Wolverton | |
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Location | |
Place | Wolverton |
Local authority | Borough of Milton Keynes |
Grid reference | SP820415 |
Operations | |
Station code | WOL |
Managed by | London Midland |
Number of platforms | 4 |
DfT category | E |
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries |
|
Annual rail passenger usage* | |
2011/12 | 0.361 million |
2012/13 | 0.362 million |
2013/14 | 0.389 million |
2014/15 | 0.411 million |
2015/16 | 0.426 million |
History | |
Key dates | Opened 1881 |
September 1838 | First Wolverton station opened by L&BR |
November 1840 | Station rebuilt to a larger design to the south of Stratford Road |
1881 | Station rebuilt for a second time |
National Rail – UK railway stations | |
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Wolverton from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
Wolverton railway station serves northern Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, especially Stony Stratford, Wolverton and New Bradwell. As the former Castlethorpe railway station is closed, it also serves nearby villages in south Northamptonshire.
The station is served by London Midland services on the West Coast Main Line. It is one of the five stations serving Milton Keynes. The others are Milton Keynes Central, Bletchley, Fenny Stratford and Bow Brickhill. The nearest Northbound Station is Northampton railway station.
The station has four platforms, of which just two (3 and 4) are normally in use.
The first station was built for the opening of the complete line, 17 September 1838 on the embankment just north of the canal above Wolverton Park. It proved to be temporary as the railway company purchased an additional 13.5 acres to the south and chose to build a larger, permanent station there in 1840. The new station included refreshment rooms which for a time were famous throughout the land and employed a full-time staff of 29. A hotel was planned but never built. The waiting room was lavishly redecorated for the visit of Queen Victoria in 1844, who spent that Christmas as the guest of the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos. In 1881 the main line was re-routed to the east to allow for expansion (see 'Wolverton bend' below) and a new station built. The booking hall was a wooden building at street level above the railway line and passengers could reach the platforms via flights of stairs. The current station site has been in use since.
The wooden station stood here for over 100 years until British Rail demolished it in 1991, allegedly as Milton Keynes Borough Council were debating making it a listed building.