Place Oakengates Station code OKN DfT category F2 Number of platforms 2 | Grid reference SJ696107 Managed by London Midland 2011/12 52,214 | |
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Address Telford TF2 6AG, United Kingdom Similar Shifnal railway station, Wellington (Shropshire) railway st, Telford Central railway st, Sunnycroft, Benthall Hall | ||
Oakengates railway station top 5 facts
Oakengates railway station serves the town of Oakengates, part of the new town of Telford, England. It lies on the former Great Western Railway's London (Paddington) to Birkenhead via Birmingham (Snow Hill) line and has two platforms.
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About half of the passenger trains running along the line call at the station, the others pass straight through. Passenger numbers using the station have increased dramatically in the last 10 years.
Rail services are primarily provided by London Midland from Monday to Saturday with Arriva Trains Wales providing a Sunday service. Virgin Trains (West Coast) do not currently call at Oakengates station.
Between Oakengates and Telford Central is the Oakengates Tunnel.
Oakengates Tunnel
This tunnel was a major problem in the construction of the railway. It delayed the project by 3 years, between 1846 and 1849. Details of the difficulties include unseasonable weather contained in a report of 21 August 1848 from Robert Stephenson, Consulting Engineer, and William Baker, the Shropshire Union Railway Engineer. It was originally built for broad gauge railways.
This tunnel is the only tunnel on the Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton line and the longest of the three railway tunnels presently in use in Shropshire. It stretches for 471 yards.
The tunnel passed under the summit level of the Shropshire Canal and was the scene of a disaster in 1855, when a breach from the canal into the tunnel occurred. The entire summit level emptied into the tunnel, causing flooding in the town, although there were no reports of any personal injury.
An accident occurred at the station on 11 September 1877 when a Great Western train, the 7:40 am from Shrewsbury, arrived at Oakengates station on time at 8:09 am. Its locomotive, no. 153, then exploded due to a boiler failure. The explosion killed the driver, Anthony Robson Potter, and injured several others.
Services
There is a basic hourly off-peak service in each direction (Mon-Sat), westbound to Shrewsbury and eastbound to Wolverhampton & Birmingham New Street run by London Midland. Additional trains call at peak periods. Arriva Trains Wales run a single late night service each way (Mon-Sat) and also provide a two-hourly Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury service each way on Sundays (some trains run through to Chester and Birmingham International).