Berney Arms railway station

Berney Arms National Rail

Berney Arms railway station
Location
Place Berney Arms
Local authority Broadland
Grid reference TG460053
Operations
Station code BYA
Managed by Abellio Greater Anglia
Number of platforms 1
DfT category F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05 Decrease 806
2005/06 Increase 896
2006/07 Decrease 722
2007/08 Increase 1,014
2008/09 Increase 1,054
2009/10 Increase 1,628
2010/11 Increase 1,686
2011/12 Decrease 1,436
2012/13 Decrease 1,054
History
Original company Yarmouth and Norwich Railway[1]
Eastern Counties Railway
Pre-grouping Great Eastern Railway
Post-grouping London and North Eastern Railway
1 May 1844 Opened[1]
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Berney Arms from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Berney Arms railway station is a halt serving the remote settlement of Berney Arms on the Halvergate Marshes in the English county of Norfolk. As of 2013 the station is operated by Abellio Greater Anglia with a limited number of trains stopping on the Wherry Lines service between Norwich and Great Yarmouth.[2]

The station, which is 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from the nearest road, is the most remote station in Norfolk. It is accessible only by rail or on foot:[2][3] the station is a 650 metres (0.40 mi) walk from the River Yare where private boats can moor. The station was adopted in 2010 as part of the Station Adoption Scheme.[4]

History

Berney Arms station in the 1970s
The station on a busier day; 64 passengers embark on a class 156 diesel multiple unit for Norwich as part of a Rail Ale Ramble organised by Crookham Travel
The former Berney Arms Signal Box, as preserved at Mangapps Railway Museum

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.[5] 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 lengthy legal proceedings, it was agreed to serve the station in perpetuity.[6] 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.

A post office at Berney Arms Station opened in 1898 but closed in 1967. The former Berney Arms signal box is preserved at Mangapps Railway Museum in Burnham on Crouch in Essex.

Services

The line is promoted as part of the Wherry Lines service operated by Abellio Greater Anglia. Services use Class 153, Class 156 or Class 170 diesel multiple units. As of February 2014, two trains stop to Norwich and two to Great Yarmouth each day apart from on Sundays when the station is served by four trains in each direction. Service frequencies generally increase slightly during the summer period to three trains in each direction each day and five in each direction on a weekend.[7]

Locality

The station is located around 600 metres (0.37 mi) from the River Yare in an area of exposed grazing marsh. The surrounding marshland is managed as the RSPB Berney Marshes reserve and is adjacent to Breydon Water, a major site for wildfowl. Berney Arms Windmill, owned by English Heritage, is located on the Yare near to the station as is the Berney Arms, a public house open during the summer period.

The Weavers' Way and Wherryman's Way long distance footpaths both pass near the station.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Berney Arms (BYA), National Rail Enquiries. Retrieved 2013-09-01.
  3. ↑ Getting to Berney Arms, Berney Arms Station adopter website, 2010. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
  4. ↑ Berney Arms Station, Berney Arms Station adopter website, 2010. retrieved 2011-04-17.
  5. ↑ Berney Arms Railway Station, Berney Arms Web. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
  6. ↑ McKie.D (2010) The rail to nowhere, The Guardian, 2010-07-11. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
  7. ↑ 'Norwich to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft', Greater Anglia, December 2013.

Further reading

External links

Coordinates: 52°35′24″N 1°37′51″E / 52.59000°N 1.63083°E

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Reedham   Abellio Greater Anglia
Wherry Lines		   Great Yarmouth