Olton railway station explained

Olton
Symbol Location:	gb
Symbol:	rail
Borough:	Olton, Metropolitan Borough of Solihull
Country:	England
Grid Name:	Grid reference
Manager:	West Midlands Trains
Platforms:	2
Code:	OLT
Zone:	4
Classification:	DfT category E
Transit Authority:	Transport for West Midlands
Opened:	1869
Footnotes:	Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road
Mapframe:	yes
Mapframe-Zoom:	13

Olton railway station serves the Olton area of Solihull, in the West Midlands of England. The station is operated by West Midlands Trains. The entrance seen in the centre where the station's booking office is located leads into a tunnel which runs under the tracks providing an access staircase and lift to the island platform. The station also has a car park and bicycle racks.

History

Origins

Olton station was opened in 1869^[1] on the GWR's Oxford & Birmingham Branch and its prime role was as a suburban passenger station for Birmingham commuters, explaining why the booking office was located on the down platform.

Olton originally had two signal boxes, the first of which only had 10 levers. It was built by McKenzie and Holland and located at the end of the up platform which was replaced in June 1913 but was ultimately closed in 1933.

Expansion

Olton station originally had a two-platform configuration with basic facilities, but taking advantage of the Development (Loan Guarantees and Grants) Act 1929 (20 & 21 Geo. 5. c. 7), the Great Western Railway continued to quadruple the Birmingham Main Line as far as Lapworth, rebuilding five stations including Olton with two wide island platforms in 1932. The new approach 'Station Drive' was also constructed.

Current layout

The station now has one wide island platform with trains to, and London stopping one side and to Birmingham and Worcester the other. The platform building has been significantly reduced by the removal of its roof canopy.

Incidents

Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham, discussing railway accidents in the city, notes that:^[2]

Services

West Midlands Railway

The station is served by West Midlands Trains on the Snow Hill Lines.^{[3] [4]}

Services operate every 30 minutes in each direction.

• 2 trains per hour run westbound to, continuing to and/or via,, and
• 2 trains per hour operate eastbound to via, one of which continues to . Two evening services extend to via .

On Sundays, there is an hourly service each way between Stourbridge Junction and Dorridge.

Chiltern Railways

Olton is no longer served by Chiltern Railways services as of the May 2023 timetable change.^{[5] [6]} Services used to run southbound towards, and .

External links

• Warwickshire's Railways: Olton station
• Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Olton station

52.439°N -1.804°W

Notes and References

1. Book: Paddington to the Mersey. R. Preston. Hendry. R. Powell. Hendry. 81. Oxford Publishing Company. 1992. 9780860934424. 877729237.
2. Book: Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham. 1885. Cornish Brothers. 5.
3. Web site: Train timetables and schedules Olton.
4. Web site: Train times Snow Hill Lines - Worcester to Birmingham Snow Hill, Solihull and Stratford upon Avon 21 May until 9 December 2023. West Midlands Railway.
5. Web site: Timetable - 21 May 2023 - December 2023: London to High Wycombe, Bicester, Oxford, Banbury, Leamington Spa, Stratford-upon-Avon and Birmingham. Chiltern Railways.
6. Web site: Our timetables have changed. Chiltern Railways.