Camp Hill Line
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The Camp Hill line is a railway line in
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 ...
which lies between
Kings Norton Kings Norton, alternatively King's Norton, is an area of Birmingham, England. Historically in Worcestershire, it was also a Birmingham City Council ward within the Government of Birmingham, England. The district lies 6.5 miles south-southwes ...
on the
Cross-City Line The Cross-City Line is a commuter 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 Birmingham New Str ...
and
Birmingham New Street Birmingham New Street is the largest and busiest of the three main railway stations in Birmingham city centre, England, and a central hub of the British railway system. It is a major destination for Avanti West Coast services from , and vi ...
via Grand Junction on the main lines from and . Local passenger services on the line were ended in the 1940s, and the intermediate stations on the line were closed; since then it has been used by freight trains and some longer distance passenger trains only. There are currently plans to restore local services to the line via new
chords Chord may refer to: * Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously ** Guitar chord a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning * Chord (geometry), a line segment joining two points on a curve * Chord (as ...
connecting the line to Birmingham Moor Street.


History

The Camp Hill Line originated as part of the
Birmingham and Gloucester Railway The Birmingham and Gloucester Railway (B&GR) was the first name of the railway linking the cities in its name and of the company which pioneered and developed it; the line opened in stages in 1840, using a terminus at Camp Hill in Birmingham. It ...
(B&GR) which was opened from Gloucester to a temporary terminus at in December 1840, in August the following year the line was extended into
Curzon Street Curzon Street is located within the Mayfair district of London. The street is located entirely within the W1J postcode district; the eastern end is north-east of Green Park underground station. It is within the City of Westminster, running ap ...
the then main station in Birmingham; with the original Camp Hill terminus becoming a
goods station A goods station (also known as a goods yard or goods depot) or freight station is, in the widest sense, a railway station where, either exclusively or predominantly, goods (or freight), such as merchandise, parcels, and manufactured items, are lo ...
, which it remained until 1966. The terminus later switched from Curzon Street to
Birmingham New Street station Birmingham New Street is the largest and busiest of the three main railway stations in Birmingham city centre, England, and a central hub of the British railway system. It is a major destination for Avanti West Coast services from , and vi ...
in 1854. The B&GR itself was taken over by 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 ...
in 1845. In 1861 a junction was constructed at Bordesley, creating a north to south-east connection from the Camp Hill Line to 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 ...
's main line to
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
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
(now known as the
Chiltern Main Line The Chiltern Main Line is a railway line which links London () and Birmingham ( Moor Street and Snow Hill), the United Kingdom's two largest cities, by a route via High Wycombe, Bicester, Banbury, Leamington Spa and Solihull. It is one of tw ...
) which remains in use, and allows trains from Oxford and beyond to run into Birmingham New Street via the Camp Hill Line. In 1864 a 'direct' line was opened between St Andrews and Landor Street Junctions at the north end of the Camp Hill Line, connecting it to the Midland Railway's line to . From this date Midland expresses from Derby 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 ...
by-passed New Street, and ran via this route to Camp Hill station, where portions of the train bound for Birmingham New Street would be detached or attached from the train. As both the Midland Railway lines from Derby and Bristol approached New Street from the east, this arrangement avoided the need for them to reverse at New Street and thus save time. This arrangement was unsatisfactory, but it persisted until 1885 when the Midland Railway extended its Birmingham West Suburban Railway (BWSR) into New Street from the west, allowing Derby to Bristol trains to run directly through New Street without reversing and rejoin the B&GR route at
Kings Norton railway station Kings Norton railway station serves the Kings Norton and Cotteridge areas of Birmingham, England. It lies on the Cross-City Line from Redditch and Bromsgrove through Birmingham New Street to Lichfield. The station's main entrance is located on ...
. In 1892, the Lifford Curve opened, creating a north-facing connection between the Camp Hill Line and the Birmingham West Suburban Railway, allowing a circular service to operate from New Street via the Camp Hill Line and returning via the BWSR (or vice versa). Local passenger services and all six passenger stations along the Camp Hill line were closed as a wartime rationalisation of the network in 1941. It was confirmed as permanent in 1946. After they never reopened, the buildings were demolished: * Camp Hill * Brighton Road *
Moseley Moseley is a suburb of south Birmingham, England, south of the city centre. The area is a popular cosmopolitan residential location and leisure destination, with a number of bars and restaurants. The area also has a number of boutiques and ot ...
*
Kings Heath Kings Heath (historically, and still occasionally King's Heath) is a suburb of south Birmingham, England, four miles south of the city centre. Historically in Worcestershire, it is the next suburb south from Moseley on the A435, Alcester road. ...
* Hazelwell *
Lifford Lifford (, historically anglicised as ''Liffer'') is the county town of County Donegal, Ireland, the administrative centre of the county and the seat of Donegal County Council, although the town of Letterkenny is often mistaken as holding this ...
Since then the line has been used by freight trains and some longer distance passenger trains only.


