Wikipedia

Bournville railway station

Bournville railway station serves the Bournville area of Birmingham, England. It is on the Cross-City Line which runs from Redditch/Bromsgrove to Lichfield via Birmingham New Street.

Bournville
National Rail
Bournville station looking north, alongside the Worcester and Birmingham Canal.
General information
LocationBournville, Birmingham
England
Coordinates52°25′37″N 1°55′34″W / 52.427°N 1.926°W / 52.427; -1.926
Grid referenceSP050810
Managed byWest Midlands Railway
Transit authorityTransport for West Midlands
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeBRV
Fare zone3
ClassificationDfT category D
Key dates
3 April 1876Opened as Stirchley Street
1880Renamed Stirchley Street and Bournville
1885Line doubled
1904Renamed Bournville
1978Rebuilt
Passengers
2018/19Increase 1.331 million
2019/20Decrease 1.319 million
2020/21Decrease 0.200 million
2021/22Increase 0.511 million
2022/23Increase 0.702 million
Location
Map
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

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The station opened on 3 April 1876[1] as the temporary southern terminus of the Birmingham West Suburban Railway, while the difficult construction of the junction with the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway was completed at Kings Norton. Stirchley Street opened as a single platform with later added run around loop. In an initial land rental agreement with the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, the station sits above Bournville Lane, as the tracks are on an embankment, shared with the canal.

 
Bournville station in 1962. Pre-electrification.

With the opening of the Cadbury Bournville Factory in 1879, in 1880 the station was renamed Stirchley Street and Bournville. After an improved through connection was developed to the Birmingham and Gloucester at Kings Norton in 1885, the railway track to Birmingham was doubled along its lines entire length as the line was extended into Birmingham New Street. This necessitated the construction of a southbound platform between the line and the canal, resulting even today in a narrow platform. In 1904, the station was finally renamed Bournville.[2]

The station has never had any goods facilities, but north of its location were the exchange sidings with the 6 miles (9.7 km) of the Bournville Works Railway, while south of it there was a Midland Railway developed roundhouse engine shed, which opened in 1895 and closed in 1961. The station area has changed considerably since the Midland Railway days and lost virtually all its original features as the station was completely rebuilt by British Rail in 1978 to the designs of the architect John Broome[3] along with the others on this line when the Cross-City route was commissioned. Prior to the rebuild, the station had only received a limited service (mainly at peak hours) for much of the 1960s and 1970s. The line was electrified in 1993.

Station masters

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  • H.G. Clayfield 1876 - 1880[4]
  • H. Shaw 1880[4] - 1881[5]
  • Frederick Watkin 1881 - 1883[5] (formerly station master at Somerset Road, afterwards station master at Whatstandwell)
  • W.H. Turner 1883[5] - 1888[6] (formerly station master at Cray, afterwards station master at Edwalton)
  • J. Jones 1888[6] (formerly station master at Cray)
  • Albert Christopher East 1889 - 1891[6] (afterwards station master at Freeton)
  • Arthur James Dewey 1891[6] - 1929[7]
  • H.J. Parker 1930 - 1937[8]
  • S. Davies ca. 1940
  • William Blackmore 1946 - 1956[9]

Today

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The Cadbury chocolate factory is still adjacent to the station, reflected in the fact that Bournville station is partly painted in Cadbury purple, and station signs include the famous Cadbury logo, a reflection of the station providing ideal access for Cadbury World.

The station currently only serves trains of the Cross City Line, all services currently being operated by Class 730 electrical multiple units. Services are all operated by West Midlands Trains on behalf of Transport for West Midlands.

Bournville Station is equipped with real-time information departure boards which were installed in 2006 by Central Trains.

In 2010, the station featured in episode 18 of Michael Portillo's television series Great British Railway Journeys.

In 2011, the station featured in episode 2 of Julia Bradbury's television series Canal Walks with Julia Bradbury.

Disabled access

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Both platforms have step-free access (by means of a ramp) from the Mary Vale Road entrance. The main station entrance, via the ticket office on Bournville Lane, only provides access to the platforms via steep steps. There is a ticket machine on platform 1 (for trains towards Birmingham New Street) for the benefit of passengers who enter the station via the step-free entrance.

Services

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There are four trains an hour that serve Bournville in each direction on Mondays to Saturdays. Two of the northbound services terminate at Four Oaks whilst two continue onto Lichfield Trent Valley with two southbound services serving Redditch and the other two serving Bromsgrove. On Sundays there are 3 trains an hour, with two terminating northbound at Lichfield Trent Valley and southbound at Redditch and one northbound at Birmingham New Street and one southbound at Bromsgrove.[10][11]

References

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  1. ^ "Local and District News". Worcester Journal. British Newspaper Archive. 8 April 1876. Retrieved 23 July 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. ^ "Bournville station". Rail Around Birmingham. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  3. ^ Lawrence, David (2018). British Rail Architecture 1948-97. Crecy Publishing Ltd. p. 155. ISBN 9780860936855.
  4. ^ a b "1871-1879 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 767. 1871. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "1881-1898 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 329. 1881. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d "1881-1898 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 823. 1881. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  7. ^ "Bournville's Growth. Reminiscences of the Stationmaster. Retiring Today". Birmingham Daily Gazette. England. 31 October 1929. Retrieved 25 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "Forty Years with L.M.S.". Birmingham Daily Gazette. England. 2 July 1937. Retrieved 25 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ "45 years a railman". Birmingham Daily Gazette. England. 29 August 1956. Retrieved 25 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ^ "Train Timetables and Schedules | Bournville". West Midlands Railway.
  11. ^ "Train Times | The Cross City Line | 21 May until 9 December 2023". West Midlands Railway.
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