South Wigston railway station

South Wigston railway station is a railway station serving South Wigston in Leicestershire. The station is on the Birmingham to Peterborough Line about 2 miles (3 km) south of Leicester, on the west - north loop of Wigston Junction. South Wigston station is owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway (EMR) train operating company (TOC). Not all trains operating between Birmingham and Leicester stop here. Although the station is only served by CrossCountry, it is managed by East Midlands Railway as CrossCountry does not manage any stations.

This article is about the current railway station. For former Midland Counties Railway station, see Wigston South railway station.

South Wigston
South Wigston railway station in 2006.
Location
PlaceSouth Wigston
Local authorityBorough of Oadby and Wigston
Coordinates52.5824°N 1.1339°W / 52.5824; -1.1339
Grid referenceSP587986
Operations
Station codeSWS
Managed byEast Midlands Railway
Number of platforms2
DfT categoryF2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15 68,032
2015/16 74,858
2016/17 80,180
2017/18 74,234
2018/19 85,394
History
1986Opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
  • Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at South Wigston from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

The station is not staffed, so passengers buy the full range of tickets for travel from the guard on the train at no extra cost. Facilities on the platforms are limited, consisting only of one "bus shelter" type canopy on each of the two platforms to protect passengers from the weather, as well as a time-table, audible public address system and notice board.

History

Wigston had three railway stations: Wigston South on the Midland Counties Railway opened in 1840 (dismantled), Wigston Magna on the Midland Main Line opened in 1857 and Glen Parva on the South Leicestershire Railway opened in the 1860s. However, British Railways closed all three stations by 1968.

The present South Wigston station was opened on Saturday 10 May 1986[1] and is at a new site about 300 metres east of the site of the former Glen Parva station. The new station cost £135,000 to build and was funded by Leicestershire County Council.[1]

There has been talk of a car park for commuters on the adjacent wasteland within the Wigston railway triangle, but this has never been progressed and the land remains a haven for wildlife. There is a car park on nearby Kirkdale Road, a 260-yard walk away, which is open and free at all times.

The station was managed by Central Trains until 2007, who operated all trains calling at the station; when the franchise ended, the station management transferred to East Midlands Trains, who managed the station until 2019, when their franchise ended, and the station was transferred to East Midlands Railway. All services calling are operated by CrossCountry.

South Wigston station's two platforms are staggered, one each side of a wide footbridge over the railway.[2]

Services

There are regular services to Leicester and Birmingham New Street: usually one train in each direction every two hours (Monday to Sunday), increased to hourly or even half-hourly in peak times. In the December 2018 Timetable, there are 2 return services per weekday to Stansted Airport, at other times connections are available at Leicester.[3][4]

References
  1. Bevan, Alan, ed. (1998). A-Z of Rail Reopenings (fourth ed.). Fareham: Railway Development Society Ltd. p. 32. ISBN 0-901283-13-4.
  2. "Network Rail CP4 Delivery Plan 2009 Enhancements programme: statement of scope, outputs and milestones" (PDF). Network Rail. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  3. Mason, Edward (21 October 2018). "Crosscountry Trains Timetable - Birmingham - Stansted Airport". Crosscountry Trains. Missing or empty |url= (help)
  4. "CrossCountry Timetable" (PDF).
Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
CrossCountry
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