Nuneaton railway station

Nuneaton railway station serves the market town of Nuneaton, in Warwickshire, England; it is managed by West Midlands Trains. The station is served by three railway lines: the Trent Valley section of the West Coast Main Line (WCML), the Birmingham-Leicester-Peterborough line and the Coventry to Nuneaton branch line. During the period 1924–1969, it was known as Nuneaton Trent Valley, to distinguish it from the now closed Nuneaton Abbey Street station. The station lies on the north-eastern edge of Nuneaton town centre, just outside the ring road.

History

19th and 20th century

thumb|left|Photograph of the original Nuneaton station of 1847. This was rebuilt in 1873 and again in 1915

The original Nuneaton station was opened on 15 September 1847, when the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) opened the Trent Valley Line; the branch line to Coventry opened in 1850. The original station, like many others on the line, had been designed by John William Livock. A simple two platform structure, it became inadequate to cope with the growing traffic, and was rebuilt on a larger scale with extra platforms in 1873. It was rebuilt and enlarged again in 1915, with its current buildings designed by Reginald Wynn Owen; the most prominent feature of which is the clock tower.

thumb|upright|left|The station clock tower, dating from 1915

In 1873, another line had opened: the Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway, to link Ashby-de-la-Zouch and Coalville in order to access the large coal reserves located there. The line was closed to passengers in 1931, but remained open for goods until 1971.

In November 2012, the 0.9 mile Nuneaton North Chord opened to the north of the station. The chord allows freight trains approaching Nuneaton from Felixstowe, via the Birmingham–Peterborough line, to join the northbound WCML after crossing the flyover, allowing them to avoid conflicts with southbound main line trains.

thumb|Map showing the railways around Nuneaton

Accident in 1975

In the early hours of 6 June 1975, an overnight sleeper train from London to derailed and crashed just south of Nuneaton station, killing six people and injuring 38. It was caused when the train ran onto a length of temporary track with a speed restriction at too high a speed. Lighting equipment illuminating a board giving advance warning of the speed restriction failed; this led the driver to wrongly conclude that it had been lifted, so he failed to slow down.

One of the Class 86 locomotives mounted the platform, causing damage to the station. A plaque commemorating the victims of the crash was unveiled at the station in August 2015.

Motive Power depot

thumb|right|The locomotive yard at Nuneaton depot in 1953

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. This was an important freight depot for the WCML 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.

Layout and facilities

The station has a total of seven through platforms, consisting of one side platform (platform 1) on the western side of the station and three island platforms containing platforms 2 to 7; all are linked by a footbridge which has full lift access.

The main station building is adjacent to platform one and contains the main facilities, including a staffed ticket office and a cafe shop.

Services

thumb|A [[Virgin Trains Class 390 Pendolino arrives at the platform]]

West Coast Main Line

West Midlands Trains, under its London Northwestern Railway brand, operates an hourly service: southbound to , via and , and northbound to , calling at all stations except (other than one daily service).

Avanti West Coast also operates an hourly service: southbound to London Euston non-stop and northbound to , via and .

Lumo services from London Euston to Stirling call here, operated by Class 222s.

Birmingham–Peterborough line

CrossCountry operates two trains per hour: westbound to and eastbound to ; one of these continues to , via and . All services on this line use platforms 6 and 7.

Elephant & Bear Line

West Midlands Trains also provides an hourly service southbound to , via , and ; this normally uses platform 1. Since 2023, this route has been branded as the Elephant & Bear Line.

References

External links

Historical photographs of Nuneaton station at warwickshirerailways.com