Droitwich Spa railway station
Location | Droitwich Spa, Wychavon England |
---|---|
Grid reference | SO892633 |
Managed by | West Midlands Trains |
Platforms | 2 |
Other information | |
Station code | DTW |
Classification | DfT category E |
History | |
Opened | 1852 |
Passengers | |
2016/17 | 0.550 million |
2017/18 | 0.568 million |
2018/19 | 0.528 million |
Interchange | 72,415 |
2019/20 | 0.520 million |
Interchange | 80,587 |
2020/21 | 0.134 million |
Interchange | 20,066 |
Location | |
Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
Droitwich Spa railway station serves the town of Droitwich Spa in Worcestershire, England. It is located just to the south-west of Droitwich Spa Junction of the Worcester to Leamington Spa Line and the Worcester to Birmingham New Street line. The station is managed by West Midlands Trains, who also operate all trains serving it.
History[]
Droitwich Spa railway station was opened in 1852 (then called simply 'Droitwich') as part of the Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line by the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway, which was soon to come under the auspices of the Great Western Railway.
Plans for a new station began around 1892.[1] The Great Western Railway company put the construction of the new station out to tender in 1897 and the contractor was Mr. Bloxham. It was constructed on land given by John Corbett and the construction cost around £7,000 (equivalent to £810,000 in 2020).[2] The platforms were 500 feet (150 m) long with sheltering verandahs in the station. The new station was opened on 3 June 1899[3] and this fulfilled the demands of providing accommodation for 200,000 passengers annually using the 16 G.W.R. trains and 12 Midland Railway trains in each direction per day. It was in 1899[4] that the 'Spa' suffix was added.
The station was linked into the Midland Railway's main line between Birmingham New Street and Gloucester by means of a short branch line to Stoke Works Junction, south of Bromsgrove. This also allowed trains from the Worcester direction to run to New Street (by means of running powers over MR metals) as well as the GWR station at Snow Hill. Originally built as a double line, it was singled in 1969 when Gloucester Power Signal Box took over control of the main line south of Barnt Green.
Stationmasters[]
- Edward David Wilson 1852- 1868[5] (afterwards station master at Brecon)
- Thomas Wainwright 1868 - 1873[6] (formerly station master at Pershore, afterwards station master at Evesham)
- Charles Joseph Richard 1873 - 1878
- Walter Knee 1878 - 1913[7]
- Amos Pasco 1913[8] - 1917
- L.G. Farmer 1926[9] - 1938 (formerly station master at Charlbury)
- Walter G. Taylor 1938 - 1942[10]
Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Stoke Works Station Closed and Line Open |
Great Western Railway Later British Rail |
Fernhill Heath Station Closed and Line Open | ||
Cutnall Green Halt Station Closed and Line Open |
Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway Great Western Railway |
Fernhill Heath Station Closed and Line Open |
Services[]
The service pattern from the station has varied somewhat over the years, particularly after most services via Kidderminster were diverted to New St in 1967 as part of the plans to close Snow Hill (the service via Bromsgrove subsequently becoming peak-hours only). Today though, travellers from the station once again have a choice of stations in Birmingham following the reopening of Snow Hill in 1995 and there are regular services on both routes into the city.
Currently there is an hourly service (Mon - Sat) between New St and Hereford via Bromsgrove that calls here, along with two trains per hour between Snow Hill and Worcester (both stations). The latter continue beyond Snow Hill eastbound to either Whitlocks End or Dorridge, whilst some trains run through to/from Great Malvern. There are also limited extensions to Stratford-upon-Avon and Leamington Spa. The frequency on this line drops to hourly in the evenings.
On Sundays, the Worcester - Snow Hill service runs every hour, continuing eastbound to Shirley and Stratford-upon-Avon, whilst there is only a limited service (five trains each way) between New St and Worcester/Hereford. However, following the December timetable change on 9 December 2012, London Midland will increase the frequency of services to Birmingham New Street to hourly in the afternoon, and bi-hourly in the mornings.[11][12]
As of January 2016 the typical weekday off-peak service from the station is:
- 2tph (trains per hour) to Worcester (some services go via or terminate at Worcester Shrub Hill)
- 2tph to Whitlocks End or Dorridge via Birmingham Snow Hill
- 1tph to Hereford (additional services to Great Malvern and Worcester Shrub Hill at peak times)
- 1tph to Birmingham New Street (additional services at peak times)
Services on the Snow Hill Line are generally served by Class 172 DMUs and services on the Hereford Line are normally served by Class 170s but one diagram is run by a Class 150 DMU.
References[]
- ^ "Droitwich. The Proposed New Railway Station". Worcester Journal. England. 26 November 1892. Retrieved 25 September 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
- ^ "The New Railway Station at Droitwich". London Evening Standard. England. 5 June 1899. Retrieved 25 September 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Droitwich Spa Railway Station".
- ^ "Farewell Dinner to Mr. E.D. Wilson". Bromsgrove & Droitwich Messenger. England. 11 January 1868. Retrieved 25 September 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Testimonial to the Late Station Master". Bromsgrove & Droitwich Messenger. England. 30 August 1873. Retrieved 25 September 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Retirement of the Stationmaster". Bromsgrove & Droitwich Messenger. England. 4 January 1913. Retrieved 25 September 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "New Stationmaster". Bromsgrove & Droitwich Messenger. England. 11 January 1913. Retrieved 25 September 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Charlbury. Promotion". Oxfordshire Weekly News. England. 22 September 1926. Retrieved 25 September 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "G.W.R. Appointment". Evesham Standard & West Midland Observer. England. 3 January 1942. Retrieved 25 September 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Dec 2012 timetable change". November 2012.
- ^ GB eNRT December 2015 Edition, Table 71
Further reading[]
- Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2007). Worcester to Birmingham. Middleton Press. figs. 16-21. ISBN 9781904474975. OCLC 263292710.
External links[]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Droitwich Spa railway station. |
- Train times and station information for Droitwich Spa railway station from National Rail
- Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Droitwich Spa station
- MIAC: Droitwich Spa
- West Midlands Railway: Station Information
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Hartlebury or Kidderminster | West Midlands Railway Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster Line |
Worcester Foregate Street | ||
West Midlands Railway Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster Line |
Worcester Shrub Hill | |||
Bromsgrove or University |
West Midlands Railway Birmingham to Worcester via Bromsgrove Line |
Worcester Foregate Street | ||
West Midlands Railway Birmingham to Worcester via Bromsgrove Line |
Worcester Shrub Hill |
- Droitwich Spa
- Railway stations in Worcestershire
- Former Great Western Railway stations
- Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1852
- Railway stations served by West Midlands Trains
- 1852 establishments in England