Tamworth railway station

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Tamworth
Tamworth Station looking westbound on the West Coast Main Line
General information
Location	Tamworth, Borough of Tamworth England
Coordinates	52.6374°N 1.6869°W / 52.6374; -1.6869
Grid reference	SK213044
Managed by	London Northwestern Railway
Platforms	4
Other information
Station code	TAM
Classification	DfT category C2
History
Opened	12 August 1839 (1839-08-12)
Original company	Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway
Pre-grouping	Midland Railway and London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1847	New joint station buildings erected
1909	Station jointly staffed by the MR and LNWR
1961	Station rebuilt
Passengers
2018/19	1.279 million
Interchange	0.336 million
2019/20	1.271 million
Interchange	0.393 million
2020/21	0.234 million
Interchange	43,012
2021/22	0.834 million
Interchange	0.209 million
2022/23	0.945 million
Interchange	0.203 million
Location
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

The original station was opened on 12 August 1839 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 passing at a right angle beneath the original Birmingham and Derby line with a new joint station designed by John William Livock.

The joint station did not acquire the "High Level" and "Low Level" names until 1924. 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.

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.

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.

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

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. 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.

Accidents and incidents

Main article: Tamworth rail crash

• 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.

Layout

There are four platforms:

• Platforms 1 and 2 on the low level (the West Coast Main Line):
  • Platform 1 is a westbound platform for northward services towards Lichfield Trent Valley, Stafford, Crewe and the North West;
  • Platform 2 is an eastbound platform for southward services towards Nuneaton, Rugby, Northampton and London.
• Platforms 3 and 4 on the high level (on the Cross Country Route):
  • Platform 3 is a northbound platform for northward services towards Derby, Nottingham, Sheffield, Leeds, York, Newcastle and Scotland;
  • Platform 4 is a southbound platform for southward services towards Birmingham, Cardiff, Bristol, Exeter and Plymouth.

Facilities

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). There is, however, no direct lift between platforms 2 and 3; step-free access between these platforms is only via platforms 4 and 1.

Services

Class 350 at the Low Level platforms

Class 221 at the High Level platforms

West Coast Main Line

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

West Midlands Trains

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. Some peak services call at Northampton.

Avanti West Coast

Avanti West Coast provide additional services during the peak hours and weekends.

Northbound, there are:

• 1 train per day to Preston (Monday to Saturday only)
• 2 trains per day to Holyhead via Stafford (Monday to Saturday only; 1 train on Saturday terminates at Chester)
• 1 train per day to Wrexham General via Stafford (Monday to Friday only)
• 1 train on Saturdays to Liverpool Lime Street via Stafford and Runcorn (increased to 3 trains per day on Sunday);

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. 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

All services on the High level platforms are operated by CrossCountry using Class 170, 220s and 221s.

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

• 1 train per hour to Nottingham via Derby;
• 1 train per 2 hours to Edinburgh Waverley via Derby, Sheffield, Leeds, York and Newcastle, 1 tpd extending to Glasgow Central.

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

• 1 train per hour to Cardiff Central via Birmingham New Street and Gloucester.
• 1 train per hour to Birmingham New Street only;
• 1 train per 2 hours to Plymouth via Birmingham New Street, Bristol Temple Meads and Exeter St Davids, 1tpd extending to Penzance.

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

• Dudley Port railway station, which also had 2 levels until the 1960s.
• Retford railway station, on 2 levels since the 1960s (previously a flat crossing).
• Lichfield Trent Valley railway station
• Smethwick Galton Bridge railway station, on 2 levels, opened in 1995.
• Shotton railway station
• Bolehall Viaduct just south of the high level station

External links

• Train times and station information for Tamworth railway station from National Rail

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Wilnecote		CrossCountry Cardiff – Birmingham - Nottingham		Burton-on-Trent
Birmingham New Street		CrossCountry South West – North East/Scotland		Derby
Lichfield Trent Valley		London Northwestern Railway Crewe - Nuneaton - London		Atherstone
				Polesworth
Lichfield Trent Valley		Avanti West Coast Liverpool – London		Nuneaton
				Milton Keynes Central
				London Euston
Lichfield Trent Valley		Avanti West Coast Manchester – London		Milton Keynes Central
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