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- For the former Great Western Railway station in Wolverhampton, see Wolverhampton Low Level railway station.
Coordinates: 52°35′15″N 2°07′12″W / 52.5875°N 2.1200°W
| Wolverhampton | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Location | |
| Place | Wolverhampton |
| Local authority | Wolverhampton |
| Operations | |
| Station code | WVH |
| Managed by | Virgin Trains |
| Platforms in use | 6 |
| Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail |
|
| Annual rail passenger usage | |
| 2004/05 * | 2.059 million |
| 2005/06 * | 2.255 million |
| 2006/07 * | 2.400 million |
| 2007/08 * | 2.510 million |
| Passenger Transport Executive | |
| PTE | West Midlands |
| Zone | 5 |
| History | |
| 1852 1855 1965 1972 2004 |
Opened (High Level) Opened (Low Level) Rebuilt (High Level) Closed (Low Level) Extended (new platform added) |
| 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 Wolverhampton from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. | |
Wolverhampton railway station in Wolverhampton, West Midlands is on the West Coast Main Line. It is served by London Midland, CrossCountry, Virgin Trains, Wrexham & Shropshire and Arriva Trains Wales.
Contents |
History
The first station on this site was opened in 1852 by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). 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, which nowadays is a cafeteria serving Wolverhampton bus station. Three years later the Great Western Railway (GWR) opened a second station, located behind the older station on lower ground, which became known as the Wolverhampton Low Level station, the other becoming known as Wolverhampton High Level.
Prior to nationalisation in 1948, Wolverhampton High Level was run by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS).
The present Wolverhampton station dates from 1965, when the High Level station was completely rebuilt as part of the modernisation programme which saw the West Coast Main Line electrified. It consisted of three through platforms (the present platforms 1, 2 and 3). 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[1].
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.[2]
Current operations
Virgin Trains manages the station. It operates services via Birmingham New Street to London Euston as part of its West Coast franchise. It also operates trains between Birmingham and Glasgow Central.
CrossCountry operates services to a wide variety of destinations: to Stockport, Manchester Piccadilly, Stoke-on-Trent, Stafford and Macclesfield to the north, Bristol Temple Meads, Exeter St Davids and Plymouth to the south-west and Oxford, Reading, Southampton Central and Bournemouth to the south to name but a few.
London Midland is the final major operator. It operates local services to Birmingham New Street (on behalf of Centro), and between Birmingham New Street and Shrewsbury. It also operates longer-distance services between Birmingham and Liverpool Lime Street, some of which run through to Northampton in peak periods.
Arriva Trains Wales operates an hourly service between Birmingham New Street and Shrewsbury, with alternate trains continuing to either Aberystwyth (via the Cambrian Line) or Chester. There are also direct services to the Cambrian Coast Line to Pwllheli.
Wrexham & Shropshire serves Wolverhampton as one of the stations on their Wrexham General-London Marylebone service, which started on 28 April 2008. Because of Virgin Trains' franchise agreement, guaranteeing a monopoly on direct Wolverhampton-London services, Wrexham & Shropshire's services are only permitted to pick up passengers going northbound and set down passengers southbound. Until this "Moderation of Competition" agreement ends in 2012 the company's main stop in the West Midlands will be at Tame Bridge Parkway. A consequence of this is that passengers are unable to use this service to travel between Wolverhampton and Tame Bridge Parkway. The London Midland service to Walsall was withdrawn in December 2008.
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 as reversible and platforms 3 and 4 are used for southbound service - although platform 3 is used for northbound services at busy times. Platform 5 is used by the local services to Birmingham New Street. Platform 6 was designed for local services on the Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line, however it is 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.
During off-peak times, Virgin Trains services from London Euston typically arrive at platform 1, then travel empty to Oxley maintenance depot, from where they return to Wolverhampton and depart from platform 4. During the morning and evening peaks, however, Virgin Trains often arrive into platform 2 and reverse to make the return journey to London Euston.
All platforms at the station are electrified to 25kV AC overhead power.
References
- ^ 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. http://www.expressandstar.co.uk/2006/10/18/all-change-at-station/. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
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
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smethwick Galton Bridge |
Arriva Trains Wales Birmingham - Chester |
Bilbrook or Stafford | ||
| Smethwick Galton Bridge |
Arriva Trains Wales Cambrian Line |
Telford Central | ||
| Coseley | London Midland Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford Line |
Penkridge | ||
| Birmingham New Street |
London Midland Wolverhampton-Shrewsbury Mondays-Saturdays only |
Bilbrook | ||
| Walsall | London Midland Walsall to Wolverhampton Line |
Terminus | ||
| Sandwell and Dudley |
Virgin Trains London-Wolverhampton |
Terminus | ||
| Birmingham New Street |
CrossCountry West Coast Main Line |
Stafford | ||
| Tame Bridge Parkway |
Wrexham & Shropshire London-Wrexham (Pick-up northbound Set-down southbound) |
Cosford | ||
| Disused railways | ||||
| Terminus | Wolverhampton and Walsall Railway Later Midland Railway |
Heath Town | ||
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