Droitwich Spa railway station
General information | |
---|---|
Location | Droitwich Spa, Wychavon England |
Grid reference | SO892633 |
Managed by | West Midlands Railway |
Platforms | 2 |
Other information | |
Station code | DTW |
Classification | DfT category E |
History | |
Opened | 1852 |
Passengers | |
2018/19 | 0.528 million |
Interchange | 72,415 |
2019/20 | 0.520 million |
Interchange | 80,587 |
2020/21 | 0.134 million |
Interchange | 20,066 |
2021/22 | 0.326 million |
Interchange | 43,894 |
2022/23 | 0.397 million |
Interchange | 34,666 |
Location | |
Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
Droitwich Spa railway station serves the town of
History
Droitwich Spa railway station was opened in 1852 (then called simply 'Droitwich') as part of the
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 £840,000 in 2021).[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.
Before 2012 there was 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 increased the frequency of services to Birmingham New Street to hourly in the afternoon, and bi-hourly in the mornings.[5][6]
Droitwich Spa Junction
Droitwich Spa Junction is a railway junction located 250 metres (800 ft) north-east of the station.
The junction sees the
Droitwich Spa
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.
As of May 2023 the typical weekday off-peak service from the station is:[7][8][9]
Birmingham to Worcester via Bromsgrove line:
- 1tph (train per hour) to Birmingham New Street via Bromsgrove and University
- 1tph to Hereford via Worcester Foregate Street and Great Malvern (some services go via Worcester Shrub Hill and either reverse or terminate there)
- Additional services run at peak times.
Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster line:
- 2tph to Worcester (some services go via Worcester Shrub Hill and reverse or terminate there), with 3tph at peak times
- 2tph to Dorridge via Stourbridge Junction, Kidderminster, Smethwick Galton Bridge, Birmingham Snow Hill and Solihull with 1tph extending to Stratford-upon-Avon.
- 1tph, 3tpd, on weekday evenings (first train departs 19:24, last train departs 21:20) the Stratford services run via Whitlocks End. These are 2tpd Saturday nighttime and 1tph from 09:36 to 17:36 on Sundays.
On Sundays, the Worcester to Stratford via Moor Street service runs every hour, continuing eastbound to Stratford-upon-Avon via Shirley.
Services on the Snow Hill line are generally served by Class 172 DMUs and services on the Hereford line are served by Class 196 DMUs.
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 11 June 2022.
- ^ "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".
- ^ "Dec 2012 timetable change". November 2012.
- ^ GB eNRT December 2015 Edition, Table 71
- ^ "Train timetables and schedules | Droitwich Spa". West Midlands Railway.
- ^ "Train times | Snow Hill Lines - Worcester to Birmingham Snow Hill, Solihull and Stratford upon Avon | 21 May until 9 December 2023". West Midlands Railway.
- ^ "Train times | Hereford to Birmingham | 21 May until 9 December 2023". West Midlands Railway.
Further reading
- Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2007). Worcester to Birmingham. Middleton Press. figs. 16-21. OCLC 263292710.
External links
- 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