Uttoxeter railway station

Uttoxeter railway station pronounced (listen)  in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, England, is served by trains on the Crewe-Derby Line, which is also a Community rail line known as the North Staffordshire line. The station is owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway. The full range of tickets for travel are purchased from the guard on the train at no extra cost since there are no retail facilities at this station. It is the closest railway station to Alton Towers to which it is linked by a semi-regular bus service. A taxi rank also exists just next to the station.

Uttoxeter
LocationUttoxeter, East Staffordshire
England
Coordinates52.8968°N 1.8575°W / 52.8968; -1.8575
Grid referenceSK097332
Managed byEast Midlands Railway
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeUTT
ClassificationDfT category F1
History
Pre-groupingNorth Staffordshire Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
7 August 1848Uttoxeter Bridge Street opened
13 July 1849Uttoxeter Junction opened
13 July 1849Uttoxeter Dove Bank opened
10 October 1881Earlier stations closed;
present station opened
Passengers
2015/16 0.152 million
2016/17 0.158 million
2017/18 0.158 million
2018/19 0.159 million
2019/20 0.166 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History
A 1905 Railway Clearing House Junction Diagram showing (upper left) railways in the vicinity of Uttoxeter

North Staffordshire Railway

The present station was built by the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) to serve its main line from Stoke-on-Trent to Derby. Prior to 1881, three different stations had been in use simultaneously, all being built by the NSR.[1]

The section from Stoke-on-Trent to Uttoxeter was opened on 7 August 1848. The first station opened in the town was Uttoxeter Bridge Street station, which opened the same day as the line opened from Stoke.[1][2] However the station buildings were not complete and temporarily the crossing keeper's hut nearby was used.[1] The following month on 11 September 1848 the line was completed through to Burton and through running between Stoke and Derby began.[3] When the Churnet Valley Line was opened on 13 July 1849, Uttoxeter Junction station was opened on the mainline to serve as an interchange with the Churnet Valley line and on the same date, Uttoxeter Dove Bank station was also opened on the Churnet Valley line.[1][4]

layout of stations in Uttoxeter prior to 1881

Uttoxeter then had three stations in total. In 1880, the NSR decided to close all three and construct a north to west line forming a triangular junction. A new Uttoxeter station replaced all three at this new junction and opened on 10 October 1881.[1][2] There is a model of the 1881 station at the Uttoxeter Heritage Centre.

The Stafford and Uttoxeter Railway which opened in 1867 also used the station but this line was operated by the Great Northern Railway.

London, Midland and Scottish Railway

On 1 January 1923, under the Railways Act 1921, the North Staffordshire Railway was absorbed by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). During this period of time the Stafford and Uttoxeter Railway, which had become part of the London and North Eastern Railway, closed to passengers on 4 December 1939, but the line remained open for goods traffic until 5 March 1951.

British Rail
Local goods train entering Uttoxeter in 1959

The LMS was nationalised in 1948 and became part of British Rail.

The last mainline steam train used the station on 16 September 1957 and thereafter an hourly DMU service operated which has been used ever since.

Passenger services on the Churnet Valley line from Uttoxeter towards Leek and Macclesfield ceased operation 2 January 1965, and the trains towards Ashbourne and Buxton ceased on 1 November 1954. The last mainline steam train ran on 16 September 1957. The engine sheds closed on 7 December 1964. A siding which was part of the old Churnet valley line remained until the 1980s.

The station buildings were destroyed by fire on 9 May 1987 and the station is now unstaffed.

Privatisation

On 2 March 1997, the station became part of the Central Trains franchise. Trains would run from the station to Manchester Airport and Skegness. In 2004, the Manchester Airport train was cut back to Crewe and, in September 2005, the Skegness train was cut short to Derby.

The Central Trains franchise expired on 11 November 2007 and the station and its services were taken over by East Midlands Trains. When this franchise expired in August 2019, East Midlands Railway began operations.

Facilities

The station is unstaffed and facilities are limited. The station has a shelter on each platform as well modern help points and bicycle storage. The station has no ticket machines and the full range of tickets can be purchased from the guard onboard the train. There is also a car park at the station.[5]

Step-free access is available to both platforms at the station.[6] In 2013 a footbridge with disabled access opened at the station, so the level crossing is no longer used to cross the line. There is also now direct access to Uttoxeter Racecourse, which is adjacent to the station.[7]

Services

East Midlands Railway operate all services at Uttoxeter using Class 156 DMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[8]

On Sundays, there is an hourly service although no trains operate before 14:00.

Additional trains serve the station during the Midlands Grand National due to increased passenger numbers at the station during the event.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
East Midlands Railway
Preceding station   Historical railways   Following station
Line open, station closed
North Staffordshire Railway
Line open, station closed
Line and station closed
North Staffordshire RailwayTerminus
Great Northern Railway

Bus Connections

The station is served by the First Potteries Kingfisher service which provides hourly connections to Hanley as well as the Midland Classic routes 402, 402A and 403 services to Burton upon Trent.[9][10]

No bus services serve the station on Sundays.

References
  1. Quick, Michael (2019) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (PDF) (5th ed.). Railway and Canal Historical Society.
  2. Jeuda, Basil (2012). The North Staffordshire Railway in LMS days. 2. Lydney, Gloucestershire: Lightmoor Press. p. 133. ISBN 978-1-899889-65-5.
  3. Christiansen, Rex & Miller, Robert William (1971). The North Staffordshire Railway. Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles. p. 299. ISBN 0-7153-5121-4.
  4. Jeuda, Basil (1999). The Churnet Valley Railway. Lydney, Gloucestershire: Lightmoor Press. p. 141. ISBN 1-899889-05-1.
  5. "Uttoxeter station information". East Midlands Railway. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  6. "Uttoxeter station map". National Rail. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  7. "Controversy over eyesore bridge designed to make station safe". Uttoxeter News.
  8. Table 50 National Rail timetable, May 2020
  9. "Kingfisher: Uttoxeter to Hanley". First Potteries. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  10. "Bus Timetables". Midland Classic. Retrieved 6 February 2021.

Further reading
  • Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2016). Derby to Stoke-on-Trent. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 28-39. ISBN 9781908174932. OCLC 954271104.
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