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Tamworth railway station

Coordinates: 52°38′15″N 1°41′13″W / 52.6374°N 1.6869°W / 52.6374; -1.6869
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Tamworth
National Rail
Tamworth Station looking westbound on the West Coast Main Line
General information
LocationTamworth, Borough of Tamworth
England
Coordinates52°38′15″N 1°41′13″W / 52.6374°N 1.6869°W / 52.6374; -1.6869
Grid referenceSK213044
Managed byLondon Northwestern Railway
Platforms4
Tracks6
Other information
Station codeTAM
ClassificationDfT category C2
History
Opened12 August 1839 (1839-08-12)
Original companyBirmingham and Derby Junction Railway
Pre-groupingMidland Railway and London and North Western Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1847New joint station buildings erected
1909Station jointly staffed by the MR and LNWR
1961Station rebuilt
Passengers
2018/19Increase 1.279 million
 Interchange  Decrease 0.336 million
2019/20Decrease 1.271 million
 Interchange Increase 0.393 million
2020/21Decrease 0.234 million
 Interchange Decrease 43,012
2021/22Increase 0.834 million
 Interchange Increase 0.209 million
2022/23Increase 0.945 million
 Interchange Decrease 0.203 million
Location
Map
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Tamworth is a split-level railway station which serves the market town of Tamworth in Staffordshire, England. It is an interchange between two main lines; the Cross Country Route and the Trent Valley section of the West Coast Main Line (WCML). It has four platforms: Two low-level platforms (1 and 2) on the WCML, and, at a right-angle to, and passing over these, are two high-level platforms (3 and 4) served by the Cross Country Route. Historically there were chords connecting the two lines, but there is no longer any rail connection between them.

History

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The original station was opened on 12 August 1839[1] by the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway, a forerunner of the Midland Railway, on its original route from Derby to Hampton-in-Arden meeting the London and Birmingham Railway for London. Later, in 1842, the B&DJ built a branch to Birmingham, terminating at Lawley Street railway station.

From the Illustrated London News, 4 December 1847
Tamworth high level platforms, looking north.

On 26 June 1847 the London and North Western Railway opened its Trent Valley line[2] passing at a right angle beneath the original Birmingham and Derby line with a new joint station designed by John William Livock.[3]

The joint station did not acquire the "High Level" and "Low Level" names until 1924.[4] Since it was expected that only local trains would call, the low level platforms were on loops, with the running lines left clear for expresses. At that time there was a north to west curve linking the, by then, Midland Railway line with the LNWR line. This curve was opened in 1847, and closed in March 1969.[5]

A north to east curve was also constructed, however it's unclear whether this chord was ever completed, let alone used. It appeared to have been built by the Midland Railway in around 1866, and track was laid on it, but for unknown reasons the junction to the Trent Valley Line appears to have never been completed. Some sources state that the tracks were lifted in 1878, certainly it was listed on maps as being dismantled by 1901.[6]

Since Tamworth was the crossing of two major lines – one Bristol to Newcastle, the other Euston to Aberdeen – it was an important transfer station for the Royal Mail, with upwards of 2,000 bags of mail being transferred between the two lines every night by the 1950s. Mail lifts were provided between the low and high level lines to facilitate the transfer.[6]

There was a large water tower and pumping station at the east end of the low level, pumping water from the River Anker below.[5]

The original station was demolished in 1961 and a new station, built in functional style was designed by the architects for the London Midland Region of British Railways, Maurice Wheeler, E.G. Girdlestone and J.B. Sanders.[7] The rebuilt station opened in 1962 and at the same time the Trent Valley Line was electrified, requiring the High level line and platforms to be raised by two feet.[8]

Accidents and incidents

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  • On 14 September 1870, a mail train was diverted into a siding due to a signalman's error. It crashed through the buffers and ended up in the River Anker. Three people were killed.[9]

Layout

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There are four platforms:

Facilities

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Main building at Tamworth station

The main buildings are adjacent to platform 1 and incorporate a ticket office (staffed seven days per week – 06:10 to 20:00 Mondays to Saturdays and 09:45 – 16:15 Sundays), customer service enquiry counter, photo booth, toilets, post box and a coffee shop. Two self-service ticket machines are sited on the station frontage for use when the ticket office is closed. Platform 2 only has a waiting shelter, whilst both high level platforms have waiting rooms. Train running information is provided via automatic announcements, CIS displays and timetable poster boards.

