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
Location
PlaceUttoxeter
Local authorityEast Staffordshire
Coordinates52.8968°N 1.8575°W / 52.8968; -1.8575
Grid referenceSK097332
Operations
Station codeUTT
Managed byEast Midlands Railway
Number of platforms2
DfT categoryF1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15 0.170 million
2015/16 0.152 million
2016/17 0.158 million
2017/18 0.158 million
2018/19 0.159 million
History
Pre-groupingNorth Staffordshire Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
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
National Rail – UK railway stations
  • Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Uttoxeter from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

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.

Today

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, and a car park for the Racecourse on the north side of the line.[5]

Services

Uttoxeter is served by one train per hour in each direction between Crewe and Derby, usually operated by a class 153, 156 or a 158.[6]

During the Midlands Grand National extra trains are provided by East Midlands Railway to cope with the capacity.

The station also has a bus stop and is served by routes Swift (from and to Derby) and the 402 to and from Burton.[7]

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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. http://www.uttoxeter-news.co.uk/News/Controversy-over-eyesore-bridge-designed-to-make-station-safe-20131004165724.htm
  6. GB eNRT 2015-16 Edition, Table 50 (Network Rail)
  7. Uttoxeter, Railway Station, Adj (On Station Road)

Further reading
  • Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2016). Derby to Stoke-on-Trent. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 28-39. ISBN 9781908174932. OCLC 954271104.
Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
East Midlands Railway
Crewe to Derby Line
Preceding station   Historical railways   Following station
Line open, station closed
North Staffordshire Railway
Crewe to Derby Line
Line open, station closed
Line and station closed
North Staffordshire Railway
Churnet Valley Line
Terminus
Great Northern RailwayTerminus
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