Leamington Spa railway station
Encyclopedia
Leamington Spa railway station serves the town of Leamington Spa
, in Warwickshire
, England
. It is situated on Old Warwick Road towards the southern edge of the town centre.
(GWR) on its new line from Birmingham
to Oxford
in 1852.
The London and North-Western Railway (LNWR) had reached Leamington eight years earlier, in 1844, with a branch from Coventry
. That line, however, terminated about a mile and a half from the town centre, at Milverton, and the LNWR did not open a more central station until 1854. The station booking hall was sympathetically refurbished over the five months to March 2008 to resemble the original Great Western Railway art-deco style, including the installation of ticket barriers. GWR-style running in board
s have been installed at the 'up' end of platforms 2 & 3. Plans exist to add to these running-in boards.
The signal box
at Leamington saw the first conventional use of British Rail
Solid State Interlocking
(SSI) in 1985 when control was transferred from the original Leamington North mechanical box to a new Power Box situated nearby. In 2006 trials of the new Westinghouse Rail Systems
Westlock Interlocking
commenced, which replaced the old SSI completely in 2008. The signal box now covers an area from a point near Warwick
to Little Bourton, just north of Banbury railway station
.
In late 2007 Chiltern railway began installing ticket barriers, which came into operation in early 2008. In 2011 the two waiting room
s were restored and refurbished as part of £395,000 improvements that also include 80 new parking spaces at the front of the station and improved disabled access.
, CrossCountry
, and London Midland
. Chiltern Railways operate the station, which is owned by Network Rail
. Although the station is operated by Chiltern Railways, the stabling rights belong to London Midland. This unusual situation means that if Chiltern Railways wished to stable one of their trains at Leamington Spa, they would have to ask London Midland for permission to do so, and pay a fee for the privilege.
The original privatisation system resulted in the station being operated by Central Trains
(London Midland's predecessor), with a half hourly service, along with an hourly Chiltern Railways service and an hourly Virgin Cross Country service. The huge expansion in investment by the Chiltern Railways franchise and the increase in services brought about resulted in Central Trains services mainly being cut back to Dorridge outside of peak hours, with Chiltern Railways operating two trains per hour to London Marylebone in place of the former local service. This also resulted in the transfer of operator of Warwick, Hatton, Lapworth and Leamington Spa stations to Chiltern Railways
, as well as Birmingham Moor Street. This is the origin of the unusual stabling rights status of the station, an anomaly also existing at Shrewsbury station, with the majority service operator and station operator Arriva Trains Wales
not holding the stabling rights, which belong to London Midland
.
The present art deco
- style station, which dates from immediately prior to the Second World War (it was comprehensively rebuilt between 1937 and 1939), has four platforms, numbered one to four from south to north. Platforms one and four are west-facing bays
, used only by local trains to and from Birmingham Snow Hill
or Stratford-upon-Avon
starting or terminating at Leamington. Platforms two and three are through platforms: platform two is used by services to Stratford-upon-Avon, Birmingham Snow Hill or Coventry
, Birmingham New Street and beyond; platform three is for departures to Banbury
and London Marylebone
or Reading
. Two central lines allow freight trains or other non-stop services to pass through the station when platforms two and three are occupied.
(amalgamated two years later into the London and North-Western Railway (LNWR)). The terminus (named "Leamington") was immediately north of Rugby Road in New Milverton, roughly half-way between the centres of Warwick and Leamington (that is to say, about a mile and a half from each).
In March 1851 the LNWR opened another branch, this time from Rugby
, which ran through Leamington and made an end-on connection to the Coventry branch at Milverton. Although the new line ran briefly parallel to the route of the Great Western Railway's Birmingham to Oxford line, which was then under construction in southern Leamington, and within spitting distance of the more central GWR station which opened in 1852, the LNWR did not open a station of its own alongside the GWR station until February 1854. This was evidently a somewhat hastily constructed timber affair: a more permanent brick-built station followed in 1860. The LNWR's new station, with its entrance off Avenue Road, was called, appropriately enough, "Leamington Avenue", with the old station being renamed "Warwick (Milverton)".
