Witton railway station

Witton railway station serves the Witton area of the city of Birmingham, England. It is situated on the Birmingham-Walsall Line, part of the former Grand Junction Railway, opened in 1837. The line through the station was electrified in 1966 as part of the London Midland Region's electrification programme.[1] The actual energization of the line from Coventry to Walsall through Aston took place on 15 August 1966.[2] The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by West Midlands Trains.

Not to be confused with Whitton railway station.

Witton
LocationWitton, Birmingham
England
Coordinates52.512°N 1.883°W / 52.512; -1.883
Grid referenceSP079904
Managed byWest Midlands Railway
Transit authorityTransport for West Midlands
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeWTT
Fare zone2
ClassificationDfT category E
History
Opened1876
Passengers
2015/16 0.296 million
2016/17 0.283 million
2017/18 0.305 million
2018/19 0.344 million
2019/20 0.328 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

The station sits above Witton Road, the A4040 Outer Ring Road, as the railway line here is on an embankment. It is the closest station to Villa Park, home of Aston Villa F.C. and is advertised as the station for Villa Park on station signage. Under Villa owner Randy Lerner, there have been discussions on changing the name of Witton Station to Villa Park as is the case with West Bromwich Albion's local railway station, The Hawthorns. Aston Villa's former CEO, Bruce Langham, has said that the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive (Centro) are amenable to the idea as long as it is done at the expense of the club. No action has yet been taken.[3]

Facilities

The station is no longer staffed, its ticket office having been closed by London Midland in 2013.[4] Tickets must now be purchased in advance, or from a self-service ticket machine on platform 2, or on the train. Waiting accommodation is provided in the brick buildings on both platforms, whilst train running information is given via timetable posters, CIS screens, help points and automatic announcements. Step-free access to both platforms is available via ramps from street level.[5]

Services

Witton is served by trains between Wolverhampton and Walsall via Birmingham New Street, operating every 30 minutes Monday-Saturday daytimes and every 60 minutes evenings and Sundays.[6] These services are operated by Class 323 electric trains.

References
  1. Nock, O.S. (1966). Britain's New Railway. London: Ian Allan. pp. 147–159.
  2. Gillham, J.C. (1988). The Age of the Electric Train - Electric trains in Britain since 1883. Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 169.
  3. "Minutes of meeting" (PDF). Aston Villa Supporters Trust. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 5 July 2007.
  4. "Ticket office closures could be first of manyCampaign for Better Transport article 17 September 2012; Retrieved 9 June 2017
  5. Witton (West Midlands) station facilities National Rail Enquiries
  6. GB eNRT May 2017 edition, Table 70
Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
West Midlands Railway
West Midlands Railway
Wolverhampton-Birmingham-Walsall


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