Polesworth railway station

Polesworth National Rail
Location
Place Polesworth
Local authority Borough of North Warwickshire
Grid reference SK264032
Operations
Station code PSW
Managed by London Northwestern Railway
Number of platforms 2 (1 in use)
DfT category F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2012/13 Decrease 722
2013/14 Decrease 702
2014/15 Increase 820
2015/16 Increase 908
2016/17 Increase 1,270
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Polesworth from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Polesworth railway station serves the village of Polesworth in Warwickshire, England. It is situated on the Trent Valley section of the West Coast Main Line.

History

Polesworth station was opened with the line in 1847 by the London and North Western Railway.

On 21 July 1947, an express train derailed around one mile from the station, resulting in five deaths.[1] Another derailment of a passenger train occurred at the station on 19 November 1951, which overturned the locomotive and slightly injured two people.[2]

In recent years the station has been gradually run down. In the 1980s the station had 6 northbound and 6 southbound trains per day running mainly between Rugby and Stafford. A few trains terminated at Nuneaton and Lichfield. Train services were largely operated using the Class 304 electric multiple units; at times the more modern Class 310 units were used instead, both of which have long since been withdrawn from service.

With the re-opening of the Coventry to Nuneaton Line in 1987, services terminated at Coventry instead of Rugby. Train services were operated using the Class 153 diesel multiple units, yet these trains suffered from a low top speed and relatively poor acceleration on what is a very busy route.

In 2005, Polesworth received no train services due to the modernisation of the West Coast Main Line. Scheduled trains were replaced by a bus service contracted to Central Trains. The footbridge to the up platform was removed by contractors and has not been replaced (as a result of the cost being unjustified); thus, the station currently only receives one northbound parliamentary train service per day, the 07:23 London Northwestern Railway service from Northampton to Crewe. This service is operated by a Class 350 Desiro.

Future

In its "West Midlands Route Utilisation Strategy" (2005) the Strategic Rail Authority called for Polesworth station to be closed, noting that each train that calls there receives on average less than one passenger.[3]

References

  1. "Report on the Derailment which occurred on 21st July, 1947, near Polesworth on the London Midland and Scottish Railway". Railways Archive. MOT. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  2. "Report on the Derailment which occurred on 19th November 1951 at Polesworth in the London Midland Region British Railways". Railways Archive. MOT. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 July 2007. Retrieved 29 December 2007.
Preceding station National Rail Following station
Atherstone   London Northwestern Railway
Northampton to Crewe
Limited Service
  Tamworth

Coordinates: 52°37′34″N 1°36′36″W / 52.626°N 1.610°W / 52.626; -1.610

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