The North Warwickshire Line (also known as the Shakespeare Line
) is a
suburban railway
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are cons ...
line in the
West Midlands region
The West Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of International Territorial Level for statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. The region consists ...
of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. It runs from
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
to
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-we ...
,
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...
, now the southern terminus of the line, although until 1976 the line continued to
Cheltenham
Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...
as part of the
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
route from Birmingham to
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
.
The line is one of the
Snow Hill lines. It is not electrified and is operated by
West Midlands Trains
West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trade names: West Midlands Railway (WMR) (within the ...
using
Class 172 diesel multiple units
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...
.
The northern part of the line is
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
an in nature, and has a regular and busy commuter service into central Birmingham. The southern part (south of ) is rural in nature, and has a less frequent service, with a number of rural
request stop
In public transport, a request stop, flag stop, or whistle stop is a stop or station at which buses or trains, respectively, stop only on request; that is, only if there are passengers or freight to be picked up or dropped off. In this way, st ...
s.
Despite the name, the line does not pass through the area commonly known as
North Warwickshire
North Warwickshire is a local government district with borough status in the ceremonial county of Warwickshire, West Midlands, England. Outlying settlements in the borough include the two towns of Atherstone (where the council is based) and Co ...
, instead, the name of the line was believed to be derived from that of the local
hunt
Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, et ...
.
[
]
History
Early history
The original plans for the line were promoted by an independent company; the ''Birmingham, North Warwickshire and Stratford Railway'', which received Royal assent in August 1894. The company failed to raise the necessary funds to build the line, and the powers to build it were taken over by the Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
(GWR) in July 1900. The GWR incorporated the line into their own scheme to build a new Birmingham to Cheltenham via Stratford main line. Construction began in September 1905, the line was opened to goods traffic on 9 December 1907, and to passengers on 1 July 1908
Events
January
* January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica.
* January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...
.
The NWL connected to the existing main line into Birmingham at , and ran south to Bearley
Bearley is a village and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. The village is about five miles (8 km) north of Stratford-upon-Avon, bounded on the north by Wootton Wawen, on the east by Snitterfield, an ...
, where it connected to the pre-existing single track Hatton
Hatton may refer to:
Places Canada
* Hatton, Saskatchewan
England
* Hatton, Cheshire West and Chester, a former civil parish
* Hatton, Derbyshire
* Hatton, Lincolnshire
* Hatton, London, in the London Borough of Hounslow
* Hatton, Shropshire, a ...
to branch line, which had been opened in 1860 by the Stratford on Avon Railway
The Stratford on Avon RailwayThe railway industry locally used the name Stratford on Avon, with or without hyphens, until 1951 from when ''Stratford upon Avon'' was used. was a branch railway line opened in 1860, to connect the town of Stratford-up ...
. Part of this branch between Bearley and Stratford was doubled as part of the work, to incorporate it into the new main line, providing a more direct link between Birmingham and Stratford, connecting Henley-in-Arden
Henley-in-Arden (also known as simply Henley) is a town in the Stratford-on-Avon District in Warwickshire, England. The name is a reference to the former Forest of Arden. Henley is known for its variety of historic buildings, some of which date ...
and Shirley
Shirley may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Shirley'' (novel), an 1849 novel by Charlotte Brontë
* ''Shirley'' (1922 film), a British silent film
* ''Shirley'' (2020 film), an American film
* ''Shirley'' (album), a 1961 album by Shirley Bas ...
en route. This made redundant the existing branch line to Henley-in-Arden from , which later closed in 1915. The NWL formed the final stage of a new main line route, which also incorporated most of the branch south of Stratford to , opened in 1859, which was also doubled at the same time, and joined to a new line from Honeybourne to Cheltenham
Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...
(the Honeybourne Line
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWR, GWSR or Gloucs-Warks Steam Railway) is a volunteer-run heritage railway which runs along the Gloucestershire/Worcestershire border of the Cotswolds, England.
The GWSR has restored and reope ...
), which had been completed in 1906. This gave the GWR a new main line between the West Midlands
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
and the South West of England
South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities an ...
and South Wales
South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
, providing a shorter link than existing routes via Oxford and Hereford. It thus placed the Great Western in a position to compete with the Birmingham to Bristol route of the Midland Railway
The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 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 its headquarters. It am ...
.
Moor Street station in Birmingham, was opened soon after the opening of the North Warwickshire Line, and served as the Birmingham terminus of most local services on the line, as well local services from Leamington Spa. Moor Street was opened to take these local services and so, relieve congestion at Birmingham Snow Hill which handled the long-distance services.[ Local services were operated initially by railmotors; which were self-propelled steam carriages. These were later superseded by ]autotrain
The Autotrain was a type of passenger train used in the early 20th century, where the steam locomotive could be remotely controlled from the rear of the train. This meant that the engine would not have to run-around at the end of a journey bef ...
s; a form of push-pull train.[
From the start, the line carried long-distance services from the West Midlands to Bristol, South Wales, and the South West of England. These were suspended during the First World War, then developed in the 1920s and '30s, were suspended again in the Second World War, finally reaching their peak in the 1950s, at which time up to six such trains traversed the line each weekday. The doyen of these services was always the daily train from Wolverhampton to Penzance, latterly named "]The Cornishman
''The Cornishman'' is a weekly newspaper based in Penzance, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom which was first published on 18 July 1878. Circulation for the first two editions was 4,000. An edition is currently printed every Thursday. In early Fe ...
