Worcester Foregate Street railway station
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Parameter validation".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "check for deprecated parameters". Template:Redirects Worcester Foregate Street, opened by the Great Western Railway in 1860,[1] is one of two railway stations that serve the city of Worcester, England; the other is Template:Rws, which is located to the east. A third station, Template:Rws, is sited just outside of the city to the south-east. The station is managed by West Midlands Railway, who also operate services along with Great Western Railway.
History
The station opened on 17 May 1860. It was originally part of the Hereford and Worcester Railway which was incorporated into the West Midland Railway, before being absorbed by the Great Western Railway. On 1 January 1948, the company became Government owned under British Railways. The Butts Spur line was also constructed in 1860 with the unfulfilled aim of connecting the station to Diglis for the conveyance of freight.
Since 1973, the station has had an unusual layout; it is essentially two single-track lines side by side rather than the ordinary double-track layout which it appears to be. The two single lines run from Henwick, on the other side of the River Severn, through Foregate Street, to the site of the former Rainbow Hill Junction to the east of the station, which used to provide a crossover between the two tracks. At this point, the lines diverge with that on the north side heading towards Tunnel Junction and Droitwich Spa, while the southern track leads to Template:Rws. Rainbow Hill Junction was removed when the signalling in the area was remodelled in 1973.
The station celebrated its 150th birthday on 23 May 2010, with the unveiling of a plaque and a special train, which celebrated its 150th anniversary on the same date.[2] that ran to Template:Rws[3]
The art gallery movement opened on platform 2 on 2 October 2010.[4]
The station was upgraded in 2014, which included a refurbished subway, two new entrances with automatic doors, relocation of the lift at the second entrance to be enclosed in the station building and conversion of one of the railway arches into a bike shelter. The bridge was also strengthened and repainted.
Until May 2022, Great Western Railway ran limited services to Template:Rws and Template:Rws.[5][6][7]
Layout
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The station layout is unusual in that travelling east the two platforms serve different routes, rather than different directions. Platform 1 can only be accessed by trains via Worcester Shrub Hill (including trains to and from London Paddington and via Cheltenham Spa towards the south-west), while platform 2 can only be accessed from the east by trains running directly to and from Template:Rws, avoiding Shrub Hill. Signs at the station warn of "Two-way working on both lines".[8][9]
Similar examples of this type of layout can be found at Template:Rws in Fife and Template:Rws in Lancashire. This means that Great Western Railway services can only stop at platform 1, as all of these trains stop at Shrub Hill.
The station itself is built on a viaduct, meaning that space for expansion is restricted, but the platforms are nevertheless of ample length to accommodate a High Speed Train. Despite its small size, the remains of two signal boxes can be seen: one spanning the tracks and the second is now the station cafe, called Cafe Loco, at the end of platform 1.
Services
The station is served by two train operating companies:
- West Midlands Trains operates services to Birmingham via two different routes, either to Birmingham New Street via Bromsgrove or to Birmingham Snow Hill via Kidderminster. There is an hourly service between Template:Rws and New Street and two trains per hour (three at peak times) to Template:Rws, with many of the latter running beyond to either Template:Rws or Template:Rws; some also originate/terminate at Template:Rws or Template:Rws on this route.[10]
- Great Western Railway operates a regular service to London Paddington, via the Cotswold Line and Oxford. It also runs a service to Bristol Temple Meads, via Template:Rws, with extensions through to Template:Rws and Template:Rws; these mainly start/terminate here, with only a limited service beyond to or from Great Malvern.[11]
| Preceding station | National Rail National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Rws | Script error: No such module "If empty".<div style="height:8px; background-color:#Script error: No such module "If empty".; color:inherit; border:none; margin:0 -5px -2px;"> | Template:Rws | ||
| Template:Rws | ||||
| Terminus | style="background:#Template:WMT colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" | | West Midlands Railway Worcester - Kidderminster - Birmingham - Dorridge - Stratford |
style="background:#Template:WMT colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" | | Template:Rws |
| Template:Rws | style="background:#Template:FGW colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" | | Great Western Railway Cotswold Line |
style="background:#Template:FGW colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" | | Template:Rws |
| Template:Rws | style="background:#Template:FGW colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" | | Great Western Railway Worcester to Bristol |
style="background:#Template:FGW colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" | | Template:Rws |
| Template:Rws Line open, station closed |
Great Western Railway Worcester and Hereford Railway |
Template:Rws Line and station open | ||
See also
References
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- ↑ M.E. Quick, Railway Passenger Stations in England, Scotland and Wales — A Chronology. Richmond: Railway and Canal Historical Society, 2003
- ↑ Malvern Worcester 150th Anniversary Official website
- ↑ "Worcestershire railway stations mark 150 years" 23 May 2010 Retrieved 23 May 2010
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Great Western Railway to terminate Brighton services Rail issue 952 9 March 2022 page 22
- ↑ Great Western Railway set to axe Brighton service The Argus 21 April 2022
- ↑ Great Western Railway services calling at Brighton on 13 May 2022 Realtime Trains
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Further reading
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External links
- Train times and station information for Worcester Foregate Street railway station from National Rail
Template:Transport in Worcestershire Template:Worcestershire railway stations
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- Buildings and structures in Worcester, England
- Transport in Worcester, England
- Railway stations in Worcestershire
- DfT Category C2 stations
- Former Great Western Railway stations
- Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1860
- Railway stations served by Great Western Railway
- Railway stations served by West Midlands Trains