Nuneaton railway station

Nuneaton National Rail

Main station building.
Location
Place Nuneaton
Local authority Borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth
Coordinates 52°31′35″N 1°27′49″W / 52.5264°N 1.4636°WCoordinates: 52°31′35″N 1°27′49″W / 52.5264°N 1.4636°W
Grid reference SP364921
Operations
Station code NUN
Managed by London Midland
Number of platforms 7
DfT category C1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05 0.574 million
2005/06 Increase 0.638 million
2006/07 Increase 0.690 million
2007/08 Increase 0.706 million
2008/09 Increase 0.814 million
2009/10 Increase 0.894 million
2010/11 Increase 0.969 million
2011/12 Increase 0.996 million
2012/13 Increase 1.040 million
2013/14 Increase 1.120 million
History
Original company London and North Western Railway
Pre-grouping London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping London, Midland and Scottish Railway
15 September 1847 Opened as Nuneaton
2 June 1924 Renamed Nuneaton Trent Valley
5 May 1969 Renamed Nuneaton
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Nuneaton from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Nuneaton railway station serves the large town of Nuneaton in Warwickshire, England. The station is managed by London Midland. It is served by three railway lines; the Trent Valley section of the West Coast Main Line, the Birmingham-Leicester-Peterborough Line and the Nuneaton to Coventry branch line. It was known, during the period 1924–1969 as Nuneaton Trent Valley, to distinguish it from the now closed Nuneaton Abbey Street station, but it is now Nuneaton's only railway station, though many local people still refer to it as Trent Valley.

The station has the PlusBus scheme where train and bus tickets can be bought together, at a saving. It is a Penalty fare station when travelling on London Midland services.[1]

History

Map showing the railways around Nuneaton (Nuneaton on right).

The station was opened in 1847 when the London North Western Railway opened the Trent Valley section of the West Coast Main Line in order to avoid the congested areas of Coventry and Birmingham. A second station, Nuneaton Abbey Street, was opened in 1873 to link the nearby cities of Birmingham and Leicester and also to link Ashby-de-la-Zouch and Coalville via the Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway in order to access the large coal reserves located there.

Nuneaton was historically served by several other stations, Including Abbey Street station, Stockingford station, and Chilvers Coton station. All of these stations were closed under the Beeching Axe of 1963 leaving only the present one. In addition, on 18 January 1965 the Coventry – Nuneaton Line closed to passengers.

The Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway Line was closed in 1965 and its track lifted in 1970. Part of it was later reopened as the heritage Battlefield Line.

On 6 June 1975 six people died and 38 were injured in the Nuneaton rail crash just south of the station.

The Coventry – Nuneaton Line reopened to passengers in 1988 as did Bedworth station. This service continues to operate.

In 2004 two extra platforms were built on the site of the former goods loop and engineers' sidings. These new platforms - 6 and 7 - were to accommodate the Birmingham - Leicester - Stansted Airport services and reduce the number of conflicting movements across Nuneaton South Junction. This work also removed the pointwork which had allowed trains to run from Coventry to Leicester via a reversal at Nuneaton.

Services

West Coast Main Line

London Midland provide an hourly service, running southbound to London Euston, via Rugby and Milton Keynes, and northbound to Crewe via Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent. Additional Virgin Trains services call, between London and North Wales, Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Piccadilly, Crewe and Chester, these only operate in the weekday peaks periods. A limited service to/from Blackpool North also stops here.

Birmingham to Peterborough Line

CrossCountry operate two trains per hour, westbound to Birmingham New Street via Coleshill and eastbound to Leicester via Hinckley. One of the two services runs fast to Leicester and continues to Stansted Airport via Melton Mowbray, Peterborough, Ely and Cambridge. All services on this line use platforms 6 and 7. All CrossCountry services at Nuneaton use Turbostar DMUs.

Coventry to Nuneaton Line

London Midland also provide an hourly shuttle service southbound to Coventry via Bedworth.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
CrossCountry
CrossCountry
London MidlandTerminus
London Midland
London-Crewe
Virgin Trains
London Euston
Virgin Trains
London Euston
Virgin Trains
  From 2015  
London MidlandTerminus

Gallery

Motive Power Depot

The loco yard at Nuneaton Depot

The LNWR opened a small locomotive depot in 1847 which was used until 1878 when it was replaced by a larger facility. The engine sheds were doubled in size in 1888 and enlarged still further in 1892.[2] This was an important freight Depot for the West Coast Main Line and its connections at Trent Valley Station, also catering for local passenger services. It was located to the south of the station between the main line and that to Coventry. The depot closed 6 June 1966 and has since been demolished.

References

  1. ↑ "Warning Have you paid". Department for Transport / London Midland. 2008. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
  2. ↑ Griffiths, Roger; Smith, Paul (1999). The directory of British engine Sheds and Principal Locomotive Servicing Points: 1. Oxford: Oxford Publishing Co. p. 155. ISBN 0-86093-542-6.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nuneaton railway station.