Wolverton railway station

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wolverton

Location

Place

Wolverton

Local authority

Milton Keynes

Operations

Station code

WOL

Managed by

London Midland

Platforms in use

4 (normally 2)

Live departures and station information from National Rail

Annual Rail Passenger Usage

2004/05 *

0.203 million

2005/06 *

0.258 million

History

Key dates

Opened 1881

September 1838^[1] ^[2]

First Wolverton station opened by L&BR

November 1840^[2]

Station rebuilt to a larger design to the south of Stratford Road

1881^[1]

Station rebuilt for a second time

National Rail - UK railway stations

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

* Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Wolverton from Office of Rail Regulation statistics.

UK Railways Portal

Northward view showing the track curvature.

Wolverton railway station serves northern Milton Keynes, especially Stony Stratford, Wolverton and New Bradwell.

The station is served by London Midland local services from Northampton to London on the West Coast Main Line. For inter-City services, change at Milton Keynes Central.

This station is one of the five stations serving Milton Keynes. The others are Milton Keynes Central, Bletchley, Fenny Stratford and Bow Brickhill.

The station has four platforms, but the platforms adjacent to the 'fast' lines are rarely used as the tracks are normally used by fast Virgin Trains services which do not stop at Wolverton.

1 Station Building
2 Wolverton bend and Northampton Loop
3 Newport Pagnell Branch Line (closed)
4 See also
5 Services
6 External links
7 References

[edit] Station Building

The present station is a 'temporary' shed in the car park (at track level). Recently it has become clear that the station (and the town) needs a new building to handle its passengers, so a new structure has been proposed^[3] for the historic site on the road bridge. The building is planned to be built in the next few years, along with developments at Milton Keynes's other two mainline stations, Milton Keynes Central and Bletchley.

History

The first, temporary, stop (September 1838) was on the embankment above Wolverton Park.^{[citation needed]} A larger permanent station and refreshment rooms were built at a location behind what is now Glyn Square by November 1838.^{[citation needed]} In 1881 the main line was re-routed to the east to allow for expansion (see 'Wolverton bend' below) and a new station built.^{[citation needed]} The current station site has been in use since.

Until 1991^{[citation needed]}, a "toy town" wooden ticket office stood on the railway bridge, facing out onto Newport Road and with steps leading down to the platform, was actually the third location for a station in Wolverton. The wooden station stood here for over 100 years until British Rail demolished it, allegedly as Milton Keynes Borough Council were debating making it a listed building.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Wolverton bend and Northampton Loop

In recent years, Wolverton gained notoriety among railwaymen for its famously tight curve. The curve was a result of the station being moved eastward in 1881, to permit extension of the Wolverton railway works. The path of the original route is visible at both the north and south ends of the divergence. The Advanced Passenger Train failed its trials here but, with another decade of development, the new Virgin Trains Pendolino tilting trains passed theirs. Near the station, the track crosses the valley of the Great Ouse on a viaduct. Slightly further north, the Northampton loop leaves the main line at Hanslope Junction.

[edit] Newport Pagnell Branch Line (closed)

From 1865 to 1964, there was a branch line from Wolverton to Newport Pagnell, primarily for staff at Wolverton Works. In 1964 the line was closed to passengers by the Beeching Axe and freight ceased in 1967. Between 1817 and 1864, the section from Great Linford to Newport was an arm of the Grand Junction Canal which was then drained to become the track-bed. The route from Wolverton to Newport Pagnell is now a redway. Along the redway, the platforms at New Bradwell and Great Linford are still in place, as are a signal post at Newport Pagnell and a Victorian iron bridge taking the line over the Grand Union Canal.

[edit] See also

Wolverton railway works
Wolverton and Stony Stratford Tramway
Denbigh Hall Pending construction of a bridge over the River Ouse, passengers alighted at Denbigh Hall and transferred to coaches on the London-Birmingham turnpike.

[edit] Services

The station provides London Midland services to London Euston and Northampton. There are currently 2 trains per hour off-peak.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Northampton		London Midland West Coast Main Line Northampton loop		Milton Keynes Central

The original next station on the Northampton loop was at Castlethorpe, where the platforms are still visible. The next station north, at Roade, is currently disused also. There is a campaign to reopen it for commuter traffic to Milton Keynes and Northampton.