Wolverhampton railway station

For the former Great Western Railway station in Wolverhampton, see Wolverhampton Low Level railway station.

Wolverhampton
Location
Place	Wolverhampton
Local authority	City of Wolverhampton
Coordinates	52.5875°N 2.1200°W / 52.5875; -2.1200
Operations
Station code	WVH
Managed by	Virgin Trains
Number of platforms	6
Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage
2004/05 *	2.059 million
2005/06 *	2.255 million
2006/07 *	2.400 million
2007/08 *	2.510 million
2008/09 *	4.221 million
2009/10 *	4.280 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE	West Midlands
Zone	5
History
Original company	Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Stour Valley Railway
Pre-grouping	London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
1 July 1852	Opened as Wolverhampton (Queen Street)
1 June 1885	Renamed Wolverhampton (High Level)
7 May 1973	Renamed Wolverhampton
National Rail - UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Wolverhampton from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Please note: methodology may vary year on year.

Wolverhampton railway station in Wolverhampton, West Midlands is on the West Coast Main Line. It is served by London Midland, CrossCountry, Virgin Trains and Arriva Trains Wales.

History

The first station on this site was opened in 1852 by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). The only visible remnant of the original station is the Queen's Building, the gateway to Railway Drive which was the approach road to the station, which nowadays is a WHSmith serving Wolverhampton bus station. Three years later the Great Western Railway (GWR) opened a second station, located behind the older station on lower ground, which became known as the Wolverhampton Low Level station, the other becoming known as Wolverhampton High Level.

From 1923, the LNWR was amalgamated into the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), and in 1948 it became part of the London Midland Region of British Railways.

The present Wolverhampton station dates from 1965, when the High Level station was completely rebuilt as part of the modernisation programme which saw the West Coast Main Line electrified. It consisted of three through platforms (the present platforms 1, 2 and 3). In the 1980s, a parcels siding was converted into a south-facing bay platform (the present platform 5), and a new north-facing bay was constructed (the present platform 6).

One of Kevin Atherton's Iron Horse sculptures, at Wolverhampton station.

In 1987 twelve different horse sculptures by Kevin Atherton, titled Iron Horse, were erected between New Street station and Wolverhampton, including one at the southern end of platforms 2 and 3.

More recently (in 2004), a new through platform (platform 4) was constructed on the site of infrequently-used sidings. This has greatly enhanced the capacity of the station. A new footbridge was also constructed, to allow access to the new platform but also to improve access to the existing ones. A proposal for a more comprehensive redevelopment of the station and surrounding area was announced on 18 October 2006.

Current operations

The new (dating from 2004) footbridge at Wolverhampton.

CrossCountry and London Midland services at Wolverhampton.

Virgin Trains manages the station. It operates services via Birmingham New Street to London Euston as part of its West Coast franchise. Recently, an increasing amount of southbound services are starting at Wolverhampton; naturally more northbound services from Euston are carrying on and terminating at the station. It also operates trains between Birmingham and Glasgow Central. Virgin Trains also keeps Train Crew Depot at Wolverhampton. All traction units are maintained at Oxley Depot, Bushbury, just to the north of Wolverhampton on the line towards Shrewsbury.

CrossCountry operates services to a wide variety of destinations: to Stockport, Manchester Piccadilly, Stoke-on-Trent, Stafford and Macclesfield to the north, Bristol Temple Meads, Exeter St Davids and Plymouth to the south-west and Oxford, Reading, Southampton Central and Bournemouth to the south to name but a few.

London Midland is the final major operator. It operates local services (on behalf of Centro), calling at New Street first, and also to Shrewsbury. It also operates longer-distance services between Birmingham and Liverpool Lime Street, some of which run through to Northampton in peak periods. Like Virgin Trains, London Midland has a Train Crew Depot at the station and it also stables traction units in the bay platforms and sidings over night.

Arriva Trains Wales operates an hourly service between Birmingham International and Shrewsbury, with alternate trains continuing to either Aberystwyth (via the Cambrian Line) or Holyhead. There are also direct services to the Cambrian Coast Line to Pwllheli.

Platforms

The new (dating from 2004) Platform 4 at Wolverhampton.

Wolverhampton station has six platforms: platforms 1 to 4 are through platforms, while platforms 5 and 6 are bay platforms at the south and north ends respectively. Although all four platforms are reversible, in practice platform 1 is used for northbound services, platform 2 is used as reversible and platforms 3 and 4 are used for southbound service - although platform 3 is used for northbound services at busy times. Platform 5 is used by the local services to Birmingham New Street and then continues to Walsall. Platform 6 was designed for local services on the Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line, however it is rarely used, as the majority of services on that route travel through to Birmingham (or occasionally to Walsall). It is generally used for the first service of the day to Shrewsbury and for holding trains when they are not in use.

Virgin Trains services from London Euston typically arrive at platform 2, then reverse to make the journey back to London Euston. Occasionally, services from Glasgow Central or Edinburgh run through to London Euston, instead of the train starting from Wolverhampton.

All platforms at the station are electrified to 25kV AC overhead power.

Redevelopment

The railway station as it is, is earmarked for redevelopment as part of the Wolverhampton Interchange Project. Neptune Developments have been selected for the project and plan to create a major mixed used area, which will include both bus and railway stations, a hotel, retail outlets, bars, cafes and offices. Also on the plans are a link to the Metro, which will see Metro stops at the railway station and New Bus Station. This will connect all the major public transport facilities and create and major transport interchange in Wolverhampton City Centre.

The major plan is to completely rebuild the railway station and also improve pedestrian access over the ring road, with a new footbridge link direct to the bus station which opened in summer 2011. After a shortfall in funding for the project, it has been decided that the development will take place in phases. Phase One commenced in April 2010 with the construction of the new bus station which was completed in summer 2011.

A date for Phase Two, which includes the Railway Station, Canal Side, and Hotel has yet to be decided.

External links

• Train times and station information for Wolverhampton railway station from National Rail
• Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Wolverhampton station
• http://www.neptunedevelopments.co.uk/index.asp Neptune Developments

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Smethwick Galton Bridge		Arriva Trains Wales North Wales Coast Line		Telford Central
Smethwick Galton Bridge		Arriva Trains Wales Cambrian Line		Telford Central
Smethwick Galton Bridge		London Midland Birmingham-Liverpool		Penkridge
Coseley		London Midland Birmingham-Liverpool		Stafford
Sandwell and Dudley		London Midland Wolverhampton-Shrewsbury Mondays-Saturdays only		Bilbrook
Coseley		London Midland Walsall to Wolverhampton Line		Terminus
Sandwell and Dudley		Virgin Trains London-Wolverhampton		Terminus
Birmingham New Street		Virgin Trains West Coast Main Line		Crewe
Birmingham New Street		CrossCountry West Coast Main Line		Stafford
	Disused railways
Terminus		Wolverhampton and Walsall Railway Later Midland Railway		Heath Town