South Wigston railway station

This article is about the current railway station. For former Midland Counties Railway station, see Wigston South railway station.
South Wigston
National Rail
South Wigston railway station in 2006.
General information
Location South Wigston, Borough of Oadby and Wigston
England
Coordinates 52.5824°N 1.1339°W / 52.5824; -1.1339
Grid reference SP587986
Managed by East Midlands Railway
Platforms 2
Other information
Station code SWS
Classification DfT category F2
Key dates
1986 Opened
Passengers
2018/19 Increase 85,394
2019/20 Increase 94,054
2020/21 Decrease 20,222
2021/22 Increase 67,430
2022/23 Increase 90,504
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

South Wigston railway station is a railway station serving the large village of South Wigston in Leicestershire. The station is on the Birmingham to Peterborough Line about 3.5 miles (6 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.

The station is unstaffed, so passengers buy the full range of tickets for travel from the guard on the train at no extra cost. Facilities at the station are limited, consisting of one "bus shelter" type shelters on each of the two platforms to protect passengers from the weather, as well as a timetable board, public address system and notice board.

History

Wigston once 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 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.

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 public car park on nearby Kirkdale Road, a 260-yard walk away, which from 2021 has been subject to car parking charges from Oadby and Wigston Borough Council.

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.

Services

There are regular services to Leicester and Birmingham New Street: usually one train in each direction every hour (Monday to Sunday). There is one additional service as far as Cambridge in the morning peak as well as one late evening train a day to Gloucester, both on weekdays only.