Berney Arms railway station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Berney Arms railway station is a railway station serving the remote settlement of Berney Arms in the English county of Norfolk. The station is located in Halvergate Marshes and the area is only accessible on foot, by rail or by boat. The nearest road is 3½ miles away. The station is the most remote station in Norfolk, and one of the most remote in England; trains stop at Berney Arms only on request. Due to there being no lighting on the station, trains only stop during daylight hours.
The station was opened in 1844 as part of the Yarmouth and Norwich Railway. Local landowner Thomas Trench Berney sold the land to the railway company on condition that a station be built. A few years later, the railway company stopped serving the station, saying that there had been no agreement to actually serve the railway station that they agreed to build. After lengthly legal proceedings, it was agreed to serve the station in perpetuity. During the 1980s British Rail wanted to close the line between Reedham and Great Yarmouth, with the associated closure of the station. Local opposition resulted in the plan being withdrawn.
According to one source [1], the number of trains serving Berney Arms has been much reduced over the last fifty years. In April 1961, there were a minimum of eleven services daily. Nowadays, the basic winter service calls for just three daily stops on weekdays. In summer, with longer daylight hours, a couple of extra stops are usually scheduled.
Nowadays the line is promoted as part of the Wherry Lines service operated by 'one'. Services use Class 150, Class 153, Class 156 or Class 170 diesel multiple units.
RSPB Berney Marshes and Breydon Water nature reserves are located in the vicinity of the station. The public house, from which the station takes its name, is still functional - normally daily in the summer, and at weekends only in the winter. The pub is about 600 metres from the station.
[edit] Further Reading
- An article on the history and current use of Berney Arms station appeared in Hidden Europe Magazine, Nov 2006 (Issue 11), pp.10-11.
[edit] External links
- Map sources for Berney Arms railway station
- Train times and station information for Berney Arms railway station from National Rail
- Street map and aerial photo of Berney Arms railway station from Multimap.com
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reedham | 'one' Wherry Lines |
Great Yarmouth | ||
| UK railway stations |
|---|
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