Kings Sutton railway station serves the village of King's Sutton in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is also one of the nearest railway stations to the town of

Brackley Brackley is a market town and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, bordering Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, from Oxford and from Northampton. Historically a market town based on the wool and lace trade, it was built on the inter ...

. The station is managed by Chiltern Railways, who provide most of the services, including from

London Paddington Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great ...

and

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it me ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshir ...

History

The Great Western Railway built the — section of the

Oxford and Rugby Railway The Oxford and Rugby Railway was promoted by the Great Western Railway as a means of connecting to the West Midlands and the north of England, by joining existing railways at Rugby. It was authorised in 1845, but the GWR soon decided to make its ...

between 1845 and 1850. However, the GWR did not open a station at King's Sutton until 1872. By 1881 the arrival of the

Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway The Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway (B&CDR) was a railway company through the Cotswolds in England that built a line between points near Banbury and Cheltenham. Its principal objective, as well as a general rural rail service, was the conve ...

''via'' had made King's Sutton a junction. British Railways withdrew passenger services between King's Sutton and Chipping Norton in 1951 and closed the B&CDR line to

freight Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including tran ...

traffic in 1964. The station was reduced to an unstaffed halt from 2 November 1964. BR removed King's Sutton station

footbridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

in the 1960s and replaced it with a signal-controlled

barrow crossing There are around 6,000 level crossings in the United Kingdom, of which about 1,500 are public highway crossings. This number is gradually being reduced as the risk of accidents at level crossings is considered high. The director of the UK Rail ...

at the North end of the platform. An incident in early 2005 where a passenger was nearly hit by an express train saw the Northbound platform closed for a short period whilst security guards were brought in to man the crossing. This led to work starting on the bridge in late 2005 and completion in May 2006. The old passenger shelter on the up platform was replaced by a new

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

and

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

'bus-shelter' style one. A late night robbery in 2001 led Chiltern Railways to raise security concerns. As a result, CCTV cameras were installed in 2002. King's Sutton is the least used station in the county of

Routes and operators

Services at King's Sutton are operated by Chiltern Railways and Great Western Railway. Chiltern Railways operate services approximately every two hours off peak between

London Marylebone Marylebone station ( ) is a Central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the Marylebone area of the City of Westminster. On the National Rail network it is also known as London Marylebone and is the southern te ...

and with the majority of these extended to . On Sundays, these services are extended beyond Banbury to . Chiltern Railways also operate a single late evening service between Oxford and Banbury via the Cherwell Valley Line. Great Western Railway operate services approximately every two hours Monday-Saturday between Banbury and Oxford with some of these services extended to and . A limited Sunday service (3 trains per day) operates on this route during the summer months only.

Gallery

File:King's sutton station Mk2 (6).png, King's Sutton village as seen from the station in 2000. The chain-link fence was replaced in 2009. File:King's sutton station Mk2 (4).png, The station in 2010. King's Sutton station was upgraded, got a new shelter and re-gained its

in 2006

References

External links

Least Used Station in Northamptonshire via YouTube
{{Railway stations in Northamptonshire Railway stations in Northamptonshire DfT Category F2 stations Former Great Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1873 Railway stations served by Chiltern Railways Railway stations served by Great Western Railway