Wantage Road | |
---|---|
Wantage Road station just prior to closure showing preserved Wantage Tramway loco "Shannon". | |
Location | Grove, District of Vale of White Horse England |
Grid reference | SU409913 |
Platforms | 2 |
Other information | |
Status | Disused |
History | |
Original company | Great Western Railway |
Pre-grouping | GWR |
Post-grouping | GWR Western Region of British Railways |
Key dates | |
1846 | Opened |
7 December 1964 | Closed for passengers |
29 March 1965 | closed for goods |
Wantage Road railway station was a railway station on the Great Western Main Line in the Vale of White Horse district in Oxfordshire. The station was actually at the village of Grove, Oxfordshire (then part of Berkshire), more than two miles north of Wantage. The station closed in December 1964 as part of the Beeching cuts.
Wantage Road station was opened in 1846, six years after the section of the GWR main line that served it.
In 1873 the independent Wantage Tramway was formed to link Wantage Road station with its terminus at Mill Street, Wantage; it was built parallel to what was then the Besselsleigh Turnpike (now the A338). This short line was opened for goods on 1 October 1875, and to passengers on 11 October. [1] The tramway junction was to the east of Wantage Road station; interchange passengers walked under the bridge to reach the tramway yard, where the westernmost siding (parallel to the road) was reserved for passenger tramcars. [1] [2]
The tramway closed to passengers on 1 August 1925, and to goods on 22 December 1945. [1] [3]
On 7 December 1964 British Railways withdrew passenger services from Wantage Road and all other intermediate stations between Didcot and Swindon; the goods yard survived a little longer, closing on 29 March 1965. [2] The station buildings have been demolished but the platforms survive.
In June 2009 the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) produced a report called 'Connecting Communities' in which it was suggested that Wantage Road Station would be a viable station to re-open during any expansion of the rail network. [4] If a proposed service from Oxford to Westbury is given the green light, it is hoped that a new station entitled either Wantage & Grove or Wantage Parkway can be built as part of the introduction of this service.
Plans and proposals for a new railway station to serve Wantage and Grove have been around for several years. [5] In August 2018, Oxfordshire County Council published proposals and a business case for a new station in Grove with the assumption that a new station could open in 2025. [6]
As the station would be situated on a main line currently served only by intercity services, a new service would be needed to serve the station. The county council's ambition would be for a new hourly service between Bristol and Oxford which could call at all major existing stations along the route as well as the new station in Grove and new stations in Corsham and Royal Wootton Bassett. It is then hoped that this service could be extended to Milton Keynes or Cambridge once East West Rail is fully completed in 2027. [6]
Six possible locations for a new station were identified with two being shortlisted as good potential locations. One of the two potential locations is very close to the site of the former Wantage Road station, just to the north of the Williams Formula One factory with the second location being further west with access on Denchworth Road. [7] Depending on which site is chosen, the costs of building a new station is estimated to be between £11 million and £13 million. [8]
Preceding station | Historical railways | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Steventon Line open, station closed | British Rail Western Region Great Western Main Line | Challow Line open, station closed | ||
Terminus | Wantage Tramway | Wantage Line and station closed |
Wantage is a historic market town and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England. Historically part of Berkshire, it has been administered as part of the Vale of White Horse district of Oxfordshire since 1974. The town is on Letcombe Brook, about 8 miles (13 km) south-west of Abingdon, 24 miles (39 km) north-west of Reading, 15 miles (24 km) south-west of Oxford and 14 miles (23 km) north north-west of Newbury.
Brill railway station was the terminus of a small railway line in Buckinghamshire, England, known as the Brill Tramway. Built and owned by the 3rd Duke of Buckingham, it was later operated by London's Metropolitan Railway, and in 1933 briefly became one of the two north-western termini of the London Underground, despite being 45 miles (72 km) and over two hours' travelling time from the City of London.
The Great Western main line (GWML) is a main line railway in England, that runs westwards from London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads. It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. Opened in 1841, it was the original route of the first Great Western Railway which was merged into the Western Region of British Railways in 1948. It is now a part of the national rail system managed by Network Rail with the majority of passenger services provided by the current Great Western Railway franchise.
Grove is a village and civil parish on Letcombe Brook, about 1 1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) north of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse. Historically, a part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 7,178. It is also home to Williams Racing.
