This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2009) |
General information | |
---|---|
Location | Worcester, Worcestershire England |
Coordinates | 52°11′42″N2°12′32″W / 52.195°N 2.209°W |
Grid reference | SO858551 |
Managed by | West Midlands Railway |
Platforms | 3 |
Other information | |
Station code | WOS |
Classification | DfT category C1 |
History | |
Original company | Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway/Midland Railway joint |
Pre-grouping | Great Western Railway/Midland Railway joint |
Post-grouping | Great Western Railway/London, Midland and Scottish Railway joint |
Key dates | |
5 October 1850 | Station opened |
Passengers | |
2018/19 | 0.808 million |
Interchange | 0.105 million |
2019/20 | 0.661 million |
Interchange | 0.339 million |
2020/21 | 0.161 million |
Interchange | 53,897 |
2021/22 | 0.410 million |
Interchange | 0.176 million |
2022/23 | 0.477 million |
Interchange | 0.143 million |
Location | |
Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
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.
The other station near the city,Worcestershire Parkway is located just to the south-east of the city.
The first station at Shrub Hill was opened in 1850 being jointly owned by the Oxford,Worcester and Wolverhampton and Midland Railways;until 1852 it was used only as a terminus for the latter's services from Birmingham. The present station building was designed by Edward Wilson and built in 1865. It is a Georgian-style building mainly of engineering brick with stone facings. A key feature is the Grade II* waiting room see below. Originally there was also a train shed which was removed circa 1936. [1] The cast-iron railings on the station staircases remain hidden by boarding. A survival at the station are the Western Region semaphore signals and the almost unique large round main aspect banjo signal [2] located half-way along platform 1. The station is served by Cafe Loco which is situated opposite the booking office,at the main entrance.
The entire station is controlled by Worcester Shrub Hill Signal Box located at the 'London' (south) end of platform 1. The Worcester area is controlled by another two signal boxes at Henwick (west of Foregate Street),and Tunnel Junction to the north of Shrub Hill. Both platform 1 and 2 can be used in either direction,generally trains for Foregate Street use platform one and trains towards Oxford and Cheltenham Spa use platform 2 but this is not in all cases. Platform 3 is a small bay that was used mainly for the former Wessex Trains/Wales &West service towards Cheltenham Spa,as it is a small south facing bay platform its use is limited. Trains leaving Shrub Hill for Foregate Street join a single line that ends near Henwick signal box south of Foregate Street station. This is one of the two single lines through Foregate Street Station.
Near to the station is Worcester traincare depot which is currently operated by West Midlands Trains who also stable trains at various locations around Shrub Hill station. Great Western Railway also stable some of their Diesel Multiple Units (DMU) at Worcester depot. Shrub Hill station is home to West Midlands Trains and Great Western Railway train crew depots. Also to the north of the station behind platform 2 &3 is a goods yard.
Worcester Shrub Hill is served by West Midlands Trains’routes from Worcester to Birmingham,via Kidderminster and Stourbridge Junction. Trains run to Birmingham Snow Hill and Birmingham Moor Street on the via Kidderminster route,with many of the services on it continuing through to either Stratford-upon-Avon or Dorridge. [3] [4] [5] There are also a limited number of trains via Bromsgrove to Birmingham New Street that start or terminate or call here,mainly at peak times or in the early morning/late evening on the Birmingham to Worcester via Bromsgrove line. Most through services between Hereford and New Street otherwise take the direct route between Foregate Street and Droitwich Spa to avoid the need for a reversal.
Great Western Railway operates about an hourly service to and from London Paddington,the majority of which are via the Cotswold Line and Oxford. [6] Other services to and from London operate via Cheltenham Spa,the Gloucester/Swindon line (Golden Valley Line) and the Great Western Main Line via Didcot and Reading. GWR run services southwards every two hours to Bristol Temple Meads via Cheltenham and Gloucester, [7] which then mostly continue to either Weymouth or Southampton Central via Westbury. GWR also run services via Worcester Foregate Street to Great Malvern and Hereford from Oxford and London.
The West Midlands Trains (then London Midland) service between Worcester and Gloucester via Ashchurch and Cheltenham to complement the 2-hourly Great Western Railway service was discontinued at the start of the December 2009 railway timetable due to low passenger usage.
Occasional CrossCountry services also used to stop here.
Being the bigger of the two stations in Worcester,due to its sidings,Worcester Shrub Hill is often used as stabling point for goods trains and locomotives,as well as an overnight stop for some Great Western Railway rolling stock.
