) ended in January 1965, this route being the only one from here to fall victim to the Beeching Axe.
The present Wolverhampton station dates from 1967, when the High Level station was completely rebuilt as part of the modernisation programme which saw the West Coast Main Line electrified.[2] It consisted of three through platforms (the present platforms 1, 2 and 3). As part of this scheme, most services on the OW&WR route from Shrewsbury were diverted here from Low Level (though a few peak-hour trains continued to serve the latter until March 1968); these then continued to Birmingham New Street via the Stour Valley line rather than via the ex-GWR line to Birmingham Snow Hill as before. In the 1980s, a parcels siding was converted into a south-facing bay platform (the present platform 5), and a new north-facing bay was constructed (the present platform 6).
In 1987 twelve different horse sculptures by Kevin Atherton, titled Iron Horse, were erected between New Street station and Wolverhampton, including one at the southern end of platforms 2 and 3.[4]
More recently (in 2004), a new through platform (platform 4) was constructed on the site of infrequently-used sidings. This has greatly enhanced the capacity of the station. A new footbridge was also constructed, to allow access to the new platform but also to improve access to the existing ones. A proposal for a more comprehensive redevelopment of the station and surrounding area was announced on 18 October 2006.[5]
The management of the station will be transferred from Virgin Trains - the current franchise holder of InterCity West Coast to the successful bidder of the West Midlands Rail Franchise in 2018.[6]
Services
Typical weekday operations are as follows:
- 1tph to London Euston via Birmingham New Street (more in the morning peak)[7]
- 1tph to Scotland, alternating every two hours between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh. These start or terminate at Carlisle or Preston or Lancaster or Crewe during peak hours.
- 2 trains per day to Shrewsbury.
- 5tph to Birmingham New Street, of which two continue to Walsall[8]
- 2tph to Liverpool Lime Street, start/terminating at Crewe or Stafford in the peak hours
- 1tph to Shrewsbury, calling all stations. Arriva Trains Wales operates this service on Sundays, with a 1tp2h frequency.[9]
- 2tph to Manchester Piccadilly, via Stoke-on-Trent & Macclesfield (a limited service also runs via Crewe)
- 2tph to Birmingham New Street, extending to various parts of southern England, such as Bristol Temple Meads, Exeter St Davids, Reading, Southampton Central and Bournemouth.[10]
- 1tp2h to Pwllheli & Aberystwyth, dividing at Machynlleth
- 1tp2h to Holyhead via Chester
- 1tph to Birmingham International[11]
London Midland also run a single Saturdays-only parliamentary train on the line to Walsall via Pleck (the former Grand Junction Railway route that continues to New Street via Aston). This replaced the regular direct service that ran between 1998 and 2008 (when it was withdrawn due to low usage). Centro hope to reintroduce a regular service over the line in the future (ideally when the West Midlands area franchise comes up for renewal in 2016/7[12]) and reopen the old station at Willenhall, though it would require some infrastructure improvements here to accommodate it (i.e. a new bay platform & associated signalling).
Platforms
Wolverhampton station has six platforms: platforms 1 to 4 are through platforms, while platforms 5 and 6 are bay platforms at the south and north ends respectively. Although all four platforms are reversible, in practice platform 1 is used for northbound services, platform 2 is used for northbound and southbound services, platforms 3 and 4 are used for southbound services. Platform 3 is also used for northbound services at busy times. Platform 5 is used by local services to Walsall via Birmingham New Street. Platform 6 was designed for local services on the Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line (and was formerly numbered Platform 1c) but is now rarely used, as the majority of services on that route travel through to Birmingham (or occasionally to Walsall). It is generally used for the first service of the day to Shrewsbury and for holding trains when they are not in use.
Platform 4 is now used for all Virgin Trains services from Edinburgh/Glasgow to London Euston. The timetable change on 8 December 2013 saw Virgin Trains running an hourly timetable from Scotland to Euston via the West Midlands and vice versa, replacing the Wolverhampton - Euston service.
All platforms at the station are electrified to 25 kV AC overhead power.
The Interchange Project
The railway station is earmarked for redevelopment as part of the Wolverhampton Interchange Project. Neptune Developments were selected for the project and plan to create a major mixed used area that includes both bus and railway stations, a hotel, retail outlets, bars, cafes and offices.
The plan is to completely rebuild the railway station and improve pedestrian access over the ring road, with a new footbridge link direct to the bus station. After a shortfall in funding for the project, it was decided that the development would take place in phases. Phase One began in April 2010 with the construction of the new bus station which was completed in 2011. A date for Phase Two, which includes the railway station, canalside development, and a hotel, has yet to be decided.[13]
On 31 December 2014 the first phase of the redevelopment of the Railway Station was announced, with the redevelopment of the station's car park, it will see the car park refurbished and extended to take the existing capacity from 520 to just over 900, it will also see a new entrance to the car park created from Mill Street, and will also include parking for Bikes and Motorbikes. It is also expected that a hotel will eventually be developed to change the facade of the Car Park.[14]
Midland Metro stop
Wolverhampton Station  | |
|---|---|
| Midland Metro tram stop | |
| Location |
Railway Drive Wolverhampton England |
| Line(s) | Line 1 (Birmingham – Wolverhampton) |
| Platforms | 2 |
| History | |
| Opening | By 2019 |
| Traffic | |
| Passengers | N/A |
As part of the Interchange project, Midland Metro Line One will be extended to the railway station with the addition of a new Metro stop. It is expected to be operational by 2019.
| Preceding station | Midland Metro |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| By 2019 | ||||
| Terminus | Line 1 | Piper's Row | ||
References
- 1 2 Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 253. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
- 1 2 Biddle, Gordon. Britain's Historic Railway Buildings: A Gazetteer of Structures (Second ed.). Hersham, Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing. pp. 379–380. ISBN 9780711034914.
- ↑ Whitehouse, Patrick; Thomas, David St John (1987). LMS 150: The London Midland and Scottish Railway - A Century and a Half of Progress. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. pp. 30–31, 188. ISBN 0-7153-8740-5. 01LO49.
- ↑ Public Sculpture of Birmingham including Sutton Coldfield, George T. Noszlopy, edited Jeremy Beach, 1998, ISBN 0-85323-692-5
- ↑ "All change at station". Express & Star. 2006-10-18. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
- ↑ "Supporting the Cities–Connecting Communities-West Midlands Rail Franchise: Stakeholder Briefing Document and Consultation Response" (PDF). Department for Transport. 2016-08-30. Retrieved 2016-08-30.
- ↑ GB eNRT December 2015 Edition, Table 65
- ↑ GB eNRT December 2015 Edition, Tables 68 & 70
- ↑ GB eNRT December 2015 Edition, Table 74
- ↑ GB eNRT December 2015 Edition, Table 51
- ↑ GB eNRT December 2015 Edition, Table 75
- ↑ Plans to Reopen Rail Line are Put On Hold www.expressandstar.com, Retrieved 2013-09-02
- ↑ http://www.wolverhamptoninterchange.co.uk/index.php
- ↑ http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2014/12/31/500-extra-car-parking-spaces-to-be-created-at-wolverhampton-railway-station/
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wolverhampton railway station. |
- Train times and station information for Wolverhampton railway station from National Rail
- Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Wolverhampton station
- Wolverhampton Interchange
