Lichfield Trent Valley railway station

Main article: Lichfield rail crash

On New Year's Day 1946, the station was the site of a points failure resulting in an express fish train from Fleetwood to London Broad Street being diverted into a stationary local passenger train standing in the up platform loop, resulting in the deaths of 20 people and injury of 21 more. The disaster is one of the very rare cases in the UK that involved a mechanical point interlocking failing to prevent an accident.

Location

The station is located 1 mile north-east from the city-centre and serves the east and north side of the city. It is also being used by commuters from surrounding villages, such as Fradley, Alrewas and Whittington. The station bears the name Trent Valley, as the line on the lower level was opened by the Trent Valley Railway, which ran between Rugby and Stafford. ^[1] The River Trent is found around 6 miles north of Lichfield Trent Valley at Wynchnor Junction, where it is joined by two of its tributaries, the River Tame and the River Mease.

Access to the station is from the A5127. The station serves as a connecting station for travellers wishing to get to Birmingham on the Cross-City Line.

Features

The (High Level) Cross-City Line terminus platform.

The station's low-level platforms are located on the Trent Valley Line section of the West Coast Main Line (WCML). Facilities are basic – the original station buildings on the low-level platforms were demolished in 1969 and replaced with a basic wooden building and shelter. ^{[13] [14]}

Above this, a single platform at a right-angle to the low-level platforms, forms the high-level part of the station. This is Platform 3 and is used as the northern terminus of the Cross-City Line, which passes over the WCML on a bridge. The high-level platform is connected by stairs from the low-level platforms and also serves as a footbridge for passenger access to the southbound low-level platform. Passenger lifts were installed here in June 2020 to allow for step free access between the lower and upper platforms. ^[15] Platform 3 was replaced from 2022 to 2023. In 2022, it was temporarily closed due to safety concerns while repairs took place. The platform then closed from July to December 2023 to allow it to be replaced in a £5.8 million project. ^{[16] [17] [18] [19]}

North of the high-level station, the line continues to Wychnor Junction, where it joins the Cross Country Route towards Derby. This stretch of line remains open for freight trains, empty stock transfers to the nearby Central Rivers TMD and occasional diversions, but no longer has a regular advertised passenger service. One or two trains a day between Birmingham and Derby use this route without stopping instead of going via Tamworth for operational reasons. ^[20] Passenger services used to run north to Alrewas and Burton-on-Trent, but these ceased when the high-level station was closed in 1965. One platform of the high-level station was reopened as the northern terminus of the Cross City Line in 1988 by British Rail, with southbound services to Birmingham, Longbridge and Redditch only. A single track chord connects the low and high level lines at the north of the station, but is not regularly used. ^{[13] [14]}

Services

West Coast Main Line

In the December 2023 timetable services at Lichfield Trent Valley's Low level platforms are as follows:

West Midlands Trains

West Midlands Trains operating under the London Northwestern Railway branding, operates a semi-fast hourly service southbound to London Euston via Nuneaton, Rugby, and Milton Keynes Central and northbound to Crewe via Stafford. This service uses Class 350 EMUs. ^[21] Some peak services call at Northampton.

Avanti West Coast

Avanti West Coast provide additional services during the peak hours and weekends. ^[22]

Mondays to Saturdays:

Northbound, there are:

• 1 evening train per day to Preston via Stafford and Crewe
• 2 trains per day to Holyhead via Stafford (Monday to Saturday only; 1 train on Saturday terminates at Chester)
• 1 train per day to Wrexham General via Stafford (Monday to Friday only)
• 1 train per day to Liverpool Lime Street via Stafford and Runcorn, (set down only Monday to Friday evenings)

Southbound there are:

• 4 trains per day fast to London Euston, 3 in the morning, 1 in the evening (reduced to 3 on Saturdays)

Sundays:

• 3 trains to Liverpool Lime Street via Stafford, Crewe and Runcorn, 2 in the morning, 1 in the evening
• 2 trains to London Euston, 1 fast in the morning, 1 semi-fast in the evening.

Additional services may also call, providing links to Manchester Piccadilly, Lancaster, Glasgow Central, Carlisle in the northbound direction and to London southbound. ^[23] It is envisaged for services from Lichfield Trent Valley to Macclesfield and Manchester Piccadilly to start in the future as part of a possible direct award of the West Coast Partnership franchise. ^[24] As part of the December 2022 timetable changes, it was planned that from December 2023, Lichfield Trent Valley would begin to receive regular off-peak calls on Avanti services to and from Liverpool, along with Tamworth, using Hitachi trains. ^[25] These would be hourly calling at Runcorn. The introduction of this service did not occur as of January 2024 and the Hitachi trains have not yet entered service.

