Hednesford railway station

Hednesford railway station serves the market town of Hednesford in Staffordshire, England. The station forms a part of the Chase Line and is operated by West Midlands Railway.

Hednesford
General information
Location	Hednesford, Cannock Chase England
Coordinates	52.710°N 2.002°W / 52.710; -2.002
Grid reference	SJ999124
Managed by	West Midlands Railway
Line(s)	Chase Line
Platforms	2
Tracks	2
Construction
Parking	Free (58 spaces)
Accessible	Both platforms
Other information
Status	Unstaffed
Station code	HNF
Fare zone	West Midlands Zone 5
Classification	DfT category F1
Website	https://www.westmidlandsrailway.co.uk/stations/hednesford
History
Opened	1859, 10 April 1989 (1989-04-10) (reopened to passengers)
Closed	18 January 1965 (1965-01-18) (to passengers), 6 September 1965 (1965-09-06) (to goods traffic)
Electrified	December 2018
Original company	Cannock Mineral Railway
Passengers
2019/20	0.175 million
2020/21	32,838
2021/22	0.153 million
2022/23	0.192 million
2023/24	0.254 million
Location
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

v t e Chase Line
Legend
Trent Valley line to Stafford │ to Rugby Rugeley Trent Valley Rugeley B Power Station Rugeley Town Brindley Heath Hednesford Cannock Mineral Railway Cannock  M6 Toll  Wyrley and Cheslyn Hay Landywood limit of TfWM area Bloxwich North Bloxwich Birchills South Staffordshire line Sutton Park line Wolverhampton and Walsall Railway Walsall Walsall– Wolverhampton line South Staffordshire line  M6  Walsall–Wolverhampton line to Wolverhampton Bescot Stadium Bescot TMD Tame Bridge Parkway Tame Valley Canal  M5  Newton Road Hamstead Perry Barr Junctions Handsworth Wood Perry Barr Soho Road Witton West Midlands Metro  A38(M)  Snow Hill Lines Cross-City Line Rugby–Birmingham– Stafford line Soho Junctions Cross-City Line Aston Birmingham New Street to Stechford New Street South Tunnels Duddeston Proof House Junction Rugby–Birmingham– Stafford line TfWM free parking Other car parking

History

The station was opened in 1859 on the Cannock Mineral Railway's line from Cannock to Rugeley Town and taken over by the London and North Western Railway a decade later^[1] (though the LNWR had worked the line from the outset). It closed to passengers on 18 January 1965 and to goods traffic on 6 September the same year as a result of the Beeching Axe, though the line that passed through remained in use for goods & mineral traffic, serving the power station at Rugeley and various local collieries.

The station reopened in 1989 by British Rail, as the terminus of the first stage of the reopening of the Chase Line from Walsall to passenger trains.^[2] At first, there was just a single platform (the current Walsall-bound one); however when services were extended to Rugeley Town in 1997, a second platform was added.^[3]

Facilities

There is no ticket office, so the Penalty fare scheme operates at the station, and passengers must buy a ticket from the machines at the station to avoid paying the £100 surcharge.^[4] Hednesford's ticket machine is card-only,^{[citation needed]} so passengers who only have cash must instead present themselves to the onboard conductor at the earliest opportunity.^[4]

The station features a 58-space free car park located on Anglesey Street.^[5]

Hednesford is the only station not located in the West Midlands to be part of the West Midlands Trains concessionary travel zone, situated in Zone 5 of the West Midlands railway network. It has been in place since the introduction of the scheme but is the only station to operate this scheme, as similar stations Cannock, Landywood, and Rugeley Town do not operate in the same zone.^[6]

Services

Services towards Birmingham International can usually be accessed from platform 1 and services towards Rugeley Trent Valley can usually be accessed from platform 2.

Most services are operated by Class 730 electric trains and journey times are typically 19 minutes to Walsall and 42 minutes to Birmingham New Street.

Some services to/from London Euston used to serve the station. Some services towards Birmingham New Street or Walsall start or terminate here.

Frequency

From Monday-Saturday throughout the daytime, the station typically sees 2 trains-per-hour in both directions. On Sundays this is reduced to just 1 train-per-hour in both directions.

Service Frequency According to the 2 June - 14 December 2024 Timetable^[7]

	Platform 1				Platform 2
Days	Start	End	tph	Destination	Start	End	tph	Destination
Monday-Friday	06:12	23:10	2	Birmingham International	06:08	00:09	2	Rugeley Trent Valley
Monday-Saturday	06:12	23:03	2	Birmingham International	06:05	23:12	2	Rugeley Trent Valley
Sunday	10:00	23:00	1	Birmingham International	09:26	23:25	1	Rugeley Trent Valley

Connections

Connections to Stafford, Crewe, London and stations on the Trent Valley Line are available at Rugeley Trent Valley along with connections to stations along the West Coast Main Line from Birmingham New Street.

History

Some services to/from London Euston used to serve the station. Some services towards Birmingham New Street or Walsall start or terminate here.

Bus Connections

Hednesford no longer has a bus station, although there is an interchange on Victoria Street acting as a hub to locations such as Cannock, Rugeley, Lichfield and Pye Green. All services are run by Chaserider and Select Bus. No buses operate on Sunday.