Despite their proximity, the two railways in Leamington remained separate for many years. Although a link to allow the transfer of goods traffic between the two lines was installed in 1864, it was not until 1908 that a junction was constructed for passenger trains. This (in principle) permitted LNWR trains from the Rugby direction to use the GWR station. Now a joint station, the latter became known as "Leamington Spa General" after Nationalisation.
In October 1883 the LNWR moved its Milverton station to a new site no more than 200 yards further south, where the railway crossed Warwick New Road. Eastnor Terrace, which contained some of Leamington's finest buildings, had to be demolished for this new project. As the new station was on an embankment, the platforms and shelters were constructed of wood, with the other station offices being built below at road level. The original station at Milverton remained the site of the LNWR's Leamington locomotive depot and turntable
, and right up until the final closure of the line from Rugby, trains from that direction terminated and turned round there.
Leamington Avenue and Milverton stations (by then called "Leamington Spa (Avenue)" and "Leamington Spa (Milverton) for Warwick" respectively) both suffered closure under the Beeching cuts of 1965. Almost all the trains from these stations had been local services
, to Kenilworth
, Coventry, Rugby and (earlier) Daventry
and Weedon
. Although the route to Coventry survives (a new junction was installed in 1966 allowing access from the west end of the surviving (former Great Western) station) and now carries an intensive service of long-distance trains, all the intermediate stations were closed. The line to Rugby was lifted entirely. Most of its trackbed exists, but there is a substantial gap in south-eastern Leamington where the new housing estate of Sydenham has been built over the former route.
However, relocation of the station in 1883 did not cause a renaming.
and Birmingham Snow Hill, with further trains (at approximately two-hourly intervals) between Marylebone and Stratford-upon-Avon. A number of the Birmingham trains start from in the mornings and terminate there in the evenings.
Four long-distance trains an hour, operated by CrossCountry, also serve Leamington station throughout most of the day, two northbound and two southbound. Typically, these alternate between services from Manchester
to Reading and by way of (and vice versa) and others running from Newcastle
by way of to Reading (and vice versa). Half of these CrossCountry services also serve Coventry and , and all of these services serve Birmingham New Street.
London Midland
operates at peak-hour trains to Birmingham Snow Hill, Stourbridge Junction, Kidderminster and Worcester
at the beginning of the day and from there in the evening. These services should see the introduction of the Brand new Class 172 units in early 2011.
On Sundays, the frequency of trains is in most cases about half of that indicated above.
Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...
, in Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is situated on Old Warwick Road towards the southern edge of the town centre.
History
It is located on the site of the first through-station in the town, opened by the Great Western RailwayGreat Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
(GWR) on its new line from Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
to Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
in 1852.
The London and North-Western Railway (LNWR) had reached Leamington eight years earlier, in 1844, with a branch from Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
. That line, however, terminated about a mile and a half from the town centre, at Milverton, and the LNWR did not open a more central station until 1854. The station booking hall was sympathetically refurbished over the five months to March 2008 to resemble the original Great Western Railway art-deco style, including the installation of ticket barriers. GWR-style running in board
Running in board
A running in board is a large sign showing the name of the railway station on which it is found. The signs are intended to help passengers discover their location when on a train entering the station, possibly while still moving at speed....
s have been installed at the 'up' end of platforms 2 & 3. Plans exist to add to these running-in boards.
The signal box
Signal box
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...
at Leamington saw the first conventional use of British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
Solid State Interlocking
Solid State Interlocking
Solid State Interlocking is the brand name of the first generation processor-based interlocking developed in the 1980s by British Rail's Research Division, GEC-General Signal and Westinghouse Signals Ltd in the UK.- Interlocking hardware :...
(SSI) in 1985 when control was transferred from the original Leamington North mechanical box to a new Power Box situated nearby. In 2006 trials of the new Westinghouse Rail Systems
Westinghouse Rail Systems
Westinghouse Rail Systems Ltd is a British supplier of railway signalling and control equipment to the rail industry worldwide. Its head office is in Chippenham, Wiltshire, where it manufactures a variety of mechanical and electrical/electronic railway signalling equipment...
