Stratford-upon-Avon railway station is the southern terminus of the
North Warwickshire Line
The North Warwickshire Line (also known as the Shakespeare Line) is a suburban railway line in the West Midlands region of the United Kingdom. It runs from Birmingham to Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, now the southern terminus of the line, a ...
and
Leamington-Stratford line, serving the town of
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 ...
in
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 ...
, England. The station is served 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 ...
(WMT) and
Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways, formally The Chiltern Railway Company Limited, is a British train operating company that has operated the Chiltern Railways franchise since July 1996. Since 2009, it has been a subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains.
Chiltern Railw ...
.
Prior to August 1976, the station provided direct links to the south of the region via 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.
...
; however, the derailment of a freight train prompted
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 ...
to withdraw the link.
History
The first line to reach Stratford-upon-Avon was the
Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway
The Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (OW&WR) was a railway company in England. It built a line from Wolvercot JunctionThe nearby settlement is spelt ''Wolvercote'' and a later station on the LNWR Bicester line follows that spelling. ...
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 branch from
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 ...
, which opened on 9 October 1860. Both branches initially had separate termini, but an agreement was made to join the branches into a single station at the present site, which opened on 24 July 1861. Both branches later came under the control of
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).
![Strat_1908](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Strat_1908.png)
In 1908, Great Western Railway opened the
North Warwickshire Line
The North Warwickshire Line (also known as the Shakespeare Line) is a suburban railway line in the West Midlands region of the United Kingdom. It runs from Birmingham to Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, now the southern terminus of the line, a ...
which incorporated parts of the two original branch lines into a new main line 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
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 ...
. This placed Stratford-upon-Avon on the main line, which prompted the expansion of the station with a third platform being added.
Through services to
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
were withdrawn in 1968, and passenger services south of Stratford-upon-Avon ceased altogether on 5 May 1969. As a result, there were no longer services to , and . The line remained open to freight traffic until a derailment prompted
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 ...
to close the line entirely in 1976. Consequently, Stratford-upon-Avon became the southern terminus of the line from Birmingham and Hatton.
Between 1873 and 1952, Stratford-upon-Avon was also served by
Stratford Old Town railway station on the
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 ...
(SMJR).
A new
parkway station was opened to the north of the town next to the
A46 road
The A46 is a major A road in England. It starts east of Bath, Somerset and ends in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, but it does not form a continuous route. Large portions of the old road have been lost, bypassed, or replaced by motorway developmen ...
on 19 May 2013. It was proposed that building the station would ease congestion, as passengers from outside the area were no longer required to drive into the town to access rail transport. In addition, services between Birmingham and Stratford-upon-Avon were increased from hourly to half-hourly in conjunction with the opening of the station.
On 26 November 2015, a second
footbridge
A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...
and
lifts were built, which gave people with limited mobility the ability to use all of the platforms. It was also announced that a new café, waiting room and retail area were being planned. On 18 March 2019, a refurbishment of the station was started, which was funded by the
Department for Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
and
Warwickshire County Council
Warwickshire County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Warwickshire in England.
Its headquarters are located at Shire Hall, Market Square, in centre of the county town of Warwick. Politically the county is ...
. The refurbishment consisted of rebuilding the ticket hall, improving the seating areas, upgrading the toilet facilities and implementing bike racks.
Facilities
The station has a ticket office located next to the station entrance on platform one which can usually be accessed on each day of the week with varying opening hours. Tickets can be also be purchased from the self-service machine outside the ticket office which accepts card payments. If a person wishes to pay by cash or voucher when the ticket office is closed, they are advised to do so by asking a senior conductor or train manager.
Step-free access is available between the platforms by using the lifts on the footbridge. Station staff are able to provide assistance whilst the ticket office is open. Outside of these hours, information is available from the help points located on both platforms. Cycle parking is also available.
Services
West Midlands Railway
West Midlands Railway provide twice-hourly weekday and Saturday services from Stratford-upon-Avon to along the
North Warwickshire Line
The North Warwickshire Line (also known as the Shakespeare Line) is a suburban railway line in the West Midlands region of the United Kingdom. It runs from Birmingham to Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, now the southern terminus of the line, a ...
which continue to , although some services during the early and late hours of the day terminate at or . One service per hour runs via , and the other via . Later in the day, the frequency of services is reduced to once-hourly with trains only running via . The last service of the day terminates at .
On Sunday, there is an hourly service to via and . Some services terminate at , and no services run via .
Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways provide a single service approximately every two hours to via along the
Leamington-Stratford line. On weekdays, some services terminate at or where connections are available to . Prior to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, services would regularly extend to , but a change is now required at another station such as or . The last service of the day terminates at .
On Sunday, the frequency of services remains the same; however, they are only available from late morning to late evening.
Vintage Trains
A steam train service to , occasionally serving , 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 July and September.
Stratford-Honeybourne line
The Shakespeare Line Promotion Group attempted to promote a scheme to reopen the of line to the south of Stratford-upon-Avon, 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.
...
at . The scheme (supported as a freight diversionary route by DB Schenker) would make Stratford 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
Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services pro ...
, via
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, and also significantly faster services to
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 has been deemed economically beneficial in the long-term, being supported by former Prime Minister
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
and
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 ...
. 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.
In November 2020, it was announced that the scheme had been approved for up to £50,000 funding by the
Department for Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
(DfT) under the second round of the Restoring your Railway Fund. However, in June 2022, it was announced that the government had rejected the case to reopen the line.
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 and , with the
RSC
RSC may refer to:
Arts
* Royal Shakespeare Company, a British theatre company
* Reduced Shakespeare Company, a touring American acting troupe
* Richmondshire Subscription Concerts, a music society in Richmond, North Yorkshire, England
* Rock Ste ...
describing services provided by the company as “woefully inadequate” for an international tourist destination. The absence of services running directly to and has also been noted. Stratford-upon-Avon suffers from road congestion, which is exacerbated by poor connections in the area and below average usage of rail by visitors.
See also
*
Leamington-Stratford line
*
North Warwickshire Line
The North Warwickshire Line (also known as the Shakespeare Line) is a suburban railway line in the West Midlands region of the United Kingdom. It runs from Birmingham to Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, now the southern terminus of the line, a ...
References
External links
History and photographs at www.warwickshirerailways.com
{{coord, 52.194, N, 1.716, W, type:railwaystation_region:GB, display=title
Railway stations in Warwickshire
DfT Category D stations
Former Great Western Railway stations
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1861
Railway stations served by Chiltern Railways
Railway stations served by West Midlands Trains
1861 establishments in England
Stratford-upon-Avon