Olton railway station serves the

Olton Olton is an area/suburban village within the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the West Midlands, England. In the 13th century, the Lords of the Manor moved their seat and formed a new settlement, at the junction of two major roads. It was th ...

area of

Solihull Solihull (, or ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe i ...

, in the

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

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 ...

. The station is operated by

West Midlands Trains West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trade names: West Midlands Railway (WMR) (within the ...

, and is also served by

Chiltern Railways Chiltern Railways, formally The Chiltern Railway Company Limited, is a British train operating company that has operated the Chiltern Railways franchise since July 1996. Since 2009, it has been a subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains. Chiltern Railw ...

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

station was opened in 1869 on the GWR's Oxford & Birmingham Branch and its prime role was as a suburban passenger station for

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

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 Vulcan Iron Works was the name of several iron foundries in both England and the United States during the Industrial Revolution and, in one case, lasting until the mid-20th century. Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and smithery, was a popular na ...

and located at the end of the up platform which was replaced in June 1913 but was ultimately closed in 1933.

Expansion

station originally had a two-platform configuration with basic facilities, but taking advantage of the

Development (Loan Guarantees and Grants) Act 1929 Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped *Photographi ...

, the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

continued to quadruple the

Main Line as far as

Lapworth Lapworth is a village and civil parish in Warwickshire, England, which had a population of 2,100 according to the 2001 census; this had fallen to 1,828 at the 2011 Census. It lies six miles (10 km) south of Solihull and ten miles (16&nbs ...

, rebuilding five stations including Olton with two wide island platforms in 1932. The new approach 'Station Drive' was also constructed.

Current layout

The station now has one wide island platform with trains to , and London stopping one side and to

and

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

the other. The platform building has been significantly reduced by the removal of its roof canopy.

Incidents

''Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham'', discussing railway accidents in the city, notes that:

Services

The station is served by three trains per hour in each direction between and . The Birmingham trains continue to either , or . One

Dorridge Dorridge is a large village in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the West Midlands (county), England. Historically part of the historic county of Warwickshire, the village is encompassed within the electoral ward of Dorridge and Hockley He ...

service per hour continues to , in peak hours some services extend to . Also a limited number of

services stop here in the late evening and a single service operates in the morning commuter peak period. On Sundays, there is an hourly service each way between Stourbridge Junction and Dorridge.

References

External links

Warwickshire's Railways: Olton stationRail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Olton station
{{coord, 52.439, N, 1.804, W, type:railwaystation_region:GB, display=title Railway stations in Solihull DfT Category E stations Former Great Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1869 Railway stations served by Chiltern Railways Railway stations served by West Midlands Trains 1869 establishments in England