Olton railway station photo-survey (1)

Image: © Andy F Taken: 8 Oct 2009

Class 150 diesel unit (number 150015) stops at Olton. The train is operated by London Midland and is on an up service from Birmingham Snow Hill to Dorridge. Olton is on the ex-GWR (Great Western Railway) London to Birmingham line. It serves the suburbs of Olton and Ulverley Green about six miles east-southeast of Birmingham city centre. The line was originally built with double track and Olton station had two facing platforms, one either side of the two through lines. However, in the early 1930s the GWR quadrupled the track in the Birmingham area to cope with greatly increased suburban traffic. After quadrupling, Olton station had two island platforms, one serving the two down lines, the other serving the two up lines. Today, the route is reduced to two tracks again and one of Olton's 1930s island platforms (the one on the east side of the site) serves both the up and down lines. The other island platform is no longer accessible and is very overgrown. Olton station is operated by London Midland as part of Network West Midlands and is a designated rail/bus interchange point. The majority of train services are operated by London Midland but some Chiltern Railways trains call at Olton.

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