Cholsey railway station serves the village of Cholsey in south Oxfordshire, England, and the nearby town of Wallingford. It is 48 miles 37 chains (78.0 km) down the line from London Paddington and is situated between Goring & Streatley to the east and Didcot Parkway to the west.
Didcot Parkway is a railway station serving the town of Didcot in Oxfordshire, England. The station was opened as Didcot on 12 June 1844 and renamed Didcot Parkway on 29 July 1985 by British Rail to reflect its role as a park and ride railhead. It is 53 miles 10 chains (85.5 km) down the line from London Paddington and is situated between Cholsey to the east and Swindon to the west.
Banbury railway station serves the town of Banbury in Oxfordshire, England. The station is operated by Chiltern Railways, on the Chiltern Main Line, and has four platforms in use.
Charwelton railway station was a station at Charwelton in Northamptonshire on the former Great Central Railway main line, the last main line to be built from the Northern England to London. The station opened with the line on 15 March 1899.
Challow railway station is a former railway station about 2 miles (3 km) south of Stanford in the Vale on the A417 road between Wantage and Faringdon. It is named after the villages of West Challow and East Challow, which are 1.5 miles (2.4 km) and 2.5 miles (4 km) southeast of the former station.
Wood Siding railway station was a halt in Bernwood Forest, Buckinghamshire, England. It opened in 1871 as a terminus of a short horse-drawn tramway built to assist the transport of goods from and around the Duke of Buckingham's extensive estates in Buckinghamshire, as well as connect the Duke's estates to the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway at Quainton Road.
Wisbech East was a railway station in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. It was opened in 1848 and became part of the Great Eastern Railway network, providing connections to March, Watlington and St Ives, as well as Upwell via the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway. The station closed in 1968 and no trace of it remains today. A freight-only line remains extant as far as a factory based in the station's former goods yard, and a heritage railway based in March is aiming to reinstate services to Wisbech and construct a new station as near as possible to Newbridge Lane crossing.
Potton was a railway station on the Varsity Line which served the small town of the same name in Bedfordshire. Opened in 1857 as part of Sir William Peel's Sandy and Potton Railway, the station was initially situated further south near the Biggleswade Road. Upon being taken over by the Bedford and Cambridge Railway in 1862 a new station was opened which remained in service for over one hundred years before closing in 1968. The station building has survived and is now a private house.
Fritwell & Somerton railway station was on the Oxford to Banbury line of the Great Western Railway, and was opened four years after the line, in September 1854. It was in the village of Somerton, Oxfordshire.
The Wantage Tramway Company was a two-mile tramway that carried passengers and freight between the Oxfordshire town of Wantage and Wantage Road Station on the Great Western Main Line. Formed in 1873 to link Wantage Road station with its terminus at Mill Street, Wantage the line was cheaply built parallel to what was then the Besselsleigh Turnpike, and now the A338. The tramway closed to passengers in 1925 and to goods traffic in 1945.
Wantage railway station is a closed stone and brick built station located on Mill Street, Wantage in Oxfordshire on the Wantage Tramway line. The station closed fully in 1945 when Wantage Tramway ceased operations.
Abingdon Road Halt railway station was built by the Great Western Railway to serve South Hinksey, a village near Oxford.
Hinksey Halt railway station was built by the Great Western Railway to serve New Hinksey, a suburb of Oxford.
Tetbury Road railway station was built by the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway to serve the Gloucestershire villages of Kemble and Coates, and the town of Tetbury.
Waddesdon Road railway station, called Waddesdon railway station before 1922, was a small halt in open countryside in Buckinghamshire, England. It was opened in 1871 as part of a short horse-drawn tramway to assist with the transport of goods from and around the Duke of Buckingham's extensive estates in Buckinghamshire and to connect the Duke's estates to the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway at Quainton Road. In 1872 the line was expanded and converted for passenger use, becoming known as the Brill Tramway. In 1899 the operation of the line was taken over by the London-based Metropolitan Railway.
Chalford railway station was situated on the Great Western Railway's Golden Valley Line, between Swindon and Gloucester. It was just east of the bridge carrying Cowcombe Hill over the railway. To the east of the station site lies Chalford Viaduct, and beyond that, Sapperton Long Tunnel.