Bescot Stadium railway station

Bescot Stadium railway station serves the Bescot area of Walsall in the West Midlands of England. (The station is located in the borough of Sandwell, although it can only be reached from within the borough of Walsall.) The station, and all trains serving it are operated by West Midlands Railway with some services being operated by London Northwestern Railway.

Bescot Stadium
LocationBescot, Sandwell
England
Coordinates52.562°N 1.991°W / 52.562; -1.991
Grid referenceSP007961
Managed byWest Midlands Railway
Transit authorityTransport for West Midlands
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeBSC
Fare zone4
ClassificationDfT category E
History
Original companyLondon and North Western Railway
Pre-groupingLondon and North Western Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1 May 1850Opened as Bescot
August 1850Renamed Bescot Junction
16 August 1990Renamed Bescot Stadium
2007Rebuilt
Passengers
2015/16 0.156 million
2016/17 0.159 million
2017/18 0.153 million
2018/19 0.175 million
2019/20 0.172 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

An earlier station was opened nearby as Bescot Bridge[1]:19 in 1837 by the Grand Junction Railway but was later renamed Wood Green (Old Bescot).[2]

A station was subsequently opened as Bescot on the current site on 1 May 1850, it was renamed to Bescot Junction in August 1850.[2]

The line through the station was electrified in 1966 as part of the London Midland Region's electrification programme.[3] The actual energization of the line from Coventry to Walsall through Aston took place on 15 August 1966.[4]

It was renamed in Bescot Stadium in 1990 in order to serve Bescot Stadium, the newly built home of Walsall Football Club.

The station was re-opened on 11 September 2007 after a short period where it was closed for refurbishment. Whilst closed, no services called at the station, but trains continued to pass through.

Bescot station in 1962

Services

Bescot Stadium station is on the Walsall Line between Birmingham New Street and Walsall. The typical Monday-Saturday daytime service sees three trains per hour in each direction. Southbound via Birmingham New Street there is one service per hour to London Euston and two stopping services per hour to Wolverhampton; with some services extended to/from Shrewsbury. Northbound, three trains per hour operate to Walsall with one continuing to Rugeley Trent Valley.[5]

On Sundays and during the evenings, services are reduced.

Services are usually operated by Class 350 EMU or Class 323 EMU. Services to/from Shrewsbury are operated using Class 170 DMU.

The station footbridge offers views of Bescot Yard, and its freight movements. Bescot TMD is adjacent to the station.

Access to the station is via Bescot Crescent (where there is a car park) and then a footpath which passes underneath the M6 motorway and over the River Tame, then an overbridge.

London Midland proposed the closure of the ticket office, but this request was overruled in September 2012 by the Transport Minister.[6]

References
  1. Drake, James (1838). Drake’s Road Book of the Grand Junction Railway (1838). Moorland Reprints. ISBN 0903485257.
  2. Quick, Michael (2019) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (PDF) (5th ed.). Railway and Canal Historical Society. p. 71.
  3. Nock, O.S. (1966). Britain's New Railway. London: Ian Allan. pp. 147–159.
  4. Gillham, J.C. (1988). The Age of the Electric Train - Electric trains in Britain since 1883. Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 169.
  5. "West Midlands Railway - Timetable - Chase Line" (PDF).
  6. "London Midland ticket office closure plans overruled"BBC News article 17 September 2012
Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
West Midlands Railway
West Midlands Railway
Wolverhampton-Walsall
London Northwestern Railway
London-Rugeley via Birmingham
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