Bordesley railway station

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.

Bordesley
The station in 2022 preparing for football fans to arrive.
General information
Location	Bordesley, City of Birmingham England
Coordinates	52.471524°N 1.876624°W / 52.471524; -1.876624
Grid reference	SP084860
Managed by	West Midlands Railway
Transit authority	Transport for West Midlands
Platforms	2
Tracks	3
Other information
Station code	BBS
Fare zone	2
Classification	DfT category F2
History
Opened	1855
Passengers
2019/20	24,180
2020/21	120
2021/22	10,038
2022/23	9,088
2023/24	15,116
Location
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

The station opened in 1855, was rebuilt 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.

History

The station in 1855, shown on the New Survey of the Borough of Birmingham fronted onto High Street Bordesley, with the station building and platforms north of Coventry Road

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 as a four platform station with two island platforms when the line was upgraded to four tracks during 1915. 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.^[1][2]

View SE, towards Leamington and the south in 1962

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.^[3]

The station was downgraded in the 1960s to minimal facilities and services, and one island platform was taken out of use.^[1]

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.^[1]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Small Heath		West Midlands Railway Whitlocks End – Birmingham – Kidderminster Snow Hill lines Very limited service		Birmingham Moor Street

Possible future development

Bordesley station may be closed or relocated if the proposed Bordesley chords are constructed. These chords would connect the Camp Hill line to Birmingham Moor Street station, and would pass right over the site of the present station.^[5]