Olton railway station

Olton
Location
Place	Olton
Local authority	Metropolitan Borough of Solihull
Grid reference	SP134822
Operations
Station code	OLT
Managed by	London Midland
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	E
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2010/11	0.365 million
2011/12	0.358 million
2012/13	0.381 million
2013/14	0.412 million
2014/15	0.425 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE	West Midlands
Zone	4
History
Key dates	Opened 1869
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Olton from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Olton railway station serves the Olton area of Solihull, in the West Midlands of England. The station is operated by London Midland, and is also served by Chiltern Railways services. 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 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 Leamington Spa 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 of 1929, 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.

Current layout

The station was rebuilt in the 1930s and the new approach 'Station Drive' was also constructed. The station now has one wide island platform with trains to Solihull, Leamington Spa 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.

Services

The station is served by three trains per hour in each direction between Birmingham Snow Hill and Dorridge. The Birmingham trains continue to either Stourbridge Junction or Kidderminster. One Dorridge service per hour continues to Stratford-upon-Avon, in peak hours some services extend to Leamington Spa. Also a limited number of Chiltern Railways services stop here.

External links

• Train times and station information for Olton railway station from National Rail
• Warwickshire's Railways: Olton station
• Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Olton station

Coordinates: 52°26′20″N 1°48′14″W / 52.439°N 1.804°W