Etruria railway station

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Etruria station is a closed station in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, which served the area of Etruria. It closed on 30 September 2005.

This station was opened 9 October 1848 by the North Staffordshire Railway and was modified by them in the 1870s when the Loop line was constructed and remains in that condition. The station is an island platform situated underneath a bridge carrying the A53 road, approximately one mile north of Stoke-on-Trent station. Its train services were suspended in May 2003 during the upgrade of the West Coast Main Line. Central Trains did not restart services to Etruria when the work was finished and continued with bustitution, although First North Western reintroduced a limited service.

After already low passenger numbers dwindled even further, closure was proposed by the Strategic Rail Authority in February 2004 [1], but it was another 18 months before services were finally withdrawn. The final train was Northern Rail unit 323226 which left at 07.16 to Manchester Piccadilly. The closure was condemned by Transport 2000 [2].

The platforms were still in situ in March 2007 although signage and platform objects had been removed in June 2006.

[edit] External links

• BBC News: Last train departs from station
• Guardian Unlimited: Last train to Etruria
• Closure notice from the SRA
• BBC Stoke & Staffordshire - 360° view of Etruria Station