Tamworth railway station


Tamworth is a split-level railway station which serves the 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. It has four platforms: Two low-level platforms on the WCML, and two high level platforms 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 on its original route from Derby to Hampton-in-Arden meeting the London and Birmingham Railway for London.
On 26 June 1847 the London and North Western Railway opened its Trent Valley Line passing beneath the original 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 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 with the LNWR line. Since it was the crossing of two major lines – one Bristol to Newcastle, the other Euston to Aberdeen – it was important for the Royal Mail transferring upwards of 2,000 bags every night.
A north to east curve was also built very early on by the Trent Valley Railway and the Birmingham & Derby Junction railway, and track was laid on it, but it is not known whether it was ever used. It was certainly lifted by the turn of the century. The track left the Trent Valley line and climbed on an embankment until it crossed the River Anker via a bridge, then entered a cutting until reaching the Midland line. The bridge, known locally as the Spider Bridge, was demolished sometime during the late 1960s by the Royal Engineers, and the cutting was filled in shortly afterwards, so there is little to see nowadays except for the vegetation-covered embankment leading to the bridge.
Prior to the introduction of diesel engines, Tamworth Railway Station was particularly well known to 'train spotting' enthusiasts as the closest station to Birmingham at which the larger and faster steam engines could be seen on the London to the North West Coast Line. The south-east corner, where the lines crossed, was at that time a vacant field, and used to be filled with spotters who would bring refreshments and spend the whole day there. A housing estate now occupies that spot.
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 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

There are four platforms:
The main buildings are adjacent to platform 1 and incorporate a ticket office, 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. All platforms are fully accessible for disabled passengers, as the two levels are also linked by lifts. 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

Low level

West Midlands Trains

operating under the London Northwestern branding, operates a regular Monday to Sunday semi-fast hourly service between London and Crewe via Stafford which calls at Tamworth. This service uses Class 350 multiple units. Some peak services start or terminate at.

Avanti West Coast

provide additional services during the peak hours and weekends. Westbound, there are:
Eastbound, there are:
All Avanti West Coast services are operated by Class 390 Pendolinos.

High level

On the Cross Country Route all trains are served by CrossCountry and operated by,, and HST sets.
Northbound, the typical Monday-Saturday frequency of services is as follows:
On Sundays this is reduced to 1 train per hour to Nottingham and 1 train per 2 hours to Glasgow.
Southbound, the typical Monday-Saturday frequency of services is as follows:
On Sundays the hourly service to Birmingham does not operate.
There is also a small number of trains between and or which stop at Tamworth.