Worcester Foregate Street railway station

Worcester Foregate Street railway station, opened by the Great Western Railway in 1860 in the centre of Worcester, England, is the smaller of the two stations serving the city, but more centrally located. The other station, Worcester Shrub Hill, is to the east.The station layout is unusual in that travelling east the two platforms serve different routes, rather than different directions. Platform 1 can only be accessed by trains via Worcester Shrub Hill (including trains to and from London Paddington and via Cheltenham Spa towards the southwest), while Platform 2 can only be accessed from the east by trains running directly to and from Droitwich Spa, avoiding Shrub Hill. Similar examples of this type of layout can be found at in Fife and in Lancashire. This means that Great Western Railway services can only stop at Platform 1, as all of these trains stop at Shrub Hill.There is a cafe called Cafe Loco at the end of Platform 1 in the old signal box.The station itself is built on a viaduct, meaning that space for expansion is restricted, but the platforms are nevertheless of ample length to accommodate an HST. Despite its small size, the remains of two signal boxes can be seen, one spanning the tracks and the second now the station cafe.HistoryThe station opened on 17 May 1860. It was originally part of the Hereford and Worcester Railway which was incorporated into the West Midland Railway, before being absorbed by the Great Western Railway. On 1 January 1948 the company became Government owned under British Railways. The Butts Spur line was also constructed in 1860 with the unfulfilled aim of connecting the station to Diglis for the conveyance of freight.