Place Uttoxeter Station code UTT DfT category F1 Number of platforms 2 | Grid reference SK097332 Managed by East Midlands Trains 2011/12 154,000 | |
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Address Uttoxeter ST14 8AX, United Kingdom Similar Alton Towers Waterpark, Tutbury and Hatton railway st, Redfern's Cottage ‑ Museum, Willington railway station, St Mary the Virgin Church | ||
Uttoxeter railway station pronounced (listen) serves the town of Uttoxeter in Staffordshire, England. It is served by trains on the Crewe-Derby Line which is also a Community rail line known as the North Staffordshire line. The station is owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Trains. The full range of tickets for travel are purchased from the guard on the train at no extra cost, but there are no retail facilities at this station.
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North Staffordshire Railway
The present station was built by the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) to serve its main line from Stoke-on-Trent to Derby. Prior to 1881, three different stations had been in use simultaneously, all being built by the NSR.
The section from Stoke-on-Trent to Uttoxeter was opened on 7 August 1848. The first station opened in the town was Uttoxeter Bridge Street station, which opened the same day as the line opened from Stoke. The following month on 11 September 1848 the line was completed through to Burton and through running between Stoke and Derby began. When the Churnet Valley Line was opened on 13 July 1849, Uttoxeter Junction station was opened on the mainline to serve as an interchange with the Churnet Valley line and on the same date, Uttoxeter Dove Bank station was also opened on the Churnet Valley line.
Uttoxeter then had three stations in total. In 1880, the NSR decided to close all three and construct a north to west line forming a triangular junction. A new Uttoxeter station replaced all three at this new junction and opened on 10 October 1881. There is a model of the 1881 station at the Uttoxeter Heritage Centre.
The Stafford and Uttoxeter Railway which opened in 1867 also used the station but this line was operated by the Great Northern Railway.
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
On 1 January 1923, under the Railways Act 1921, the North Staffordshire Railway was absorbed by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). During this period of time the Stafford and Uttoxeter Railway, which had become part of the London and North Eastern Railway, closed to passengers on 4 December 1939, but the line remained open for good traffic until 5 March 1951.
British Rail
The LMS was nationalised in 1948 and became part of British Rail.
The last mainline steam train used the station on 16 September 1957 and thereafter an hourly DMU service operated which has been used ever since.
Passenger services on the Churnet Valley line from Uttoxeter towards Leek and Macclesfield ceased operation 2 January 1965, and the trains towards Ashbourne and Buxton ceased on 1 November 1954. The last mainline steam train ran on 16 September 1957. The engine sheds closed on 7 December 1964. A siding which was part of the old Churnet valley line remained until the 1980s.
The station buildings were destroyed by fire on 9 May 1987 and the station is now unstaffed.
Privatisation
On 2 March 1997, the station became part of the Central Trains franchise. Trains would run from the station from Manchester Airport to Skegness railway station. In 2004, the Manchester Airport train was cut short to Crewe and, in September 2005, the Skegness train was cut short to Derby.
The Central Trains franchise expired on 11 November 2007 and the station and its services were taken over by a new company called East Midlands Trains ( Stagecoach group )
Today
The station is around 5 minutes walk from the town centre. It has two platforms (connected by a foot bridge), and a car park. Since 2002, there have been proposals to build a ticket office, but that is unlikely in the short term. There are bus shelters on both platforms and a real bus stop just outside the station on Station Road. New LED information boards on both platforms were introduced in 2007, replacing a single television screen at the station entrance. The station was unstaffed between 1988 and 2012, when it became staffed for the first time in 24 years for the purpose of helping people across the level crossing to platform 2.
In 2013 a footbridge with disabled access opened at the station, so the level crossing is no longer used to cross the line. There is also now direct access to Uttoxeter Racecourse, which is adjacent to the station, and a car park for the Racecourse on the north side of the line.
Uttoxeter is also the railway station for Alton Towers theme park, for which there is a semi-regular bus link.
Services
Uttoxeter is served by one train per hour in each direction usually operated by a class 153, 156 or a 158.
During the Midlands Grand National extra trains are provided by East Midlands Trains to cope with the capacity.
The station also has a bus stop and is served by routes Swift (from and to Derby) and the 402 to and from Burton.