Redditch railway station serves the town of

Redditch Redditch is a town and non-metropolitan district with borough status in Worcestershire, England. It is located south of Birmingham, east of Bromsgrove, north-west of Alcester and north-east of Worcester. In 2021, the town had a population of ...

, North

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, England. It is the southern terminus of the

Cross-City Line The Cross-City Line is a suburban rail line in the West Midlands region of England. It runs for from Redditch and Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, its two southern termini, to Lichfield, Staffordshire, its northern terminus, via , connecting the ...

south of . The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by

West Midlands Trains West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a British train operating company. It operates passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trading names: within the West Midlands region as West Midlands Rai ...

. Redditch station sits at the end of a single track branch line from which forms part of the Cross-City Line. The line used to continue south to Ashchurch and also

Evesham Evesham () is a market town and Civil parishes in England, parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of England. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, England, Worceste ...

but this was closed in the 1960s.

History

In July 1858 the Redditch Railway Act authorised a line to link Redditch with the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...

's Birmingham and Gloucester line at . The Redditch Railway opened on 18 September 1859 but was operated from the start by the Midland Railway. Redditch railway station

In 1868 the Evesham and Redditch Railway built a line south from Redditch through to a junction at . There were intermediate stations between Redditch and Evesham at , , , , (for the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway), Salford Priors, and Harvington.

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...

ways (BR) closed the line south of Alcester on 29 September 1962 after suspending the passenger service between Redditch and Evesham due to poor track condition. Freight services continued between Redditch and Alcester until 1964 when BR closed the whole line south of Redditch. The remaining line from Redditch to Barnt Green was nearly closed under the

Beeching Axe The Beeching cuts, also colloquially referred to as the Beeching Axe, were a major series of route closures and service changes made as part of the restructuring of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain in the 1960s. They are named ...

, which would have severed the town from the railway network entirely. But a strong campaign by local residents and local MPs managed to save it. However, by the late 1960s, services to Redditch had been cut to the bare minimum with just four daily trains to and from Birmingham. This persisted until 1980, when an hourly service was extended to Redditch on the newly upgraded

. This was upgraded to half-hourly in 1989. The station has been relocated three times, on 4 May 1868, 7 February 1972 and 5 October 1992. The movement of the station was to give way to redevelopment in the town centre and the building of a new bus station. The most recent rebuilding of the station in 1992 coincided with the electrification of the Cross-City Line. The first station was in Clive Road when the original Redditch Railway was opened in 1859. The station moved to the site that is now the bus station when the railway was extended to Evesham in 1868. Some of the former goods yard that was on Pound Meadow is now the car park to current station but most of the yard has been redeveloped into housing and a hotel. The single track from Barnt Green restricted the number of trains that could run to Redditch to two per hour. In November 2013 a scheme was approved to construct a new

passing loop A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains o ...

at to allow the service to be increased to three trains per hour. The line between Barnt Green and Redditch was closed for eight weeks for the works to be carried out, and was reopened on 1 September 2014. The improved service began in December 2014. Though the service has since reverted to half-hourly, the loop remains in use.

Facilities

The station is staffed and has a booking office as well as a ticket machine. Step-free access is available for wheelchair users. There is also a shop available for passengers selling newspapers, food and drinks. Train running information is offered via digital CIS displays, automated announcements, timetable poster boards and a customer help point.

Services

West Midlands Railway West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a British train operating company. It operates passenger trains on the Passenger rail franchising in Great Britain, West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trading names: within t ...

serve the station every 30 minutes on the

to via , and . On Sundays a half hourly service runs through to calling at all stations en route. Services were operated using

Electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...

s (EMUs) until September 2024 and are currently operated by EMUs.

References

Bibliography

External links

Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Redditch station
{{coord, 52.306, N, 1.945, W, type:railwaystation_region:GB, display=title Redditch Railway stations in Worcestershire DfT Category D stations Former Midland Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1859 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1868 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1868 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1972 Railway stations opened by British Rail Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1972 Railway stations served by West Midlands Trains 1859 establishments in England