Grid reference SP194551 Managed by London Midland 2011/12 0.856 million Number of platforms 3 | Station code SAV DfT category D Opened 24 July 1861 | |
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Place Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire Address Stratford-upon-Avon CV37 6PL, United Kingdom Similar Leamington Spa railway st, Wilmcote railway station, Warwick Parkway railway st, Birmingham Moor Street railway st, Warwick railway station | ||
Stratford-upon-Avon railway station is a railway station that serves the town of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, England. The station is operated by London Midland. Train services are provided by London Midland and Chiltern Railways.
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Stratford-upon-Avon was once a through station on the Great Western Railway main line from Birmingham Snow Hill to Cheltenham, but has been the terminus of the line since 1976.
Two railway lines terminate at Stratford; the North Warwickshire Line from Birmingham and the Leamington-Stratford Line, which allows direct services to London via the Chiltern Main Line.
History
The first line to reach Stratford was the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway branch from Honeybourne to the south, which opened on 12 July 1859. This was soon followed by the Stratford Railway's branch from Hatton from the north, which opened on 9 October 1860. Both branches initially had separate termini, but they soon agreed to join the two branches and open a single station at the present site, which was opened on 24 July 1861. Both branches later came under the control of the Great Western Railway (GWR).
In 1908 the GWR opened the North Warwickshire Line, which incorporated parts of the two original branch lines into a new main line from Birmingham to Cheltenham. This put Stratford on a main line, and at this date, the station was expanded, and a third platform added.
Through services to Gloucester were withdrawn in 1968, and passenger services south of Stratford ceased altogether on 5 May 1969, when the service to Honeybourne, Evesham and Worcester Foregate Street was withdrawn. However the line remained open for freight until 1976, when a serious freight train derailment led to British Rail closing the line entirely, leaving Stratford as the southern terminus of the lines from Birmingham and Hatton.
Between 1873 and 1952 Stratford was also served by Stratford Old Town railway station on the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway (SMJR).
A new Stratford Parkway railway station north of the town, next to the A46 road was opened on 19 May 2013. It is intended to ease congestion, as passengers from outside Stratford will no longer need to drive into the town to catch a train. Rail services between Birmingham and Stratford have been increased from hourly to half-hourly in conjunction with the opening of the new parkway station.
On 26 November 2015 it was announced that a second footbridge and lifts had been completed, meaning people with limited mobility would be able to use all the platforms. It was also announced that a new café, waiting room and retail area are planned.
Services
The typical Monday-Friday off-peak service (May 2016) is as follows:
A steam service to Birmingham operated by Vintage Trains operates on summer Sundays.
Former services
Before 2004 services towards Leamington were operated jointly between Thames Trains (later First Great Western Link) and Central Trains, both being replaced on the route by Chiltern Railways in 2004.
Thames Trains / First Great Western Link operated services to London Paddington via Ealing Broadway, Slough, Reading, Didcot, Oxford, Banbury, Leamington Spa, Hatton and Wilmcote. It also operated some shuttle trains between Stratford and Leamington Spa and a limited service calling at Bearley and Claverdon on weekdays. Like all of Thames / Great Western Link services at the time, these services were operated using Class 165 and 166 units.
Central Trains operated a shuttle service between Stratford and Leamington Spa, in conjunction with those operated by the Thames Trains (later First Great Western Link), and it also ran a summer only Sunday limited stop service. Central Trains services were operated using Class 150 units, the same as with most of its services in the area.
Possible future development
The Shakespeare Line Promotion Group is promoting a scheme to reopen the 9 miles (14 km) of line south of Stratford to Honeybourne where it would link to the Cotswold Line. Called the "Avon Rail Link", the scheme (supported as a freight diversionary route by DB Schenker) would make Stratford-upon-Avon station a through station once again with improved connections to the South, and would open up the possibility of direct services to Oxford and Worcester via Evesham. The scheme faces local opposition. There is, however, a good business case for Stratford-Cotswolds link.