General information | |
---|---|
Location | Worcester, Worcestershire England |
Grid reference | SO849552 |
Managed by | West Midlands Railway |
Platforms | 2 |
Other information | |
Station code | WOF |
Classification | DfT category C2 |
Passengers | |
2018/19 | 2.071 million |
2019/20 | 2.191 million |
Interchange | 0.569 million |
2020/21 | 0.535 million |
Interchange | 86,385 |
2021/22 | 1.358 million |
Interchange | 0.256 million |
2022/23 | 1.583 million |
Interchange | 0.460 million |
Location | |
Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
Worcester Foregate Street railway station,opened by the Great Western Railway in 1860 [1] serves the city of Worcester,Worcestershire,England. It is one of the two stations serving the city,with the other station,Worcester Shrub Hill,being located to the east. A third station,Worcestershire Parkway,is located just outside the city to the south-east.
The station layout is unusual in that travelling east the two platforms serve different routes,rather than different directions. Platform 1 can only be accessed by trains via Worcester Shrub Hill (including trains to and from London Paddington and via Cheltenham Spa towards the southwest),while Platform 2 can only be accessed from the east by trains running directly to and from Droitwich Spa,avoiding Shrub Hill. Similar examples of this type of layout can be found at Glenrothes with Thornton in Fife and Bare Lane in Lancashire. This means that Great Western Railway services can only stop at Platform 1,as all of these trains stop at Shrub Hill.
There is a cafe called Cafe Loco at the end of Platform 1 in the old signal box.
The station itself is built on a viaduct,meaning that space for expansion is restricted,but the platforms are nevertheless of ample length to accommodate a HST. Despite its small size,the remains of two signal boxes can be seen,one spanning the tracks and the second now the station cafe.
The station opened on 17 May 1860. It was originally part of the Hereford and Worcester Railway which was incorporated into the West Midland Railway,before being absorbed by the Great Western Railway. On 1 January 1948 the company became Government owned under British Railways. The Butts Spur line was also constructed in 1860 with the unfulfilled aim of connecting the station to Diglis for the conveyance of freight.
Since 1973 the station has had an unusual layout,being essentially two single-track lines side by side rather than the ordinary double-track layout which it appears to be. The two single lines run from Henwick,on the other side of the River Severn,through Foregate Street,to the site of the former Rainbow Hill Junction to the east of the station,which used to provide a crossover between the two tracks. At this point the lines diverge with that on the north side heading towards Tunnel Junction and Droitwich Spa,while the southern track leads to Worcester Shrub Hill. Rainbow Hill Junction was removed when the signalling in the area was remodelled in 1973. Since then,platform 1 (on the south side) has only been usable by trains running via Shrub Hill,and platform 2 only by trains running directly to or from Droitwich without calling at Shrub Hill. Signs at the station (see right) warn of "Two-way working on both lines". [2] [3]
The station celebrated its 150th birthday on 23 May 2010 with the unveiling of a plaque and a special train [4] that ran to Great Malvern railway station (which celebrated its 150th anniversary on the same date). [5]
The art gallery Movement opened on platform 2 on 2 October 2010. [6]
The station was upgraded in 2014,which included a refurbished subway,two new entrances with automatic doors,relocation of the lift at the second entrance to be enclosed in the station building and conversion of one of the railway arches into a bike shelter. The bridge was also strengthened and repainted.
Until May 2022,Great Western Railway ran limited services to Southampton Central and Brighton. [7] [8] [9]
The station is served by two train operating companies:West Midlands Trains (who manage the station) and Great Western Railway. West Midlands Trains operate services to Birmingham via two different routes,either to Birmingham New Street via Bromsgrove or to Birmingham Snow Hill via Kidderminster. [10] [11] [12] There is an hourly service between Hereford and New Street and two trains per hour (three at peak times) to Snow Hill,with many of the latter running beyond to either Stratford-upon-Avon or Dorridge;some also originate/terminate at Great Malvern or Whitlocks End on this route.
Great Western Railway operate a regular service to London Paddington via the Cotswold Line and Oxford [13] and a service to Bristol Temple Meads via Gloucester with extensions through to Salisbury and Weymouth. [14] The latter mainly terminate/start here here,with only a limited service beyond to or from Great Malvern.
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Malvern Link | West Midlands Railway Hereford - Great Malvern - Worcester - Bromsgrove - Birmingham | Droitwich Spa | ||
Worcester Shrub Hill | ||||
Terminus | West Midlands Railway Worcester - Kidderminster - Birmingham - Dorridge - Stratford | Droitwich Spa | ||
Malvern Link | Great Western Railway Cotswold Line | Worcester Shrub Hill | ||
Malvern Link | Great Western Railway Worcester to Bristol | Worcester Shrub Hill | ||
Disused railways | ||||
Henwick Line open,station closed | Great Western Railway Worcester and Hereford Railway | Worcester Shrub Hill Line and station open |
Birmingham Snow Hill, also known as Snow Hill station, is a railway station in Birmingham City Centre. It is one of the three main city-centre stations in Birmingham, along with Birmingham New Street and Birmingham Moor Street.