Both low-level platforms are directly linked with both high-level platforms by staircases (4 in total). All platforms are fully accessible for disabled passengers, as the two levels are also linked by lifts (3 in total).[10] There is, however, no direct lift between platforms 2 and 3; step-free access between these platforms is only via platforms 4 and 1.[10]

Services

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Class 350
Class 350 at the Low Level platforms
Class 221
Class 221 at the High Level platforms

West Coast Main Line

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In the May 2023 timetable services at Tamworth's Low level platforms 1 & 2 are as follows:

West Midlands Trains

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West Midlands Trains operating under the London Northwestern branding, operates a semi-fast hourly service southbound to London Euston via Nuneaton and Rugby and northbound to Crewe via Stafford. This service uses Class 350 EMUs.[11] Some peak services call at Northampton.

Avanti West Coast

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Avanti West Coast provide additional services during the peak hours and weekends.[12][13]

Northbound, there are:

Southbound, there are:

  • 4 trains per day to London Euston (reduced to 3 per day on Saturday and 1 per day on Sunday)

As part of the December 2022 timetable changes, it was planned that from December 2023, Tamworth will begin to receive regular off-peak calls on Avanti services to and from Liverpool using Hitachi trains.[14] These would be hourly calling at Lichfield Trent Valley and Runcorn. The introduction of this service was delayed, as Avanti’s Class 807s are not yet in service.

CrossCountry Route

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All services on the High Level platforms 3 & 4 are operated by CrossCountry using Class 170, 220s and 221s.[15][16]

Northbound, the typical Monday-Saturday frequency of services is as follows:

Southbound, the typical Monday-Saturday frequency of services is as follows:

There are two trains per day to Newcastle from Reading which stop at Tamworth along with 1tpd between Nottingham and Bournemouth via Reading and Southampton Central.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway". Aris’s Birmingham Gazette. British Newspaper Archive. 12 August 1839. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  2. ^ "Private Opening of the Trent Valley Railway". Derby Mercury. British Newspaper Archive. 30 June 1847. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  3. ^ "The Trent Valley Railway". Illustrated London News. England. 4 December 1847. Retrieved 9 March 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ "Railway Stations. Alterations in Names of Tamworth Stations". Tamworth Herald. British Newspaper Archive. 17 May 1924. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  5. ^ a b Mitchall, Vic &, Smith, Keith (2011). Rugby to Stafford: The Trent Valley Line. Middleton Press. ISBN 978-1-908174-07-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ a b "Tamworth Low Level Station". Warwickshire Railways. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  7. ^ Lawrence, David (2018). British Rail Architecture 1948-97. Crecy Publishing Ltd. p. 106. ISBN 9780860936855.
  8. ^ Pixton, B., (2005) Birmingham-Derby: Portrait of a Famous Route, Runpast Publishing
  9. ^ Hall, Stanley (1990). The Railway Detectives. London: Ian Allan. pp. 38–39. ISBN 0-7110-1929-0.
  10. ^ a b Tamworth station facilities National Rail Enquiries
  11. ^ "Timetable | Crewe to London via Nuneaton | 21 May to 9 December 2023". London Northwestern Railway. 21 May 2023.
  12. ^ "Scheduled timetable book for 11 December 2022 to 20 May 2023" (PDF). Avanti West Coast.
  13. ^ "Scheduled timetable book for 21 May 2023 to 9 December 2023" (PDF). Avanti West Coast.
  14. ^ "West Coast Mainline December 2022 Timetable changes by route" (PDF). December 2022.
  15. ^ "Train Timetables | Scotland, North East & Manchester to the South West and South Coast | Sunday 21 May 2023 - 9 December 2023" (PDF). CrossCountry Trains.
  16. ^ "Train Timetables | Stansted, Cambridge, Leicester and Nottingham to Birmingham & Cardiff | Sunday 21 May - Saturday 9 December 2023" (PDF). CrossCountry Trains.


[edit]
Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Wilnecote   CrossCountry
Cardiff – Birmingham – Nottingham
  Burton-on-Trent
Birmingham New Street   CrossCountry
Scotland and the North East to the South West and South Coast
  Derby
London Northwestern Railway
Avanti West Coast
Liverpool – London
Avanti West Coast
Manchester – London
Lichfield Trent Valley   Avanti West Coast
North Wales – London
  London Euston
  Avanti West Coast
Lancaster/Preston – London
 
  Historical railways  
Wilnecote
Line and station open
  Midland Railway
Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway
  Elford
Line open, station closed