Berkswell railway station
Berkswell  | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
| Place | Balsall Common |
| Local authority | Solihull |
| Grid reference | SP244776 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | BKW |
| Managed by | London Midland |
| Number of platforms | 2 |
| DfT category | E |
|
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries | |
| Annual rail passenger usage* | |
| 2010/11 |
 0.189 million |
| 2011/12 |
 0.235 million |
| 2012/13 |
0.239 million |
| 2013/14 |
0.263 million |
| 2014/15 |
0.264 million |
| Passenger Transport Executive | |
| PTE | Transport for West Midlands |
| Zone | 5 |
| National Rail – UK railway stations | |
| * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Berkswell from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
 UK Railways portal | |
Berkswell railway station, in the West Midlands of England, takes its name from the nearby village of Berkswell although it is located much closer to the small town of Balsall Common. The station originally opened as Docker's Lane, changed to Berkswell on 1 January 1853, then to Berkswell & Balsall Common on 1 February 1928 before reverting to Berkswell again. It is situated on the West Coast Main Line between Coventry and Birmingham. The station and all trains serving it are operated by London Midland. There are small lakes and a river on the Eastern side of the railway station.
History
In 2004, as part of a plan to upgrade the line to carry more high speed trains, the level crossing situated to the east of the station was removed and two small low parallel tunnels were built under the railway, one for road traffic and the other for pedestrians. The road tunnel, being too narrow for two-way traffic, is controlled by traffic lights. The level crossings at Tile Hill and Canley were also removed in the upgrade.
Berkswell was once the junction with a line that ran to Kenilworth, which opened on 2 March 1884 and closed to all traffic on 3 March 1969.[1] The trackbed of this line is gradually being converted into a "Greenway" for walking, cycling, and horse-riding. The route for the proposed High Speed 2 line will lie broadly parallel to this greenway, then necessitating its realignment through and north-west of the village of Burton Green.[2] A length of track of the Kenilworth line survives as a siding. It was occasionally used for stabling the Royal Train.[3]
Services
On Mondays to Saturdays, Berkswell is served by two trains per hour off peak to Birmingham New Street & London Euston.[4] Some services terminate or start from Northampton and there are extra calls at peak times. On Sundays there is an hourly service between Birmingham New Street and Euston via Northampton.
| Preceding station | National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tile Hill | London Midland Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford Line |
Hampton-in-Arden | ||
References
- ↑ Warwickshire Railways - Kenilworth JunctionWarwickshire Railways website article; Retrieved 2013-09-03
- ↑ CFA 18 map book: Stoneleigh, Kenilworth and Burton Green (Ref: ES 3.2.2.18) Archived December 28, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ http://countryparks.warwickshire.gov.uk/greenways/kenilworth-greenway/
- ↑ GB eNRT December 2015 Edition, Table 68
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Berkswell railway station. |
- Train times and station information for Berkswell railway station from National Rail
- Photographs of Berkswell station at warwickshirerailways.com
Coordinates: 52°23′46″N 1°38′35″W / 52.396°N 1.643°W