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Worcester Foregate Street or Terminus | West Midlands Railway Worcester Shrub Hill/Hereford/Great Malvern-Birmingham | Droitwich Spa | ||
Worcester Foregate Street | West Midlands Railway Hereford/Great Malvern-Shrub Hill | Terminus | ||
Worcester Foregate Street | West Midlands Railway Worcester-Birmingham via Kidderminster | Droitwich Spa | ||
Worcester Foregate Street | Great Western Railway Cotswold Line | Worcestershire Parkway | ||
Worcester Foregate Street | Great Western Railway Worcester-Bristol | Ashchurch for Tewkesbury |
On Platform 2a is the former ladies' waiting room which extends onto the platform. It is a cast-iron frame cast at the Vulcan Iron Works at Worcester. This was a subsidiary of the MacKenzie and Holland signal manufacturing company about 200 yards from Worcester Shrub Hill station. The exterior is decorated with classical pilasters and covered with "majolica" ceramic tiles made by Maw and Company of Broseley. [8]
Maw was originally a Worcester company founded in 1850 when they bought the old Chamberlain tile factory. However,in 1852 they moved to Broseley to be nearer their source of clay. In the main they made encaustic tiles rather than the "majolica" ceramic tiles used to decorate the Shrub Hill waiting room.
Wojtczak writes that in 1873 there was Ladies' Waiting Room Attendant called Mrs Dale who earned 10s and that this was the same rate of pay as a Mrs Spencer who was the office cleaner. [9]
It is Grade II* listed and English Heritage placed it on the "Buildings at Risk Register" in 2003. The official records record that the waiting room was added c1880. In 2005 the register records "The cast iron frame is in need of structural repair. The front wall is leaning out and currently shored up. Preliminary investigative work has been carried out,but repair works were delayed due partly to problem of locating specialist contractors." In April 2005,Network Rail applied for listed building planning consent to restore the waiting room to bring it back into use before the end of 2006. The application gave detail of the work to be carried out including restoration of the cast-iron work and the sourcing and replacement of the missing ceramic tiles. English Heritage included the waiting room on the 2006 "Buildings at Risk Register". [10] Subsequently,restoration work was undertaken and the refurbishment was completed in 2015.
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.
Jewellery Quarter station is a combined railway station and tram stop,situated in the Jewellery Quarter of Birmingham,England. The station is served by West Midlands Trains,Chiltern Railways,and West Midlands Metro.
Leamington Spa railway station serves the town of Leamington Spa,in Warwickshire,England. It is situated on Old Warwick Road towards the southern edge of the town centre. It is a major stop on the Chiltern Main Line between London and Birmingham,and is the southern terminus of a branch line to Coventry.
The Hawthorns station is a railway station and tram stop,opened in 1995 in Smethwick,near Birmingham,West Midlands,England. The station shares its name with the local football ground,The Hawthorns,the home of West Bromwich Albion F.C.,which it serves. There is a park and ride facility at the tram stop.
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.
Wilmcote railway station serves the village of Wilmcote,about 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire,England. The station is run by West Midlands Trains. It is served by both West Midlands Railway and Chiltern Railways trains.
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.
Lapworth railway station serves the village of Kingswood,Warwickshire,near the village of Lapworth from which it takes its name.
Solihull railway station serves the market town of Solihull in the West Midlands of England. The station is served by West Midlands Trains and Chiltern Railways. CrossCountry serve the station occasionally to replace stops at Coventry and Birmingham International during engineering work. Solihull used to have a regular Virgin CrossCountry service to Manchester Piccadilly,Blackpool North and Portsmouth Harbour until 2004,when all services through the station were made to run non-stop between Birmingham and Leamington Spa.
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.
Worcester Foregate Street railway station,opened by the Great Western Railway in 1860 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.
Lye railway station serves the Lye area of Stourbridge,in the West Midlands of England. The station is managed by West Midlands Trains,who provide the majority of train services;Chiltern Railways also operate a small number of trains. It is situated on the Birmingham-Stourbridge line.
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.
Rowley Regis railway station serves the town of Blackheath and the Rowley Regis area of Sandwell,in the county of West Midlands,England. It is located on the Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster Line. The station is managed by West Midlands Railway,who provide the majority of train services;there are also occasional services provided by Chiltern Railways.
The Snow Hill Lines is the collective name for the railway lines running through Birmingham Snow Hill,and Birmingham Moor Street stations in Birmingham,United Kingdom. They form an important part of the suburban rail network of Birmingham,Warwickshire and Worcestershire. All other lines to/through Birmingham use Birmingham New Street station. The Snow Hill lines carry around 20% of the daily rail services into Birmingham;the remainder use New Street.