Future plans

The reinstatement of local rail services to the former Camp Hill Line has been a long term aspiration of the city, and during 2007,
Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom (e ...
announced that they were looking into the possibility of reopening the line between
Kings Norton Kings Norton, alternatively King's Norton, is an area of Birmingham, England. Historically in Worcestershire, it was also a Birmingham City Council ward within the Government of Birmingham, England. The district lies 6.5 miles south-southwes ...
and Birmingham Moor Street via the construction of a railway viaduct from Sparkbrook to Bordesley, where trains would be taken into the "old" Birmingham Moor Street station. In October 2007, a 1,500-name
petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offici ...
was handed in to the council asking for the line to be re-opened. In 2013 the proposal was shelved indefinitely. The 2007 proposed station sites were
Moseley Moseley is a suburb of south Birmingham, England, south of the city centre. The area is a popular cosmopolitan residential location and leisure destination, with a number of bars and restaurants. The area also has a number of boutiques and ot ...
,
Kings Heath Kings Heath (historically, and still occasionally King's Heath) is a suburb of south Birmingham, England, four miles south of the city centre. Historically in Worcestershire, it is the next suburb south from Moseley on the A435, Alcester road. ...
and Hazelwell. In 2016, the newly created
West Midlands Combined Authority The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) is a combined authority for the West Midlands metropolitan county in the United Kingdom. It was established by statutory instrument under the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Ac ...
revived the plans to restore local passenger services to the line, and declared it one of their priority transport schemes to be delivered by 2025. In 2017, the newly elected
Mayor of the West Midlands The Mayor of the West Midlands is a Directly elected mayors in England and Wales, directly elected political post who chairs the West Midlands Combined Authority, covering the Birmingham metropolitan area and Coventry. 2017 West Midlands mayora ...
Andy Street Andrew John Street (born 11 June 1963) is a British businessman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who was the managing director of John Lewis & Partners, John Lewis from 2007 to 2016, when he resigned to run for Mayor o ...
pledged to get work started on restoring services to the line by 2020. And officials were said to be investigating the business case for a fourth station at
Balsall Heath Balsall Heath is an inner-city area of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. It has a diverse cultural mix of people and is the location of the Balti Triangle. History Balsall Heath was agricultural land between Moseley village and the city of B ...
(previously called Brighton Road). This would mean and Camp Hill would be the only stations not to be reopened. In August 2017,
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 ...
announced plans as part of their franchise deal that the line would reopen by December 2019 as part of a £1 billion investment in the West Midlands. This included a new station at Moseley. In February 2018, Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, said that the viaduct would not be needed, as
Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
to Birmingham New Street trains, currently routed via University Station, could be diverted along the Camp Hill Line to serve the three new stations (and which would also facilitate through train operation toward Shrewsbury), meaning that extra capacity at Birmingham New Street would not be required. In July 2018, the Midlands Rail Hub was unveiled which included the reopening of Moseley, Kings Heath and Hazelwell along with 2 new chords (the Bordesley Chords), one to connect Birmingham Moor Street with the line to Kings Norton and the other with the line to Water Orton. In September 2018, the designs of the new stations were revealed as , and were planned for reopening by 2021 with a frequency of two trains per hour. In March 2021 it was announced that funding had been found for the project, with an opening date expected in 2023. In June 2022, West Midlands Rail Executive announced that following on from a public consultation, the three stations would be named Moseley Village, Kings Heath and Pineapple Road. This line was identified by Campaign for Better Transport as a priority 1 candidate for reopening.


References


Bibliography

* *


External links

*Birmingham City Counci
Camp Hill Railway Line Study Public Report
July 2007 *Birmingham City Counci
Detailed map of the proposed railway chord linking the Camp Hill line into Moor Street Station
{{Proposed rail infrastructure projects in the United Kingdom Rail transport in Birmingham, West Midlands Railway lines opened in 1840 1840 establishments in England Railway lines closed in 1941 1941 disestablishments in England