Berwick-upon-Tweed railway station
Berwick-upon-Tweed | |
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A panoramic view of Berwick-upon-Tweed 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°WCoordinates: 55°46′30″N 2°00′40″W / 55.775°N 2.011°W |
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* | |
2010/11 | 0.457 million |
– Interchange | 2,851 |
2011/12 | 0.479 million |
– Interchange | 1,035 |
2012/13 | 0.502 million |
– Interchange | 1,123 |
2013/14 | 0.527 million |
– Interchange | 1,167 |
2014/15 | 0.539 million |
– Interchange | 1,339 |
History | |
Key dates | Opened 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 |
Berwick-upon-Tweed railway station serves the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland, England. It is located on the East Coast Main Line, 335 miles north of London Kings Cross and 55 miles south of Edinburgh Waverley. It is the most northerly railway station in England, being only a few miles from the most northerly point in England.
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 newly built station (the former West Wall of the castle still marks the boundary of the now-defunct station goods yard). 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 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.[4]
For approximately 5 months in 1979, this was the terminal station for services from London Kings 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.[5]
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.[6] 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.[7] 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.
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Alnmouth | CrossCountry Cross Country Network |
Dunbar | ||
Newcastle Central | Virgin Trains East Coast London-Edinburgh/Scotland expresses |
Edinburgh Waverley | ||
Alnmouth | Virgin Trains East Coast London-Edinburgh |
Dunbar or Terminus | ||
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 |
References
Notes
- 1 2 Butt (1995)
- ↑ Body, p.35
- ↑ Body, p.36
- ↑ "Kelso railway station history (www.border-net.co.uk)". Retrieved 2008-11-21.
- ↑ http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations_destinations/BWK.aspx
- ↑ GB National Railway Timetable 2015-16, Table 26
- ↑ GB eNRT 2015-16, Table 51
Sources
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Berwick-upon-Tweed railway station. |
- Anderson, David (July 1996). "Steam Days at Berwick-upon-Tweed". Steam Days. 83: 403–13.
- Anon. (May–June 1966). "Berwick". Perspective East Yorkshire. 15: 359.
- Body, G. (1989). PSL Field Guides - Railways of the Eastern Region Volume 2: Northern operating area (1st ed.). Wellingborough: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0072-1. OCLC 59892452.
- Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199.
- Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0086-1. OCLC 22311137.
- Stoton, Frederick (1909). "Berwick-on-Tweed (North British Railway)". Railway Magazine. 24: 473–8.
- Warn, C. (Spring 1980). "Berwick area railways". Northumbriana. 19: 21–3.
- RAILSCOT on North British Railway
- RAILSCOT on Newcastle and Berwick Railway