Bordesley railway station

Bordesley
The station in 2022 preparing for football fans to arrive.
General information
LocationBordesley, City of Birmingham
England
Coordinates52°28′17″N 1°52′36″W / 52.471524°N 1.876624°W / 52.471524; -1.876624
Grid referenceSP084860
Managed byWest Midlands Railway
Transit authorityTransport for West Midlands
Platforms2
Tracks3
Other information
Station codeBBS
Fare zone2
ClassificationDfT category F2
History
Opened1855
Passengers
2020/21 120
2021/22 10,038
2022/23 9,088
2023/24 15,116
2024/25 29,062
Location
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Bordesley railway station is a small railway station serving the area of Bordesley in Birmingham, England located between Birmingham Moor Street and Small Heath stations. The current minimal level of service at the station is provided by West Midlands Trains services between Whitlocks End and Kidderminster via Birmingham Snow Hill. The station is the least used in the West Midlands county with only 9,088 passengers using it annually.

The station opened in 1855, was resited in 1915, and downgraded in the 1960s.

The surviving single island platform is above street level, as the railway line here is on a viaduct, and lies south of Coventry Road. The only public access is from Coventry Road, directly underneath the railway bridge.[1]

History

Bordesley station was opened in 1855 by the Great Western Railway on their main line from London (Paddington) to Birkenhead (Woodside). It was originally a two platform station, north of Coventry Road, but was rebuilt south of Coventry Road in 1915 as a four platform station with two island platforms when the line was upgraded to four tracks. The station once had extensive cattle sidings adjacent to and on Duddeston Viaduct. This viaduct was intended to link the line from Bordesley to the Derby Line but was left incomplete when it was realised that trains would be unable to serve Birmingham Curzon Street railway station, where rail services then terminated.[2][3]

The station still carries the painted lettering "Bordesley Cattle Station GWR" and "BR(W) Bordesley Cattle Station", from the time when, as part of the Great Western Railway and later British Rail's (Western) region, it was used to bring cattle from the countryside to the Bull Ring markets.[1]

The station was downgraded in the 1960s to minimal facilities and services, and one island platform was taken out of use.[2]

Services

Since May 2007, the station has been served by a single weekly parliamentary train in one direction only. Currently this is the 13:47 train from Whitlocks End to Kidderminster which calls at Bordesley at 14:08 on Saturdays only.[4]

The station primarily serves as a match day stop for nearby St Andrew's stadium of Birmingham City Football Club, and additional services stop there when there are home fixtures.[2]

Preceding station National Rail Following station
West Midlands Railway

Planned closure

Bordesley station is planned to be closed to construct the Bordesley chords. These chords are planned to connect the Camp Hill line to Birmingham Moor Street station, and will pass right over the site of the present station.[5] Network Rail opened a consultation on the station's closure in February 2026, planning to close the station on or after 4th June 2029,[6] coinciding with the nearby planned opening of the new Sports Quarter[7], matchday traffic instead being moved by the planned West Midlands Metro extension.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b "Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Bordesley Station". Railaroundbirmingham.co.uk. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  2. ^ a b c "Bordesley station". Warwickshire Railways. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  3. ^ "Bordesley Station: Looking towards Moor Street station with the down and up relief island platforms on the left and the main down and up island platforms on the right". warwickshirerailways.com.
  4. ^ "Train timetables and schedules | Bordesley". West Midlands Railway.
  5. ^ "£2 billion Midlands Rail Hub plans set out". Modern Railways. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  6. ^ Holden, Michael (12 February 2026). "Birmingham railway station set for permanent closure as consultation opens". RailAdvent. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  7. ^ "Birmingham Sports Quarter - what you need to know". BBC News. 19 July 2025. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  8. ^ "East Birmingham to Solihull West Midlands Metro extension". www.wmca.org.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2026.