Bournville railway station
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Bournville  | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bournville station looking north, alongside the Worcester and Birmingham Canal. | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Bournville, Birmingham, England | ||||
| Coordinates | 52°25′37″N 1°55′34″W / 52.427°N 1.926°W | ||||
| Grid reference | SP050810 | ||||
| Managed by | West Midlands Railway | ||||
| Transit authority | Transport for West Midlands | ||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | BRV | ||||
| Fare zone | 3 | ||||
| Classification | DfT category D | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 3 April 1876 | Opened as Stirchley Street | ||||
| 1880 | Renamed Stirchley Street and Bournville | ||||
| 1885 | Line doubled | ||||
| 1904 | Renamed Bournville | ||||
| 1978 | Rebuilt | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2019/20 |  1.319 million | ||||
| 2020/21 | 0.200 million | ||||
| 2021/22 |  0.511 million | ||||
| 2022/23 | 0.702 million | ||||
| 2023/24 | 0.862 million | ||||
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Bournville railway station serves the Bournville area of Birmingham, in the West Midlands, England. It is on the Cross-City Line, which runs from Redditch/Bromsgrove to Lichfield Trent Valley, via Birmingham New Street.
History
[edit]
The station opened on 3 April 1876[1] as the temporary southern terminus of the Birmingham West Suburban Railway, while the difficult construction of the junction with the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway was completed at Kings Norton. Stirchley Street opened as a single platform with later added run around loop. In an initial land rental agreement with the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, the station sits above Bournville Lane, as the tracks are on an embankment, shared with the canal.
With the opening of the Cadbury Bournville factory in 1879, the station was renamed Stirchley Street and Bournville in 1880. After an improved through connection was developed to the Birmingham and Gloucester at Kings Norton in 1885, the railway track to Birmingham was doubled along its lines entire length as the line was extended into Birmingham New Street. This necessitated the construction of a southbound platform between the line and the canal, resulting in a narrow platform. In 1904, the station was finally renamed Bournville.[2]
The station did not have goods facilities, but north of its location were the exchange sidings with the 6 miles (9.7 km) of the Bournville Works Railway; south of it there was a Midland Railway developed roundhouse engine shed, which opened in 1895 and closed in 1961. The station area has changed considerably since the Midland Railway days and lost virtually all its original features as the station was completely rebuilt by British Rail in 1978 to the designs of the architect John Broome[3] along with the others on this line when the Cross-City route was commissioned. Prior to the rebuild, the station had only received a limited service (mainly at peak hours) for much of the 1960s and 1970s. The line was electrified in 1993.
Station masters
[edit]- H.G. Clayfield 1876 - 1880[4]
- H. Shaw 1880[4] - 1881[5]
- Frederick Watkin 1881-1883[5] (formerly station master at Somerset Road, later station master at Whatstandwell)
- W.H. Turner 1883[5]-1888[6] (formerly station master at Cray, later station master at Edwalton)
- J. Jones 1888[6] (formerly station master at Cray)
- Albert Christopher East 1889 - 1891[6] (later station master at Freeton)
- Arthur James Dewey 1891[6] - 1929[7]
- H.J. Parker 1930 - 1937[8]
- S. Davies ca. 1940
- William Blackmore 1946-1956[9]
Facilities
[edit]The Cadbury chocolate factory is still adjacent to the station, reflected in the fact that Bournville station is partly painted in Cadbury purple. Station signs include the famous Cadbury logo, a reflection of it providing ideal access for Cadbury World.
Bournville station is equipped with real-time information departure boards. Both platforms have step-free access (by means of a ramp) from the Mary Vale Road entrance. The main station entrance, via the ticket office on Bournville Lane, only provides access to the platforms via steep steps. There is a ticket machine on platform 1 (for trains towards Birmingham New Street) for the benefit of passengers who enter the station via the step-free entrance.[10]
Services
[edit]The station currently only serves trains of the Cross City Line; all services are operated by Class 730 electric multiple units.[11]
West Midlands Railway operates the following off-peak service pattern, in trains per hour (tph):[12]
- 4 tph northbound to Four Oaks, via University, Birmingham New Street and Sutton Coldfield, departing from platform 1; of which:
- 2 tph continue to Lichfield Trent Valley, via Lichfield City, calling at all stations except Duddeston
- 4 tph southbound to Longbridge, via Kings Norton, departing from platform 2; of which:
- 2 tph continue to Redditch, via Alvechurch, calling at all stations
- 2 tph continue to Bromsgrove; of which:
- 1 tph does not call at Barnt Green.
The Sunday service is:
- 2 tph northbound to Lichfield Trent Valley.
- 2 tph southbound to Redditch.
- 1 tph northbound to Birmingham New Street.
- 1 tph southbound to Bromsgrove.
| Preceding station |  National Rail
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selly Oak | West Midlands Railway Lichfield – Four Oaks – Birmingham – Bromsgrove/Redditch Cross-City Line |
Kings Norton | ||
References
[edit]- ^ "Local and District News". Worcester Journal. British Newspaper Archive. 8 April 1876. Retrieved 23 July 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Bournville station". Rail Around Birmingham. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
- ^ Lawrence, David (2018). British Rail Architecture 1948-97. Crecy Publishing Ltd. p. 155. ISBN 9780860936855.
- ^ a b "1871-1879 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 767. 1871. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ^ a b c "1881-1898 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 329. 1881. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ^ a b c d "1881-1898 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 823. 1881. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ^ "Bournville's Growth. Reminiscences of the Stationmaster. Retiring Today". Birmingham Daily Gazette. England. 31 October 1929. Retrieved 25 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Forty Years with L.M.S.". Birmingham Daily Gazette. England. 2 July 1937. Retrieved 25 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "45 years a railman". Birmingham Daily Gazette. England. 29 August 1956. Retrieved 25 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Bournville (BRV)". National Rail. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
- ^ "Class 730 fleet". West Midlands Railway.
- ^ "Train timetables and schedules". West Midlands Railway. 18 May 2025. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
External links
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