Redditch railway station

Redditch
Location
Place	Bromsgrove Road, Enfield, Redditch, Worcestershire
Local authority	Redditch Borough Council
Grid reference	SP038675
Operations
Station code	RDC
Managed by	London Midland
Number of platforms	1
DfT category	D
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2009/10	0.860 million
2010/11	0.900 million
2011/12	0.953 million
2012/13	0.993 million
2013/14	0.942 million
2014/15	0.861 million
History
18 September 1859	Line and station opened
4 May 1868	Station relocated for opening of Evesham and Redditch Railway
1962	Passenger services south of Redditch suspended
7 February 1972	Station relocated
5 October 1992	Station relocated
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Redditch from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Redditch railway station serves the town of Redditch, North Worcestershire, England. It is the southern terminus of the Cross-City Line 14.5 miles (23 km) south of Birmingham New Street. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by London Midland. Redditch station sits at the end of a single track branch line from Barnt Green which forms part of the Cross-City Line. The line used to continue south to Ashchurch, but this was closed in the 1960s.

Since September 2014-Redditch is now the only station on the Cross City Line to have single track line.

History

In July 1858 the Redditch Railway Act authorised a line to link Redditch with the Midland Railway's Birmingham and Gloucester line at Barnt Green. The Redditch Railway opened on 18 September 1859 but was operated from the start by the Midland Railway.

The second Redditch station in the 1900s

In 1868 the Evesham and Redditch Railway built a line south from Redditch through Evesham to a junction at Ashchurch. There were intermediate stations between Redditch and Evesham at Studley and Astwood Bank, Coughton, Alcester, Wixford, Broom Junction (for the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway), Salford Priors, and Harvington.

British Railways (BR) closed the line south of Alcester on 29 September 1962 after suspending the passenger service between Redditch and Evesham due to poor track condition. Freight services continued between Redditch and Alcester until 1964 when BR closed the whole line south of Redditch. The remaining line from Redditch to Barnt Green was nearly closed under the Beeching Axe, which would have severed the town from the railway network entirely. But a strong campaign by local residents and local MPs managed to save it. However, by the late 1960s, services to Redditch had been cut to the bare minimum, with just four daily trains to and from Birmingham. This persisted until 1980, when an hourly service was extended to Redditch on the newly upgraded Cross-City Line. This was upgraded to half-hourly in 1989.^[1]

The station has been relocated three times, on 4 May 1868, 7 February 1972 and 5 October 1992. The movement of the station was to give way to redevelopment in the town centre and the building of a new bus station. The most recent rebuilding of the station in 1992 coincided with the electrification of the Cross-City Line. The first station was in Clive Road when the original Redditch Railway was opened in 1859. The station moved to the site that is now the bus station when the railway was extended to Evesham in 1868.^[2]

Some of the former goods yard that was on Pound Meadow is now the car park to current station but most of the yard has been redeveloped into housing and a hotel.

The single track from Barnt Green, restricted the number of trains that could run to Redditch to two per hour. In November 2013 a scheme was approved to construct a new passing loop at Alvechurch to allow the service to be increased to three trains per hour.^[3][4] The line between Barnt Green and Redditch was closed for eight weeks for the works to be carried out, and was reopened on 1 September 2014. The improved service began in December 2014.^[5][6]

Facilities

The station is staffed and has a booking office as well as a ticket machine. Step-free access is available for wheelchair users. There is also a shop available for passengers selling newspapers, food and drinks.

Services

From December 2014, trains run every 20 minutes from Redditch with one service an hour to Four Oaks, one to Lichfield City and one to Lichfield Trent Valley. On Sundays a half hourly service runs through to Lichfield Trent Valley.

Services are operated by Class 323 electric multiple units.

References

1. "Milestone marks the end of a railway era.". Redditch Standard. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
2. "Redditch Railway Stations". Redditch MRC. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
3. "Major transport infrastructure schemes given green light". Planning Resource. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
4. "Investing in the Midlands, December 2011". Rail Professional Magazine. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
5. Connie Osborne (1 September 2014). "Commuters back on track with railway opening". Redditch Standard. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
6. "London Midland reveals new timetable and additional seating across network". birminghammail.co.uk. Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 17 December 2014.

External links

• Train times and station information for Redditch railway station from National Rail
• Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Redditch station
• Redditch Railway Stations - Redditch Model Railway Club

Coordinates: 52°18′22″N 1°56′42″W / 52.306°N 1.945°W