Westlock Interlocking
Westlock Interlocking
WESTLOCK Interlocking is a Solid State Interlocking product by Westinghouse Rail Systems.Westlock builds on many of the features that made SSI popular in the United Kingdom. This includes re-use of SSI's programming language and its external hardware....
commenced, which replaced the old SSI completely in 2008. The signal box now covers an area from a point near Warwick
Warwick railway station
Warwick railway station serves the town of Warwick in Warwickshire, England. The station is served by Chiltern Railways , and also occasionally by London Midland and CrossCountry. It is located one and a half miles from the town centre although it is in the inner suburbs. It was opened in 1852 by...
to Little Bourton, just north of Banbury railway station
Banbury railway station
Banbury railway station serves the town of Banbury in Oxfordshire, England. The station is currently operated by Chiltern Railways, on the Chiltern Main Line, and has four platforms in use.-History:...
.
In late 2007 Chiltern railway began installing ticket barriers, which came into operation in early 2008. In 2011 the two waiting room
Waiting room
A waiting room is a building, or more commonly a part of a building where people sit or stand until the event they are waiting for occurs.There are generally two types of waiting room. One is where individuals leave one at a time, for instance at a doctor's office or a hospital, or outside a school...
s were restored and refurbished as part of £395,000 improvements that also include 80 new parking spaces at the front of the station and improved disabled access.
Routes
Three lines radiate from Leamington:- one heading northwest to Birmingham by way of WarwickWarwickWarwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England. The town lies upon the River Avon, south of Coventry and just west of Leamington Spa and Whitnash with which it is conjoined. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 23,350...
and SolihullSolihullSolihull is a town in the West Midlands of England with a population of 94,753. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles southeast of Birmingham city centre...
, with a branch to Stratford-upon-Avon diverging at HattonHatton, WarwickshireHatton is a village and civil parish about north of Warwick, in the Warwick District of Warwickshire in England. It has a population of 1,078...
, some six miles from Leamington; - one going north through Kenilworth to Coventry;
- one heading southeast towards Banbury, beyond which it splits into routes heading for London (Marylebone) and for Reading via OxfordOxfordThe city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
.
Operators
As of December 2007, Leamington station is served by three passenger train operators: Chiltern RailwaysChiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways is a British train operating company. It was set up at the privatisation of British Rail in 1996, and operates local passenger trains from Marylebone station in London to Aylesbury and main-line trains on the Chiltern Main Line to Birmingham Snow Hill with its associated branches...
, CrossCountry
CrossCountry
CrossCountry is the brand name of XC Trains Ltd., a British train operating company owned by Arriva...
, and London Midland
London Midland
London Midland is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Legally named London and Birmingham Railway Ltd, it is a subsidiary of Govia, and has operated the West Midlands franchise since 11 November 2007....
. Chiltern Railways operate the station, which is owned by Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
. Although the station is operated by Chiltern Railways, the stabling rights belong to London Midland. This unusual situation means that if Chiltern Railways wished to stable one of their trains at Leamington Spa, they would have to ask London Midland for permission to do so, and pay a fee for the privilege.
The original privatisation system resulted in the station being operated by Central Trains
Central Trains
Central Trains was one of the original 25 train operating companies to emerge from the break-up of British Rail between 1994 and 1997. The company operated local, urban and secondary express services across central England and Mid Wales.-Overview:...
(London Midland's predecessor), with a half hourly service, along with an hourly Chiltern Railways service and an hourly Virgin Cross Country service. The huge expansion in investment by the Chiltern Railways franchise and the increase in services brought about resulted in Central Trains services mainly being cut back to Dorridge outside of peak hours, with Chiltern Railways operating two trains per hour to London Marylebone in place of the former local service. This also resulted in the transfer of operator of Warwick, Hatton, Lapworth and Leamington Spa stations to Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways is a British train operating company. It was set up at the privatisation of British Rail in 1996, and operates local passenger trains from Marylebone station in London to Aylesbury and main-line trains on the Chiltern Main Line to Birmingham Snow Hill with its associated branches...
