Oakham railway station

Oakham railway station serves the town of Oakham in Rutland, England. The station is situated almost halfway between Leicester – 27 miles (43 km) to the west – and Peterborough – 25 miles (40 km) eastward on the (as built) Syston and Peterborough Railway, the line is the Birmingham to Peterborough Line.

Oakham
National Rail
General information
LocationOakham, County of Rutland
England
Grid referenceSK856090
Managed byEast Midlands Railway
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeOKM
ClassificationDfT category E
History
Original companyMidland Counties Railway
Pre-groupingMidland Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1 May 1848 (1848-05-01)Station opened
Passengers
2017/18Increase 0.227 million
2018/19Increase 0.239 million
2019/20Increase 0.245 million
 Interchange  1,739
2020/21Decrease 29,220
 Interchange Decrease 461
2021/22Increase 0.154 million
 Interchange Increase 1,459
Listed Building – Grade II
FeatureOakham Railway station
Designated14 February 1990
Reference no.1252768[1]
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Oakham is the only surviving passenger railway station in Rutland. The line is served by CrossCountry services between Birmingham New Street and Stansted Airport or Cambridge. There is also an infrequent East Midlands Railway service to London St Pancras.

History

The station was opened by the Midland Railway on 1 May 1848. The building was designed by the company architect, Edward Wood of London, and is Grade II listed.[1]

Station masters
  • Frederick Neal 1848–1850 (subsequently station master at Tamworth)
  • S. Wollerton ca. 1850s
  • Alfred Fewkes 1858–1865 (subsequently station master at Loughborough)
  • Joseph Kilby 1865–1876[2]
  • Arthur Chadwick 1877–1894[3]
  • Robert Herbert 1894–1905 (formerly station master at Dursley)
  • Charles Ravenhall 1905–1914 (formerly station master of Kegworth)
  • W.J. Wearn 1914–1924[4] (subsequently station master at Ilkley)
  • Ernest Shadwell 1924–1927[5] (subsequently station master at Matlock)
  • E.W. Conisbee 1928–1936[6] (formerly station master at Long Itchington)
  • Joseph Henry Marshall 1936–1940
  • Noel Manton 1940–1946[7] (formerly station master at Wilnecote)
  • George A. Webber 1946 - 1953
  • E.G. Dilley 1953[8] - 1960 (formerly station master at Kegworth)

Buildings
The signal box

The station building, the nearby level crossing signal box and footbridge are each listed buildings. The signal box was the prototype for the Airfix kit signal box.[9] The station footbridge was refurbished between October 2020 and April 2021.[10]

Services

From Oakham there is an hourly service in both directions operated by CrossCountry, with some additional peak-hour trains. Services run westbound to Birmingham New Street via Melton Mowbray, Leicester, Narborough Hinckley, Nuneaton and Coleshill Parkway whilst services eastbound run to Stansted Airport or Cambridge via Stamford, Peterborough, March, Ely and Audley End.[11]

Despite managing the station, East Midlands Railway only operates a limited number of services to/from it. A single daily return service to London St Pancras commenced on 27 April 2009 running via Corby[12] and is notable for being the first regular passenger service to cross the spectacular and historic Welland Viaduct since 1966. The company introduced a further return service from Derby via East Midlands Parkway (for East Midlands Airport) from May 2010.[13] An early morning service runs from Nottingham to Norwich and an evening service operates from Spalding via Peterborough to Nottingham.

The station retains a ticket office which is staffed seven days a week, a car park, and help points for times where there are no staff present.

Preceding station   National Rail National Rail   Following station
CrossCountry
East Midlands Railway
Nottingham-Norwich (via Loughborough)
Limited Service
East Midlands Railway
Limited Service

Former services
The location of Oakham station (shown on the pre-1966 network), which still serves the county town of Oakham

Prior to the Beeching Axe, trains used to stop at a number of smaller village destinations in Rutland. These were closed between 1961 and 1966.

Summary of former services
Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Ashwell   Midland Railway
Leicester to Peterborough
Nottingham direct line of the Midland Railway		   Manton

References
  1. Historic England, "Oakham Railway Station (1252768)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 24 September 2017
  2. "Deaths". Grantham Journal. England. 1876. Retrieved 23 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. "Appointment of Station-Master". Grantham Journal. England. 28 July 1894. Retrieved 23 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. "48 years' railway service". Northampton Mercury. England. 5 November 1937. Retrieved 23 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. "Oakham Stationmaster's New Appointment". Grantham Journal. England. 3 December 1927. Retrieved 23 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. "Oakham Stationmaster Retiring". Grantham Journal. England. 7 March 1936. Retrieved 23 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. "Oakham Stationmaster". Grantham Journal. England. 7 June 1946. Retrieved 23 September 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. "Oakham and District News". Leicester Evening Mail. England. 2 October 1953. Retrieved 23 December 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. "Airfix Trackside Series". Airfix Railway Kits. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  10. "Rutland station footbridge back in use after £856,000 project". RailAdvent. 2 April 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  11. Table 47 National Rail timetable, May 2016
  12. "Passengers from Melton Mowbray set to benefit from direct link to London". eastmidlandstrains.co.uk. 7 April 2009.
  13. Table 53 National Rail timetable, May 2016
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