Leamington Spa railway station

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox station Leamington Spa railway station serves the town of Leamington Spa, in Warwickshire, England. It is situated on Old Warwick Road, towards the southern edge of the town centre. It is a major stop on the Chiltern Main Line between London and Birmingham, and is the southern terminus of a branch line to Coventry.

History

1898 map of Leamington showing the position of Milverton, Avenue and the GWR stations

The first station at the site, under the name Leamington was opened by the Great Western Railway (GWR) on its new main line between Birmingham, Oxford and London in 1852.<ref name="WRLSS">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was later renamed Leamington Spa in 1913.<ref name ="Butt"/>

This was not the first station in Leamington; the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) had reached the town eight years earlier in 1844, with a branch line from Coventry. That line, however, terminated about Template:Convert from the town centre, at Milverton station. The opening of the GWR line compelled the LNWR to extend their Coventry branch into the centre of Leamington, and join it end-on to their new branch to Rugby, and in 1854 they opened a new station directly alongside the GWR station known as Leamington Spa (Avenue).<ref name="Hurst">Template:Cite book</ref> In 1864, a connection was made between the GWR and LNWR lines at Leamington, which was mainly used to exchange goods traffic.<ref name="WRLSS"/>

James G. Batterson, the founder of American insurance giant The Travelers Companies, claimed that he first became aware of accident insurance in 1859 when he bought a railway ticket from this station to London which included accidental death insurance up to the amount of £1,000.<ref name="Trav40">Template:Cite journal</ref>

In the 1930s, GWR took advantage of a government loan guarantee scheme to fund improvements to their railway network; one of these improvements was the complete rebuilding between 1937 and 1939 of their station at Leamington in the then popular Art Deco style, to the designs of the GWR's chief architect Percy Emerson Culverhouse.<ref name="WRLSS"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="LHG">Template:Cite book</ref>

The station came under the control of the Western Region of British Railways in 1948, which renamed the station Leamington Spa (General) in 1950, before reverting to Leamington Spa in 1968.<ref name ="Butt"/><ref name="LHG"/> In 1965, British Rail (BR) closed down the adjacent Leamington Spa (Avenue) station and the branch to Rugby; it diverted the Coventry branch into the ex-GWR station via a new connection. Prior to this, there had only been sidings connecting the Coventry line to the ex-GWR line, used for the exchange of goods wagons. BR also removed passenger services from the Coventry branch at the same time, and closed all of the intermediate stations, leaving it open for freight trains only. This lasted until 1977, when BR resumed passenger trains between Leamington and Coventry.<ref name="Hurst"/>

In 1996, Chiltern Railways took over the running of the station and the London to Birmingham services, upon the privatisation of British Rail.<ref name="Lhist">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2011, the two waiting rooms were restored and refurbished as part of £395,000 improvements that also include 80 new parking spaces at the front of the station and improved disabled access.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The station building and platform structures became grade II listed buildings in 2003.<ref>Template:NHLE</ref>

• 
  Grade II listed station building
• 
  Reproduction Art Deco clock in the station booking hall
• 
  Station sign

The station today

Routes

Leamington Spa lies on the Chiltern Main Line, which connects Template:Rws and Birmingham (Moor Street and Snow Hill). To the north-west of Leamington Spa are Template:Rws and Template:Rws, with a branch to Template:Rws diverging at Hatton, Template:Convert from Leamington. To the south-east of Leamington Spa is Template:Rws, at which trains also branch to the Cherwell Valley Line for service to Template:Rws, Template:Rws, and points south.

Leamington Spa is also the southern end of the Coventry–Leamington line, along which trains proceed north to Template:Rws and Template:Rws. At Coventry passengers can change for West Coast Main Line service south towards Template:Rws or north towards Template:Rws.

Layout

Leamington station layout, showing the main building and platforms

The present Art Deco-style station, which dates from immediately prior to the Second World War having been rebuilt comprehensively between 1937 and 1939, has four platforms which are numbered one to four from south to north:

• Platforms one and four are west-facing bays, used only by local trains to and from Birmingham Snow Hill, Stratford-upon-Avon or Template:Rws starting or terminating at Leamington
• Platforms two and three are through platforms: platform two is used by services to Stratford-upon-Avon, Birmingham Snow Hill or Coventry, Birmingham New Street and beyond; platform three is for departures to Banbury and London Marylebone or Reading. Two central lines allow freight trains or other non-stop services to pass through the station when platforms two and three are occupied.

Services

A West Midlands Trains service to Coventry, a CrossCountry service to Reading and a Chiltern Railways service to Birmingham

The station is served by three train operating companies:

Chiltern Railways

Chiltern Railways services run every half hour between London Marylebone and Birmingham Moor Street (limited stop, alternate trains continue through to Birmingham Snow Hill, with 3 evening trains extending to Template:Rws); further trains, at approximately two-hourly intervals, travel from here to Template:Rws and to Moor Street (stopping service).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Until the May 2023 timetable change,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> a number of the Birmingham trains started from Template:Stnlnk in the mornings and terminated there in the evenings, whilst a limited through service ran between Marylebone and Stratford-upon-Avon.<ref>GB eNRT December 2015 Edition, Tables 71 & 115</ref>

On Sundays, the frequency of trains is about half of that indicated above northbound to Moor Street and southbound to Marylebone, with hourly services between the two. An additional two services to Stourbridge via Birmingham Snow Hill run in the evening peak. The service starting from here to Stratford-upon-Avon remains two-hourly.

CrossCountry

One long-distance train per hour stops in each direction. Northbound services go to Template:Stn, via Coventry, Template:Rws, Birmingham New Street, Template:Rws, Template:Rws and Template:Rws; southbound to Template:Rws, via Banbury, Oxford, Reading, Template:Rws and Template:Rws.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

West Midlands Railway

West Midlands Railway operate an hourly local service to Template:Rws via Template:Rws, Template:Rws and Template:Rws.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Since 2023 this service has been branded as the Elephant & Bear Line.<ref name="NNN">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

WMR also operates an early morning service on Mondays to Saturdays to Template:Rws, via Birmingham Snow Hill, Birmingham Moor Street, Template:Stnlnk, Template:Rws and Template:Rws at the beginning of the day and from there in the evening. An additional limited stop service terminates at Snow Hill on Saturday mornings only.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Former motive power depots

The London and Birmingham Railway opened a motive power depot on the west side of the line at their Milverton station in 1844. It was replaced by a larger engine shed nearby in 1881, which was known as Warwick (Milverton). This depot closed on 17 November 1958 and was demolished.<ref name="Paul Smith 1999 p.154">Roger Griffiths and Paul Smith, The directory of British engine sheds:1 (Oxford Publishing Co., 1999), p.154. Template:ISBN.</ref> Locomotives were then serviced at the former Great Western Railway depot at Leamington Spa.

The Great Western Railway opened a motive power depot on the east side of the line south of Leamington Spa General Station in 1906. This was closed by British Railways on 14 June 1965 and was demolished.<ref name="Paul Smith 1999 p.154"/>

External links

• Solihull and Leamington Rail Users Association – representing the interests and views of local rail users
• Historical photographs of the GWR Leamington Spa station