The Cotswold Line is an 86+1⁄2-mile (139.2 km) railway line between Oxford and Hereford in England.
Kidderminster railway station is the main station serving the large town of Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England and the wider Wyre Forest district. The station is operated by West Midlands Trains, and is on the Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster Line. Regular commuter services run to Birmingham and Worcester. It shares its station approach with the adjacent Severn Valley Railway station.
Blakedown railway station serves the English village of Blakedown, Worcestershire. It was opened as Churchill in 1852, later becoming known for a time as Churchill & Blakedown after the two villages became a single parish.
Hartlebury railway station serves the village of Hartlebury in Worcestershire, England. All trains serving the station are operated by West Midlands Trains. The station is unstaffed and is about half a mile to the east of the village.
The Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster line is a railway line which runs from Birmingham Snow Hill to Worcester via Stourbridge and Kidderminster in the West Midlands, England. It is one of the Snow Hill Lines, with trains operated by West Midlands Trains and Chiltern Railways using a variety of rolling stock including Class 172 and Class 168 diesel units. It is a future aspiration of Network Rail to electrify the entire line, as well as the Chiltern Main Line to London Marylebone.
Stourbridge Junction is one of two railway stations serving the town of Stourbridge, in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England. It lies on the Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster Line and is the junction for the Stourbridge Town Branch Line, said to be the shortest operational branch line in Europe. The other station serving Stourbridge is Stourbridge Town at the end of the branch line.
Colwall railway station is a railway station on the Cotswold Line serving the village of Colwall in Herefordshire, England. The station has one platform with seating. There is no ticket office; a passenger-operated Permit to Travel machine is installed, and there has been a ticket machine since 2015.
Worcester Shrub Hill railway station is one of two railway stations serving the city of Worcester in Worcestershire, England. The other station is Worcester Foregate Street in the city centre. A third station, Worcestershire Parkway, is located just outside the city to the south-east. The station is managed by West Midlands Trains, operating here under the West Midlands Railway brand, and it is also served by Great Western Railway.
Dorridge railway station serves the large village of Dorridge in the West Midlands of England. The station is served by Chiltern Railways, who manage the station, and also by West Midlands Trains. It is situated 10+1⁄2 miles (16.9 km) south of Birmingham Snow Hill.
Olton railway station serves the Olton area of Solihull, in the West Midlands of England. The station is operated by West Midlands Trains. The entrance seen in the centre where the station's booking office is located leads into a tunnel which runs under the tracks providing an access staircase and lift to the island platform. The station also has a car park and bicycle racks.
Acocks Green railway station serves the Acocks Green area of Birmingham, in the West Midlands region of England. Pre-nationalisation a GWR station on their main line from London (Paddington) to Birkenhead (Woodside) the station is now served by West Midlands Railway, who manage the station.
Tyseley railway station serves the district of Tyseley in Birmingham, West Midlands, England. It is at the junction of the lines linking Birmingham with Leamington Spa and Stratford-upon-Avon.
Droitwich Spa railway station serves the town of Droitwich Spa in Worcestershire, England. It is located just to the south-west of Droitwich Spa Junction of the Worcester to Leamington Spa Line and the Worcester to Birmingham New Street line. The station is managed by West Midlands Trains, who also operate all trains serving it.
Old Hill railway station is in Old Hill, West Midlands, England, on the Birmingham-Stourbridge line. It is managed by West Midlands Trains, who provide the majority of train services; Chiltern Railways also operate a small number.
Great Malvern railway station is one of two stations serving the town of Malvern, Worcestershire, England on the Hereford to Worcester section of the Cotswold Line. It is situated downhill from the centre of Great Malvern and close to Barnards Green. The station retains most of its original Victorian station design by the architect Edmund Wallace Elmslie and is a Grade II listed building.
Malvern Link railway station serves Malvern Link in Worcestershire, England. It is one of two stations serving the town of Malvern, the other being Great Malvern station.
The Birmingham to Worcester via Bromsgrove line is a railway line in the West Midlands of England connecting Birmingham to Worcester via Bromsgrove. The most notable feature on the line is the Lickey Incline, between Barnt Green and Bromsgrove.
The Worcester and Hereford Railway started the construction of a standard gauge railway between the two cities in 1858. It had needed the financial assistance of larger concerns, chiefly the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway, and the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway. It opened its line progressively from 1859 to 1861, delayed by exceptionally difficult tunnelling at Colwall and Ledbury. The company was purchased by the West Midland Railway in 1860, and that company amalgamated with the Great Western Railway in 1863.
Worcestershire Parkway is a split-level railway station where the Cotswold and Cross Country lines cross near Norton, Worcester, England. It opened on 23 February 2020.