Elton and Orston (formerly Elton) railway station serves the villages of Elton on the Hill and Orston in Nottinghamshire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway, but now provides minimal rail services.
Elton and Orston  | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Elton on the Hill, Rushcliffe England | ||||
| Grid reference | SK770400 | ||||
| Managed by | East Midlands Railway | ||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | ELO | ||||
| Classification | DfT category F2 | ||||
| History | |||||
| Opened | 15 July 1850 | ||||
| Original company | Ambergate, Nottingham and Boston and Eastern Junction Railway | ||||
| Pre-grouping | Great Northern Railway | ||||
| Post-grouping | London and North Eastern Railway | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2019/20 |  68 | ||||
| 2020/21 | 12 | ||||
| 2021/22 |  40 | ||||
| 2022/23 | 56 | ||||
| 2023/24 | 212 | ||||
| |||||
History
editThe station lies on the line first opened by the Ambergate, Nottingham, Boston and Eastern Junction Railway. Passenger services began on 15 July 1850.[1] The line was taken over by the Great Northern Railway[2][page needed] in 1855. The master's lodge and ticket office building was designed by Thomas Chambers Hine.
From 7 January 1963 passenger steam trains between Grantham, Bottesford, Elton and Orston, Aslockton, Bingham, Radcliffe-on-Trent, Netherfield and Colwick, Nottingham London-road (High Level) and Nottingham (Victoria) were replaced by diesel multiple-unit trains.[3]
Images[4] show how the station looked in 1967. No station buildings by Hine survived by 2008. There is a small 1980s brick-built shelter on one platform. The name of the station was still "Elton" in 1904.
The 2021/22 statistics recorded only 40 entries/exits at the station, making it Britain’s least used station in that period.[5] It is Nottinghamshire's least used station and is one stop down the line from Leicestershire's least used station, Bottesford.[6]
By 2023, the station had become the third least used in the UK, with 56 entries and exits.[7]
Services
editThe station is unstaffed and offers no facilities other than two shelters, bicycle storage, timetables and modern "Help Points". The full range of tickets for travel can be purchased from the guard on the train at no extra cost. There are no retail facilities at the station.
On weekdays there is one service to Nottingham per day at 07:04 and one service to Skegness per day at 17:12. On Saturdays there is one service to Nottingham at 05:57 and one service to Skegness at 17:10. There is no Sunday service.[8] The service operates on most bank holidays.
Two bus routes pass by the station, although no fixed bus stop has been provided.[9]
| Preceding station |  National Rail
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Midlands Railway Mondays-Saturdays only | ||||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Aslockton Line and station open |
Great Northern Railway Nottingham to Grantham |
Bottesford Line and station open | ||
| Aslockton Line and station open |
Great Northern Railway Nottingham to Newark |
Cotham Line and station closed | ||
References
edit
- ^ "Ambergate, Nottingham and Boston, and Eastern Junction Railway". Nottingham Review and General Advertiser for the Midland Counties. England. 12 July 1850. Retrieved 29 June 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Kingscott, Geoffrey (15 October 2004). Lost Railways of Nottinghamshire. Countryside Books. ISBN 9781853068843.
- ^ "Train Service Alterations from Monday". Grantham Journal. England. 4 January 1963. Retrieved 18 December 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Priestly, Henry (1967). "Elton and Orston Station, Orston, 1967". Picture the Past. Nottingham City Council. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
- ^ "Busiest and quietest railway stations in Britain revealed". BBC News. 24 November 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
- ^ "Bottesford – Least Used Station in Leicestershire". Geoff Marshall via YouTube. 23 April 2018. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021.
- ^ "All change for most used stations as Elizabeth line shakes up top 10". Office of Rail and Road. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
- ^ "Timetables | Elton & Orston". East Midlands Railway.
- ^ "Elton & Orston Station Onward Travel Information" (PDF). National Rail. April 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
External links
edit- Train times and /details.html station information for Elton and Orston railway station from National Rail
- Web page about the station