Berwick-upon-Tweed railway station

Berwick-upon-Tweed National Rail

Panoramic view of Berwick-upon-Tweed railway station
Location
Place Berwick-upon-Tweed
Local authority County of Northumberland
Coordinates 55°46′30″N 2°00′40″W / 55.775°N 2.011°W / 55.775; -2.011Coordinates: 55°46′30″N 2°00′40″W / 55.775°N 2.011°W / 55.775; -2.011
Grid reference NT994534
Operations
Station code BWK
Managed by Virgin Trains East Coast
Number of platforms 2
DfT category C1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2011/12 Increase 0.479 million
– Interchange  Decrease 1,035
2012/13 Increase 0.502 million
– Interchange  Increase 1,123
2013/14 Increase 0.527 million
– Interchange  Increase 1,167
2014/15 Increase 0.539 million
– Interchange  Increase 1,339
2015/16 Decrease 0.529 million
– Interchange  Increase 1,430
History
Key dates Opened 1847[1] (1847[1])
Original company North British Railway / Newcastle and Berwick Railway
Pre-grouping North British Railway / North Eastern Railway
Post-grouping LNER
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Berwick-upon-Tweed from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal
Plaque commemorating the former Great Hall of Berwick Castle

Berwick-upon-Tweed railway station is on the East Coast Main Line in the United Kingdom, serving the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland. It is 335 miles 56 chains (540.3 km) down the line from London King's Cross and is situated between Chathill to the south and Dunbar to the north. Its three-letter station code is BWK.

It is the most northerly railway station in England, being less than three miles from the border with Scotland. The station, with its long single island platform, lies immediately to the north of the Royal Border Bridge.

History

In 1847, the Great Hall of Berwick Castle had to be demolished to make way for the new station (the former West Wall of the castle still marks the boundary of the now-defunct station goods yard), which opened the following year. This replaced an initial structure erected by the North British Railway, whose line from the north first reached the town in 1846.[2] The Newcastle and Berwick Railway meanwhile reached the southern bank of the River Tweed in March 1847, but it was another eighteen months before a temporary viaduct across the river was commissioned to allow through running between Edinburgh and Newcastle. This in turn was replaced by the current Royal Border Bridge in July 1850.[3] The station was rebuilt by the London and North Eastern Railway in 1927 and the buildings are Grade-II listed.[4]

The station was also at one time served by local stopping trains between Newcastle & Edinburgh and the branch line from Newtown St Boswells via Kelso (which joined the main line at Tweedmouth, on the other side of the river) from 1851 until closure in 1964.[5]

Berwick station in 1970

For approximately 5 months in 1979, this was the terminal station for services from London King's Cross after the East Coast Main Line was blocked by the collapse of Penmanshiel Tunnel. Buses linked this station with Dunbar, from where a railway shuttle service continued to Edinburgh Waverley.

Facilities

The station has a council-run car park nearby, and is staffed throughout the week during working hours (05:45-18:30 weekdays, 06:45-15:15 Saturdays and 09:45-16:20 Sundays).[6] A self-service ticket machine is available for use outside these times and for collecting pre-paid tickets. Other facilities on offer on the concourse include a waiting room, Cafe Express coffee shop, vending machine, payphone and toilets, whilst there is a First Class lounge on the platform. The two are linked by a fully accessible footbridge with lifts. Train running information is offered via digital CIS displays, automatic announcements and timetable posters.

Services

Virgin Trains East Coast supplies an hourly service that stops here. They go southbound to London Kings Cross calling at Newcastle, Darlington and York en route. In the other direction, there are services to Edinburgh with a few extensions to Aberdeen and one extension per day to each of Glasgow Central , Stirling and Inverness.[7] Cross Country Trains provide a two-hourly service in each direction during the day. Their services are mostly provided to Glasgow Central via Edinburgh northbound, though there is one service to and from Dundee.[8] In the southbound direction there are services to Plymouth via Leeds & Birmingham New Street with a couple of extensions per day to Penzance and also a daily service to Reading.

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 Butt (1995)
  2. ↑ Body, p.35
  3. ↑ Body, p.36
  4. ↑ Pastscape - Berwick-upon-Tweed station Historic England; retrieved 9 February 2017
  5. ↑ "Kelso railway station history (www.border-net.co.uk)". Retrieved 2008-11-21.
  6. ↑ Berwick-upon-Tweed station facilities National Rail Enquiries
  7. ↑ GB National Railway Timetable 2016-17, Table 26
  8. ↑ Table 51 National Rail timetable, December 2016

Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Berwick-upon-Tweed railway station.
Preceding station National Rail Following station
Alnmouth   CrossCountry
Cross Country Network		   Dunbar
Alnmouth   Virgin Trains East Coast
London-Edinburgh stopping services		   Dunbar
Newcastle Central   Virgin Trains East Coast
London-Edinburgh express services		   Edinburgh Waverley
Historical railways
connection to
Newcastle and Berwick Railway		   North British Railway
NBR Main Line
   Burnmouth
Line open; station closed
Tweedmouth
Line open; station closed		   Newcastle and Berwick Railway   connection to
North British Railway
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