Cross City Line

On the high level platform 3 there is a half-hourly service on Mondays-Saturdays on the Cross-City Line to Bromsgrove, calling at all stations except Duddeston. On Sundays the service typically terminates at Redditch serving all stations en route. All Cross City Line services are operated by West Midlands Trains with local Transport for West Midlands services using Class 323 Electric multiple units with an average journey time to Birmingham New Street of around 41 minutes and to Longbridge of around 1 hour 5 minutes. ^{[26] [27]}

Lichfield Trent Valley
Southward view of the low-level platforms in 2024; the high level platform is on the bridge over the main line
General information
Location	Lichfield, District of Lichfield England
Coordinates	52°41′12″N1°48′01″W / 52.68662°N 1.80024°W / 52.68662; -1.80024
Grid reference	SK136099
Managed by	West Midlands Trains
Platforms	3
Other information
Station code	LTV
Classification	DfT category E
History
Opened	1847
Original company	Trent Valley Railway South Staffordshire Railway
Pre-grouping	London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
15 September 1847	Original station on Trent Valley Railway opened as Lichfield
August 1849	Station on South Staffs Railway opened as Lichfield Trent Valley Junction
3 July 1871	Earlier stations closed; present Lichfield Trent Valley station opened
18 January 1965	High level platforms closed
28 November 1988	High level platform reopened
1 June 2014	Station buildings replaced
Passengers
2018/19	1.094 million
Interchange	0.127 million

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Terminus		West Midlands Railway Lichfield – Four Oaks – Birmingham – Bromsgrove/Redditch Cross-City Line		Lichfield City
Rugeley Trent Valley		London Northwestern Railway Crewe – Nuneaton – London		Tamworth
Stafford		Avanti West Coast Liverpool – London		Tamworth
Runcorn
Stafford		Avanti West Coast Manchester – London		Tamworth or London Euston
Stoke-on-Trent
Stafford		Avanti West Coast North Wales – London		Tamworth
		Avanti West Coast Lancaster/Preston – London
Historical railways
Alrewas Line open, station closed		London and North Western Railway South Staffordshire Railway		Lichfield City Line and station open

References

1. Awdry 1990, p. 107.
2. James 1983, p. 48.
3. Butt 1995, p. 142.
4. James 1983, p. 43.
5. Clayton 1981, p. 27.
6. Awdry 1990, pp. 103, 107.
7. James 1983, p. 59.
8. Clayton 1981, p. 46.
9. James 1983, p. 50.
10. Baker 2007, p. 41, section A2.
11. ex-signalman recalls
12. "Work underway on £900,000 improvements at Lichfield Trent Valley railway station – but still no lift for disabled passengers". Lichfield Mercury. 17 December 2013. Archived from the original on 20 March 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
13. "Lichfield Domestic Buildings". british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
14. Doherty, Andrew. "Lichfield Trent Valley 1847 to present". Rails around Birmingham & the West Midlands.
15. "New lifts finally open at Lichfield's Trent Valley station". Birmingham Mail. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
16. Booth, Janine (27 April 2023). "Learn more about Staffordshire station platform upgrades". RailAdvent. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
17. "Lichfield Trent Valley: Repair works from July". West Midlands Railway. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
18. White, Chloe (9 May 2022). "Disruption at Lichfield Trent Valley due to ongoing platform repair work". RailAdvent. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
19. "Major Christmas upgrades completed at Lichfield Trent Valley". West Midlands Railway. 5 January 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
20. ""Passenger Train Services over Unusual Lines 2019"". Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
21. "Timetable | Crewe to London via Nuneaton | 10 December 2023 to 1 June 2024". London Northwestern Railway. 10 December 2023.
22. "Scheduled timetable book for 10 December 2023 to 1 June 2024" (PDF). Avanti West Coast.
23. GB eNRT May 2022 Edition, Table 65 (Network Rail)
24. "Department for Transport seeking 10 year Direct Award for Avanti West Coast franchise". RailAdvent. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
25. "West Coast Mainline December 2022 Timetable changes by route" (PDF). December 2022.
26. "Train Timetables and Schedules | Lichfield Trent Valley". West Midlands Railway.
27. "Train Times | The Cross City Line | 30 December 2023 until 1 June 2024". West Midlands Railway.

Sources

• Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. London: Guild Publishing. CN 8983.
• Baker, S.K. (April 2007) [1977]. Rail Atlas Great Britain & Ireland (11th ed.). Hersham: Oxford Publishing Co. ISBN   978-0-86093-602-2. 0704/K.
• Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN   1-85260-508-1. R508.
• Clayton, Howard (1981). Cathedral City: A Look at Victorian Lichfield. Abottsford Publishing. ISBN   978-0-9503563-1-0.
• James, Leslie (November 1983). A Chronology of the Construction of Britain's Railways 1778–1855. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN   0-7110-1277-6. BE/1183.
• Whittaker, Nicholas (1995). Platform Souls. London: Gollancz. ISBN   0-575-05981-8.

External links

• Train times and station information for Lichfield Trent Valley railway station from National Rail
• Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Lichfield Trent Valley station