Uttoxeter railway station
Uttoxeter railway station serves the town of Uttoxeter, in Staffordshire, England. It lies 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 Railway.
History
North Staffordshire Railway
Uttoxeter Bridge Street station was built by the North Staffordshire Railway to serve its main line from to ; both the line and the station were opened on 7 August 1848. However, the station buildings were not completed on time and the crossing keeper's hut was used temporarily. The following month, on 11 September 1848, the line was completed through to and through running between Stoke and Derby began.When the Churnet Valley Line was opened on 13 July 1849, two additional stations were added: Uttoxeter Junction, which served both lines, and Uttoxeter Dove Bank on the Churnet Valley linesp.
In 1880, the NSR decided to close all three stations and construct a north-to-west line, forming a triangular junction; a new Uttoxeter station was opened on 10 October 1881 at this junction. 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. During this period, 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 goods traffic until 5 March 1951.British Railways
The LMS was nationalised in 1948 and became part of British Railways.The last main line steam train used the station on 16 September 1957 and, thereafter, an hourly diesel multiple unit service operated.
Passenger services on the Churnet Valley line from Uttoxeter towards and ceased operation on 2 January 1965; the trains towards and ceased on 1 November 1954. The last main line steam train ran on 16 September 1957 and 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.
Privatisation
On 2 March 1997, the station became part of the Central Trains franchise. Trains would run from the station to and. In 2004, the Manchester Airport train was cut back to and, in September 2005, the Skegness train was cut short to Derby.The Central Trains franchise expired on 11 November 2007; the station and its services were taken over by East Midlands Trains. When this franchise expired in August 2019, East Midlands Railway began operations; in May 2021, services were once again extended past Derby to provide Uttoxeter with a direct link to, and.
Facilities
The station is unstaffed and facilities are limited. There is a shelter on each platform, with modern help points and bicycle storage. A ticket machine was installed in 2021. There is a car park at the station and a taxi rank nearby. Step-free access is available to both platforms.It is the closest station to Alton Towers, to which it is linked by an infrequent bus service. There is also direct access to Uttoxeter Racecourse, which is adjacent to the station.
Services
All services at Uttoxeter are operated by East Midlands Railway.On weekdays and Saturdays, the station hosts the following services, in train per hour :
- 1 tph westbound to, via
- 1 tph eastbound to, via and.
Bus connections
The station is served by:- First Potteries Kingfisher route, which provides hourly connections to Hanley
- Diamond East Midlands routes 402, 402A and 403 services to Burton-upon-Trent.