Wolverton railway station

Not to be confused with Wolverhampton railway station or Wolferton railway station.

Wolverton
Location
Place	Wolverton
Local authority	Milton Keynes
Operations
Station code	WOL
Managed by	London Midland
Number of platforms	4 (normally 2)
Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage
2004/05 *	0.203 million
2005/06 *	0.258 million
2006/07 *	0.288 million
2007/08 *	0.305 million
2008/09 *	0.298 million
History
Opened 1881 (1881)
September 1838	First Wolverton station opened by L&BR
November 1840	Station rebuilt to a larger design to the south of Stratford Road
1881	Station rebuilt for a second time
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 Wolverton from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Please note: methodology may vary year on year.

Wolverton railway station serves northern Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, especially Stony Stratford, Wolverton and New Bradwell.

The station is served by London Midland local services from Northampton to London on the West Coast Main Line. It is one of the five stations serving Milton Keynes. The others are Milton Keynes Central, Bletchley, Fenny Stratford and Bow Brickhill.

The station has four platforms, but the platforms adjacent to the 'fast' lines are rarely used as the tracks are normally used by fast Virgin Trains services which do not stop at Wolverton.

Station Building

The present station is a 'temporary' shed in the car park (at track level). Recently it has become clear that the station (and the town) needs a new building to handle its passengers, so a new structure has been proposed for the historic site on the road bridge.

Work on new station buildings started in May 2011 (although not to th plans proposed in 2008) with expected completion in Spring 2012. The construction has taken up the majority of parking spaces in the main car park (there are two overflow car parks) with commuters advised to use Bletchley in the interim (Milton Keynes Central is regarded as already too busy). On completion of the work, removal of the existing "portacabin" buildings will restore the parking to roughly the previous level. The start of the work was reported in local media including Liberal Democrat News.

History

The first, temporary, stop (September 1838) was on the embankment above Wolverton Park. A larger permanent station and refreshment rooms were built at a location behind what is now Glyn Square by November 1838. In 1881 the main line was re-routed to the east to allow for expansion (see 'Wolverton bend' below) and a new station built. The current station site has been in use since.

Until 1991^{[citation needed]}, a "toy town" wooden ticket office stood on the railway bridge, facing out onto Newport Road and with steps leading down to the platform; this was actually the third location for a station in Wolverton The wooden station stood here for over 100 years until British Rail demolished it, allegedly as Milton Keynes Borough Council were debating making it a listed building.^{[citation needed]}

Wolverton bend and Northampton Loop

Northward view showing the track curvature.

In recent years, with the advent of fast trains, Wolverton gained notoriety among railwaymen for its famously tight curve. The curve was a result of the station being moved eastward in 1881, to permit extension of the Wolverton railway works. The path of the original route is visible at both the north and south ends of the divergence. The Advanced Passenger Train failed its trials here but, with another decade of development, the new Virgin Trains Pendolino tilting trains passed theirs. Near the station, the track crosses the valley of the Great Ouse on a viaduct. Slightly further north, the Northampton loop leaves the main line at Hanslope Junction.

Newport Pagnell Branch Line (closed)

Main article: Wolverton to Newport Pagnell Line

From 1865 to 1964, there was a branch line from Wolverton to Newport Pagnell, primarily for employees of Wolverton Works. In 1964 the line was closed to passengers by the Beeching Axe and freight ceased in 1967. Between 1817 and 1864, the section from Great Linford to Newport Pagnell was an arm of the Grand Junction Canal which was then drained to become the track-bed. The route from Wolverton to Newport Pagnell is now a redway. Along the redway, the platforms at New Bradwell and Great Linford are still in place, as are a signal post at Newport Pagnell and an iron bridge taking the line (now the redway) over the Grand Union Canal.

See also

• Wolverton railway works
• Wolverton and Stony Stratford Tramway
• Denbigh Hall Pending construction of a bridge over the River Ouse, passengers alighted at Denbigh Hall and transferred to coaches on the London-Birmingham turnpike.

Services

The station provides London Midland services to London Euston and Northampton. There are currently 2 trains per hour off-peak.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Northampton		London Midland Northampton loop		Milton Keynes Central
	Historical railways
Castlethorpe Line open, station closed		London and North Western Railway West Coast Main Line		Bletchley Line and station open
	Disused railways
Bradwell Line and station closed		London and North Western Railway Wolverton to Newport Pagnell Line		Terminus

External links

• Train times and station information for Wolverton railway station from National Rail
• Pendolino rounds Wolverton bend (before coming to a stop at Milton Keynes Central)