Oakham railway station

Oakham railway station serves the county 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
General information
Location	Oakham, Rutland England
Grid reference	SK856090
Managed by	East Midlands Railway
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	OKM
Classification	DfT category E
History
Original company	Midland Counties Railway
Pre-grouping	Midland Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1 May 1848 (1848-05-01)	Station opened
Passengers
2019/20	0.245 million
Interchange	1,739
2020/21	29,220
Interchange	461
2021/22	0.154 million
Interchange	1,459
2022/23	0.172 million
Interchange	3,345
2023/24	0.206 million
Interchange	2,597
Listed Building – Grade II
Feature	Oakham Railway station
Designated	14 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 all 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 operate only a limited number of services. 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		Following station
Melton Mowbray		CrossCountry Birmingham-Stansted Airport		Stamford
Melton Mowbray		East Midlands Railway Nottingham-Norwich (via Loughborough) Limited Service		Stamford
Melton Mowbray		East Midlands Railway Melton Mowbray-London (via Corby) Limited Service		Corby

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