". The line was especially busy during summer months, as it became the principal holiday route between Birmingham and Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
and Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
, and many extra holiday excursion trains would run.
A pioneering diesel railcar service with a buffet commenced running in July 1934 between Birmingham Snow Hill and Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
, running non-stop through Stratford, with only two stops at Gloucester and Newport. This was the first long-distance diesel express service in Britain. It proved so successful that larger railcars with more seating and no buffet had to be introduced to cope with demand, and even this had to be augmented by a normal locomotive hauled service. During the Second World War, the railcar service was the only through service using the line, as all other long-distance trains were suspended. At this time it consisted of a three car train consisting of a standard carriage sandwiched between two railcars. Two such trains ran to and from Cardiff daily at this period, and a stop at Stratford was introduced.
The line passed into the ownership of British Railways
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
in 1948, following nationalisation.
Cutbacks and closure attempts
The North Warwickshire Line has survived two attempts at closure. The line between Tyseley and Bearley junctions was listed for closure as part of the Beeching Axe
The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the ...
closures in the 1960s. This would have left Stratford connected to the rail network only by the branch to Hatton, reverting to the pre-1908 situation. The closure proposals provoked a strong local campaign to save the line, which eventually went to the High Court, resulting in a court injunction
An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in pa ...
preventing closure of the line in 1969. However British Rail made another attempt at closure in 1984, when they appealed to have the injunction lifted. This time the proposal was to close the line between Henley-in-Arden and Bearley junction, and to divert Stratford trains via Solihull. This again provoked a strong local response, and BR withdrew the closure proposal in 1987.
However many cutbacks were made. Long-distance services were cut back from September 1962, when the "Cornishman" and the Birmingham-Cardiff expresses were re-routed. A few passenger services remained south of Stratford to until 1968, and to Worcester via until 1969. The line south of Stratford remained open for freight until 1976, when damage caused by a serious freight train derailment led to British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
deciding to close the line entirely. The track was lifted in 1979, ending the North Warwickshire Line's role as a through main line.
Recent history
Since the 1990s, the line has been marketed as the 'Shakespeare Line'.[
The line was resignalled by ]Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
in 2009/2011, replacing the semaphore signals in place, and improving platform access at Stratford; it also saw the removal of the three remaining signal box
In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...
es at Shirley, Henley-in-Arden and Bearley Junction. As part of this scheme, terminating services from Birmingham were extended from to the next station, , by the addition of a new turnback facility. Park and ride
A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuting, commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail t ...
facilities were added at Whitlocks End to encourage commuters to drive there, in order to reduce traffic congestion at Shirley station.
In 2011 a new fleet of diesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...
s was introduced to operate the line (along with the other Snow Hill Lines) replacing the older s which had operated the line since 1990.[
In May 2013 station was opened north of Stratford. This allows commuters to use the train without driving into Stratford.
]
Current services
The current daytime service level, is three trains per hour between Birmingham Snow Hill and Whitlocks End, one of which continues to Stratford. A second hourly service between Birmingham and Stratford runs via , joining or leaving the North Warwickshire Line at Bearley Junction, meaning a half-hourly service exists between Birmingham and Stratford. Most Birmingham trains continue beyond Snow Hill to either , or Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
.
On summer Sundays, a steam service, the "Shakespeare Express" is operated by Vintage Trains
Vintage Trains is an operator of heritage railtours in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of Birmingham Railway Museum Trust, and is based at Tyseley Locomotive Works, the trust's other subsidiary.
Mainline locomotives
Vintage Trains opera ...
between Birmingham and Stratford.
Possible future development
The Shakespeare Line Promotion Group is promoting a scheme to reopen the of line south of Stratford to where it would link to the Cotswold Line
The Cotswold Line is an railway line between and in England.
History Early years
The line between Oxford and Worcester was built under an 1845 Act of Parliament and opened in 1851 as part of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway.
...
. 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 and Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
via . The scheme faces local opposition. A plan asserted that there was a good business case for Stratford-Cotswolds link.
See also
* Leamington–Stratford line
* Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway
Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-wes ...
References
External links
North Warwickshire Line entry on warwickshirerailways.com
- History and old photographs.
The Shakespeare Line
- Website of the Shakespeare Line Promotion Group.
{{DEFAULTSORT:North Warwickshire Line
Rail transport in Birmingham, West Midlands
Rail transport in the West Midlands (county)
Rail transport in Worcestershire
Railway lines opened in 1908
Railway lines in the West Midlands (region)
Rail transport in Warwickshire
1908 establishments in England