Place Berwick-upon-Tweed Station code BWK 2011/12 0.479 million | Grid reference NT994534 DfT category C1 Number of platforms 2 | |
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Managed by Virgin Trains East Coast Address Berwick-upon-Tweed TD15 1NF, United Kingdom Similar Berwick Castle, Berwick Barracks, Royal Border Bridge, Paxton House - Berwickshire, Marshall Meadows Country | ||
Berwick upon tweed railway station 02 1 2017
Berwick-upon-Tweed railway station serves the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland, England. It is located on the East Coast Main Line, 335 miles north of London Kings Cross and 55 miles south of Edinburgh Waverley. It is the most northerly railway station in England, being only a few miles from the most northerly point in England.
Contents
- Berwick upon tweed railway station 02 1 2017
- Berwick upon tweed railway station 25 4 2016
- History
- Facilities
- Services
- References
The station, with its long single island platform, lies immediately to the north of the Royal Border Bridge.
Berwick upon tweed railway station 25 4 2016
History
In 1847, the Great Hall of Berwick Castle had to be demolished to make way for the new station (the former West Wall of the castle still marks the boundary of the now-defunct station goods yard), which opened the following year. This replaced an initial structure erected by the North British Railway, whose line from the north first reached the town in 1846. The Newcastle and Berwick Railway meanwhile reached the southern bank of the River Tweed in March 1847, but it was another eighteen months before a temporary viaduct across the river was commissioned to allow through running between Edinburgh and Newcastle. This in turn was replaced by the current Royal Border Bridge in July 1850. The station was rebuilt by the London and North Eastern Railway in 1927 and the buildings are Grade-II listed.
The station was also at one time served by local stopping trains between Newcastle & Edinburgh and the branch line from Newtown St Boswells via Kelso (which joined the main line at Tweedmouth, on the other side of the river) from 1851 until closure in 1964.
For approximately 5 months in 1979, this was the terminal station for services from London Kings Cross after the East Coast Main Line was blocked by the collapse of Penmanshiel Tunnel. Buses linked this station with Dunbar, from where a railway shuttle service continued to Edinburgh Waverley.
Facilities
The station has a council-run car park nearby, and is staffed throughout the week during working hours (05:45-18:30 weekdays, 06:45-15:15 Saturdays and 09:45-16:20 Sundays). A self-service ticket machine is available for use outside these times and for collecting pre-paid tickets. Other facilities on offer on the concourse include a waiting room, Cafe Express coffee shop, vending machine, payphone and toilets, whilst there is a First Class lounge on the platform. The two are linked by a fully accessible footbridge with lifts. Train running information is offered via digital CIS displays, automatic announcements and timetable posters.
Services
Virgin Trains East Coast supplies an hourly service that stops here. They go southbound to London Kings Cross calling at Newcastle, Darlington and York en route. In the other direction, there are services to Edinburgh with a few extensions to Aberdeen and one extension per day to each of Glasgow Central , Stirling and Inverness. Cross Country Trains provide a two-hourly service in each direction during the day. Their services are mostly provided to Glasgow Central via Edinburgh northbound, though there is one service to and from Dundee. In the southbound direction there are services to Plymouth via Leeds & Birmingham New Street with a couple of extensions per day to Penzance and also a daily service to Reading.