, as well as Birmingham Moor Street. This is the origin of the unusual stabling rights status of the station, an anomaly also existing at Shrewsbury station, with the majority service operator and station operator Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...
not holding the stabling rights, which belong to London Midland
London Midland
London Midland is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Legally named London and Birmingham Railway Ltd, it is a subsidiary of Govia, and has operated the West Midlands franchise since 11 November 2007....
.
Layout
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
- style station, which dates from immediately prior to the Second World War (it was comprehensively rebuilt between 1937 and 1939), has four platforms, numbered one to four from south to north. Platforms one and four are west-facing bays
Bay platform
Bay platform is a railway-related term commonly used in the UK and Australia to describe a dead-end platform at a railway station that has through lines...
, used only by local trains to and from Birmingham Snow Hill
Birmingham Snow Hill station
Birmingham Snow Hill is a railway station and tram stop in the centre of Birmingham, England, on the site of an earlier, much larger station built by the former Great Western Railway . It is the second most important railway station in the city, after Birmingham New Street station...
or Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon railway station
Stratford-upon-Avon railway station is a railway station that serves the town of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, England. It was once a through station on the Great Western Railway route from Birmingham to Cheltenham, but has been the terminus of the line since 1976.There are plans for a new...
starting or terminating at Leamington. Platforms two and three are through platforms: platform two is used by services to Stratford-upon-Avon, Birmingham Snow Hill or Coventry
Coventry railway station
Coventry railway station is situated about 250 yards to the south of junction 6 of the inner ring road in the city of Coventry, West Midlands, England...
, Birmingham New Street and beyond; platform three is for departures to Banbury
Banbury railway station
Banbury railway station serves the town of Banbury in Oxfordshire, England. The station is currently operated by Chiltern Railways, on the Chiltern Main Line, and has four platforms in use.-History:...
and London Marylebone
Marylebone station
Marylebone station , also known as London Marylebone, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. It stands midway between the mainline stations at Euston and Paddington, about 1 mile from each...
or Reading
Reading railway station
Reading railway station is a major rail transport hub in the English town of Reading. It is situated on the northern edge of the town centre, close to the main retail and commercial areas, and also the River Thames...
. Two central lines allow freight trains or other non-stop services to pass through the station when platforms two and three are occupied.
Leamington Avenue and Leamington Milverton stations
The first railway line to reach Leamington Spa did so in December 1844. It was a branch line from Coventry, built by the London and Birmingham RailwayLondon and Birmingham Railway
The London and Birmingham Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway ....
(amalgamated two years later into the London and North-Western Railway (LNWR)). The terminus (named "Leamington") was immediately north of Rugby Road in New Milverton, roughly half-way between the centres of Warwick and Leamington (that is to say, about a mile and a half from each).
In March 1851 the LNWR opened another branch, this time from Rugby
Rugby, Warwickshire
Rugby is a market town in Warwickshire, England, located on the River Avon. The town has a population of 61,988 making it the second largest town in the county...
, which ran through Leamington and made an end-on connection to the Coventry branch at Milverton. Although the new line ran briefly parallel to the route of the Great Western Railway's Birmingham to Oxford line, which was then under construction in southern Leamington, and within spitting distance of the more central GWR station which opened in 1852, the LNWR did not open a station of its own alongside the GWR station until February 1854. This was evidently a somewhat hastily constructed timber affair: a more permanent brick-built station followed in 1860. The LNWR's new station, with its entrance off Avenue Road, was called, appropriately enough, "Leamington Avenue", with the old station being renamed "Warwick (Milverton)".
Despite their proximity, the two railways in Leamington remained separate for many years. Although a link to allow the transfer of goods traffic between the two lines was installed in 1864, it was not until 1908 that a junction was constructed for passenger trains. This (in principle) permitted LNWR trains from the Rugby direction to use the GWR station. Now a joint station, the latter became known as "Leamington Spa General" after Nationalisation.
In October 1883 the LNWR moved its Milverton station to a new site no more than 200 yards further south, where the railway crossed Warwick New Road. Eastnor Terrace, which contained some of Leamington's finest buildings, had to be demolished for this new project. As the new station was on an embankment, the platforms and shelters were constructed of wood, with the other station offices being built below at road level. The original station at Milverton remained the site of the LNWR's Leamington locomotive depot and turntable
Turntable (railroad)
A railway turntable is a device for turning railroad rolling stock. When steam locomotives were still in wide use, many railroads needed a way to turn the locomotives around for return trips as their controls were often not configured for extended periods of running in reverse and in many...
