Tamworth railway station

Railway station in Tamworth, Staffordshire, England

Tamworth is a split level railway station which serves the market town of Tamworth in Staffordshire, England. It is an interchange between two main lines; the Cross Country Route and the Trent Valley section of the West Coast Main Line (WCML). It has four platforms: Two low level platforms (1 and 2) on the WCML, and, at a right angle to, and passing over these, are two high level platforms (3 and 4) served by the Cross Country Route. Historically there were chords connecting the two lines, but there is no longer any rail connection between them.

The original station was opened on 12 August 1839 by the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway, a forerunner of the Midland Railway, on its original route from to meeting the London and Birmingham Railway for London. Later, in 1842, the B&DJ built a branch to Birmingham, terminating at Lawley Street railway station. On 26 June 1847 the London and North Western Railway opened its Trent Valley line passing at a right angle beneath the original Birmingham and Derby line with a new joint station designed by John William Livock. The joint station did not acquire the "High Level" and "Low Level" names until 1924. Since it was expected that only local trains would call, the low level platforms were on loops, with the running lines left clear for expresses. At that time there was a north to west curve linking the, by then, Midland Railway line with the LNWR line. This curve was opened in 1847, and closed in March 1969. A north to east curve was also constructed, however it's unclear whether this chord was ever completed, let alone used. It appeared to have been built by the Midland Railway in around 1866, and track was laid on it, but for unknown reasons the junction to the Trent Valley Line appears to have never been completed. Some sources state that the tracks were lifted in 1878, certainly it was listed on maps as being dismantled by 1901. There was a large water tower and pumping station at the east end of the low level, pumping water from the River Anker below. The rebuilt station opened in 1962 and at the same time the Trent Valley Line was electrified, requiring the High level line and platforms to be raised by two feet.

On 14 September 1870, a mail train was diverted into a siding due to a signalman's error. It crashed through the buffers and ended up in the River Anker. Three people were killed.

The main buildings are adjacent to platform 1 and incorporate a ticket office (staffed seven days per week – 06:10 to 20:00 Mondays to Saturdays and 09:45 – 16:15 Sundays), customer service enquiry counter, photo booth, toilets, post box and a coffee shop. Two self service ticket machines are sited on the station frontage for use when the ticket office is closed. Platform 2 only has a waiting shelter, whilst both high level platforms have waiting rooms. Train running information is provided via automatic announcements, CIS displays and timetable poster boards. Both low level platforms are directly linked with both high level platforms by staircases (4 in total). All platforms are fully accessible for disabled passengers, as the two levels are also linked by lifts (3 in total). There is, however, no direct lift between platforms 2 and 3; step free access between these platforms is only via platforms 4 and 1. Some peak services call at Northampton.