Redditch railway station

Redditch railway station serves the town of Redditch, North Worcestershire, England. It is the southern terminus of the Cross-City Line 14.5 miles (23 km) south of Birmingham New Street. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by West Midlands Trains. Redditch station sits at the end of a single track branch line from Barnt Green which forms part of the Cross-City Line. The line used to continue south to Ashchurch and also Evesham but this was closed in the 1960s.

Redditch
General information
Location	Redditch, Worcestershire, England
Grid reference	SP038675
Managed by	West Midlands Railway[1]
Platforms	1
Other information
Station code	RDC
Classification	DfT category D
Key dates
18 September 1859	Line and station opened
4 May 1868	Station relocated for opening of Evesham and Redditch Railway
1962	Passenger services south of Redditch suspended
7 February 1972	Station relocated
5 October 1992	Station relocated
Passengers
2018/19	1.060 million
2019/20	1.002 million
2020/21	0.210 million
2021/22	0.581 million
2022/23	0.685 million
Location
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

In July 1858 the Redditch Railway Act authorised a line to link Redditch with the Midland Railway's Birmingham and Gloucester line at Barnt Green. The Redditch Railway opened on 18 September 1859 but was operated from the start by the Midland Railway.

The second Redditch station in the 1900s

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

British Railways (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.^[2] 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, 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 Cross-City Line. This was upgraded to half-hourly in 1989.^[3]

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.^[4]

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 at Alvechurch to allow the service to be increased to three trains per hour.^[5][6] 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.^[7][8] 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.^[9]

Services

Train at Reddich in 2015.

West Midlands Railway serve the station every 30 minutes on the Cross-City Line to Four Oaks via Birmingham New Street. On Sundays a half hourly service runs through to Lichfield Trent Valley calling at all stations en route.^[10][11] Services are operated by Class 730 electric multiple units.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Alvechurch		West Midlands Railway Cross-City Line		Terminus
Historical railways
Alvechurch Line and station open		Midland Railway Evesham loop line		Studley and Astwood Bank Line and station closed

References

1. Station facilities for Redditch
2. "Disused Stations - Redditch"Disused Stations - Site Record; Retrieved 31 May 2016
3. "Milestone marks the end of a railway era". Redditch Standard. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
4. "Redditch Railway Stations". Redditch MRC. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
5. "Major transport infrastructure schemes given green light". Planning Resource. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
6. "Investing in the Midlands, December 2011". Rail Professional Magazine. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
7. Connie Osborne (1 September 2014). "Commuters back on track with railway opening". Redditch Standard. Archived from the original on 12 October 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
8. "London Midland reveals new timetable and additional seating across network". birminghammail.co.uk. Birmingham Mail. 11 December 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
9. Redditch station facilities National Rail Enquiries
10. "Train timetables and schedules | Redditch". West Midlands Railway.
11. "Train Times | The Cross City Line | 21 May until 9 December 2023". West Midlands Railway.

Bibliography

• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2006). Cheltenham to Redditch. Middleton Press. figs. 100-109. ISBN 9781904474814. OCLC 851839542.

External links

v t e Railway lines in Worcestershire
Legend
Kidderminster line to Birmingham Snow Hill Cross-City Line to Birmingham New Street Hagley Birmingham–Stratford line to Birmingham Moor Street Wythall Blakedown Birmingham–Stratford line to Stratford-upon-Avon Barnt Green Kidderminster Town Kidderminster Blackwell Alvechurch Foley Park Halt Lickey Incline Bewdley Tunnel Redditch Rifle Range Halt Stourport-on-Severn Gloucester loop line via Alcester Hartlebury Bromsgrove Bewdley Cutnall Green Halt Stoke Works Northwood Halt Droitwich Spa Junction Wyre Forest Droitwich Spa Arley Newnham Bridge Fernhill Heath Severn Valley Railway to Bridgnorth Blackpole Halt Easton Court Astwood Halt Tenbury and Bewdley Railway to Woofferton Droitwich Road Worcester Tunnel Junction Dunhampstead Worcester TMD Oddingley Spetchley Vinegar works Worcester Shrub Hill Worcester Foregate Street Norton Worcestershire Parkway Stoulton former freight branch Pershore River Severn Abbot's Wood Junction Wyre Halt Henwick Fladbury Boughton Halt Wadborough Rushwick Halt Defford Leigh Court Eckington Knightwick Bredon Bransford Road Gloucester loop line via Alcester Suckley Harvington Worcester, Bromyard & Leominster Rly to Leominster Evesham Newland Halt Bengeworth Malvern Link Hinton Great Malvern Ashton-under-Hill Malvern Hanley Road Beckford Upton-on-Severn Littleton and Badsey Ripple Honeybourne Malvern Wells Cotswold Line to Hereford Honeybourne Line to Stratford-upon-Avon Ashchurch for Tewkesbury Cotswold Line to Oxford Cross Country Route to Cheltenham Spa Broadway Gloucestershire Warwickshire Rly to Cheltenham Racecourse

• Train times and station information for Redditch railway station from National Rail
• Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Redditch station
• Redditch Railway Stations - Redditch Model Railway Club

52.306°N 1.945°W / 52.306; -1.945