, and right up until the final closure of the line from Rugby, trains from that direction terminated and turned round there.
Leamington Avenue and Milverton stations (by then called "Leamington Spa (Avenue)" and "Leamington Spa (Milverton) for Warwick" respectively) both suffered closure under the Beeching cuts of 1965. Almost all the trains from these stations had been local services
Leamington to Rugby line
The railway from Rugby to Leamington Spa was a 15-mile branch line built by the London & North Western Railway and opened in 1851 The branch connected Leamington with the mainline from London to Birmingham The railway from Rugby to Leamington Spa was a 15-mile branch line built by the London &...
, to Kenilworth
Kenilworth
Kenilworth is a town in central Warwickshire, England. In 2001 the town had a population of 22,582 . It is situated south of Coventry, north of Warwick and northwest of London....
, Coventry, Rugby and (earlier) Daventry
Daventry
Daventry is a market town in Northamptonshire, England, with a population of 22,367 .-Geography:The town is also the administrative centre of the larger Daventry district, which has a population of 71,838. The town is 77 miles north-northwest of London, 13.9 miles west of Northampton and 10.2...
and Weedon
Weedon Bec
Weedon Bec , usually just called "Weedon", is a large village and parish in the district of Daventry, Northamptonshire, England. It lies close to the source of the River Nene.-Geography:...
. Although the route to Coventry survives (a new junction was installed in 1966 allowing access from the west end of the surviving (former Great Western) station) and now carries an intensive service of long-distance trains, all the intermediate stations were closed. The line to Rugby was lifted entirely. Most of its trackbed exists, but there is a substantial gap in south-eastern Leamington where the new housing estate of Sydenham has been built over the former route.
Renaming
The station at Milverton has had eight names:- - 1844: Leamington;
- - 1854: Warwick (Milverton);
- - 1856: Warwick;
- - 1857: Warwick (Milverton);
- - 1875: Leamington Milverton (Warwick);
- - 1876: Milverton (for Warwick);
- - 1884: Warwick (Milverton);
- - 1952: Leamington Spa (Milverton) for Warwick.
However, relocation of the station in 1883 did not cause a renaming.
Services
Chiltern Railways services run at frequent intervals (mostly half-hourly) between Marylebone station in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Birmingham Snow Hill, with further trains (at approximately two-hourly intervals) between Marylebone and Stratford-upon-Avon. A number of the Birmingham trains start from in the mornings and terminate there in the evenings.
Four long-distance trains an hour, operated by CrossCountry, also serve Leamington station throughout most of the day, two northbound and two southbound. Typically, these alternate between services from Manchester
Manchester Piccadilly station
Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. It serves intercity routes to London Euston, Birmingham New Street, South Wales, the south coast of England, Edinburgh and Glasgow Central, and routes throughout northern England...
to Reading and by way of (and vice versa) and others running from Newcastle
Newcastle Central station
Newcastle railway station , is the mainline station of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England and is a principal stop on the East Coast Main Line. It opened in 1850 and is a Grade I listed building...
by way of to Reading (and vice versa). Half of these CrossCountry services also serve Coventry and , and all of these services serve Birmingham New Street.
London Midland
London Midland
London Midland is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Legally named London and Birmingham Railway Ltd, it is a subsidiary of Govia, and has operated the West Midlands franchise since 11 November 2007....
operates at peak-hour trains to Birmingham Snow Hill, Stourbridge Junction, Kidderminster and Worcester
Worcester Shrub Hill railway station
Worcester Shrub Hill railway station is one of two railway stations serving the city of Worcester in Worcestershire, England. It is managed by London Midland, and it is also served by First Great Western....
at the beginning of the day and from there in the evening. These services should see the introduction of the Brand new Class 172 units in early 2011.
On Sundays, the frequency of trains is in most cases about half of that indicated above.
External links
- Solihull and Leamington Rail Users Association – representing the interests and views of local rail users
- Historical photographs of the GWR Leamington Spa station