Tamworth railway station

The original station was opened on 12 August 1839[1] 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.

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 beneath the original 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 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.[5] 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.[6]

Class 350 at the Low Level platforms

Class 221 at the High Level platforms

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 Crewe;
  • Platform 2 is an eastbound platform for southward services towards 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 and beyond;
  • Platform 4 is a southbound platform for southward services towards Birmingham and beyond.

Main building at Tamworth station

The main buildings are adjacent to platform 1 and incorporate a ticket office (manned 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).[8] There is, however, no direct lift between platforms 2 and 3; step-free access between these platforms is only via platforms 4 and 1.[8]

• 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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tamworth railway station.

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

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Wilnecote		CrossCountry Cardiff – Nottingham		Burton on Trent
Birmingham New Street		CrossCountry South West – North East		Derby
Atherstone		London Northwestern Railway London-Crewe		Lichfield Trent Valley
Atherstone		London Northwestern Railway Northampton-Crewe		Lichfield Trent Valley
Polesworth Limited Service
Nuneaton		Avanti West Coast London-Manchester/Liverpool/Crewe		Lichfield Trent Valley
London Euston		Avanti West Coast London-Glasgow		Lichfield Trent Valley
London Euston or Rugby		Avanti West Coast London-North West		Lichfield Trent Valley
	Historical railways
Wilnecote Line and station open		Midland Railway Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway		Elford Line open, station closed