Stratford-upon-Avon railway station


Stratford-upon-Avon railway station is the southern terminus of the North Warwickshire Line and Leamington-Stratford line, serving the town of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, England. The station is served by West Midlands Trains and Chiltern Railways.
Prior to August 1976, the station provided direct links to the south of the region via the Cotswold Line, however the derailment of a freight train prompted British Rail to withdraw the link.

History

The first line to reach Stratford was the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway branch from to the south, which opened a station at Sanctus Street on 12 July 1859. This was soon followed by the Stratford on Avon 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.
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Through services to Gloucester were withdrawn in 1968, and passenger services south of Stratford ceased altogether on 5 May 1969, when the service to, and was withdrawn.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.
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.
On 18 March 2019 a refurbishment of the station was started, funded by the Department for Transport and Warwickshire County Council. This refurbishment would include the rebuild of the ticket hall and improved seating areas on the platforms alongside better toilet facilities and bike racks.

Services

The following services typically run on weekdays and Saturdays during off-peak hours:
A few trains to Birmingham Snow Hill continue to Kidderminster, Worcester Foregate Street, or Great Malvern outside off-peak hours.
All services operated by Chiltern Railways terminate at,, or outside off-peak hours.
The frequency of trains to Birmingham Snow Hill reduces to one per hour at night, with most services running via. The last service of the day stops at and.
The following services typically run on Sundays during off-peak hours:
There is a single service to via Leamington Spa late in the evening, operated by Chiltern Railways.
All services stop running at night.
A steam train service to Birmingham Snow Hill, occasionally serving Henley-in-Arden, is operated by Vintage Trains between July and September.

Former services

Prior to 2004, services towards Leamington Spa were operated jointly between Thames Trains and Central Trains, both being replaced by Chiltern Railways.
Thames Trains also operated services to via, Hatton,,,,,,, and. It also occasionally operated shuttle trains between Stratford-upon-Avon and Leamington Spa, with a limited service calling at and on weekdays. As with all of their services at the time, they 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 Thames Trains. Additionally they also ran a limited Sunday service during summer. Central Trains services were operated using Class 150 units.

Criticism

The station has often been criticised for having slow and infrequent connections. In particular, Chiltern Railways has faced criticism for their lack of services to London Marylebone and Leamington Spa, with the RSC describing services provided by the company as “woefully inadequate” for an international tourist destination. West Midlands Trains have also been criticised for their slow services to Birmingham, especially at certain times outside off-peak hours. The absence of services running directly to Coventry and Birmingham International has also been noted. Stratford-upon-Avon often suffers from road congestion, which is not helped by the poor connections and the significantly below average usage of rail by visitors in the area.

Stratford-Honeybourne link

The Shakespeare Line Promotion Group is promoting a scheme to reopen the of line to the south of Stratford-upon-Avon where it would link to the Cotswold Line at Honeybourne. The scheme would make the station a through station once again, with improved connections to the south of the region. It would open up the possibility of direct services towards London Paddington via Oxford, and also significantly faster services to Worcester via.
The scheme has been deemed economically beneficial in the long-term, and was supported by former Prime Minister David Cameron and Network Rail. It has also been overwhelmingly supported by the local community, consisting of rail users and local businesses, however the district council have opposed the scheme due to financial costs.