Hereford railway station

For a history of railways in Hereford, see Railways in Hereford.

Hereford railway station serves the city of Hereford, in Herefordshire, England. Managed by Transport for Wales, it lies on the Welsh Marches Line, between Leominster and Abergavenny; it is also the western terminus of the Cotswold Line, for services to Birmingham New Street. The station has four platforms for passenger trains and two additional relief lines for goods services.

Hereford
General information
Location	Hereford, Herefordshire England
Coordinates	52°03′41″N 2°42′30″W
Grid reference	SO515405
Managed by	Transport for Wales
Platforms	4
Other information
Station code	HFD
Classification	DfT category C1
History
Original company	Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway
Pre-grouping	Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway
Post-grouping	Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway
Key dates
6 December 1853 (1853-12-06)	Opened as Hereford Barr's Court
1893	Renamed Hereford
Passengers
2020/21	0.500 million
Interchange	7,585
2021/22	1.003 million
Interchange	31,474
2022/23	1.117 million
Interchange	38,364
2023/24	1.161 million
Interchange	43,926
2024/25	1.230 million
Interchange	45,539
Location
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

2-6-0 on pilot duty in 1959

v t e Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway
Legend
Welsh Marches line (S&HR) Cotswold Line (OW&WR) Hereford, Hay & Brecon Rly Hereford Barrs Court Hereford Barton River Wye Rotherwas Junction ROF Rotherwas Welsh Marches line NA&HR) Dinedor tunnel Holme Lacy Ballingham tunnel Ballingham Ballingham Bridge across the River Wye Fawley Tunnel Fawley River Wye Backney Halt River Wye Ross-on-Wye Ross and Monmouth Railway Weston under Penyard Halt Mitcheldean Road & Forest of Dean Junction Railway Mitcheldean Road Lea Line tunnel Longhope Blaisdon Halt Gloucester–Newport line (SWR) Grange Court Grange Court Junction Gloucester–Newport line (G&DFR)

There were originally two stations in Hereford: Barton and Barrs Court.

Hereford Barton lay to the west of the city^{[nb 1]} and had been built by the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway (NA&HR). However, Barton was small and in a cramped location; it was not big enough nor could it be enlarged for the greater traffic that would entail from the arrival of the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway from the north.

The resolution was an agreement to create a new joint railway station to the north-east of the city, called Hereford Barrs Court. This would be a joint standard gauge/broad gauge station, sponsored jointly by the standard-gauge Shrewsbury & Hereford Railway (S&HR) and the GWR-sponsored Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway (HR&GR). When the Midland Railway sponsored Hereford, Hay and Brecon Railway entered the town, they were given access rights, as was the later Worcester and Hereford Railway,^[1] which joined the S&HR's route to the north of the city at Shelwick Junction.

In the civil engineering preparation for this, and as the only company planning to enter the town from the north, the S&HR built a brick works north of Dinmore Hill in 1849, which was fed by clay from the earthworks of digging a tunnel south underneath it. In 1852, 2+1⁄2 years later and having used 3+1⁄4 million bricks the tunnel was completed, freight traffic started in July 1852 to provide cash flow. However, construction continued, with the massive earthworks for a cutting to enter Barrs Court started in August 1852.^[1]

The plan was to jointly open both stations between all four railways on 6 December 1853, with what was planned to be a Railway Fete. However, the first S&HR passenger service arrived at Barrs Court on Saturday 28 October, which carried the chairman Mr Ormsby-Gore and engineer Thomas Brassey.^[1] As the negotiations and financing of the joint station had taken so long, they arrived at an incomplete facility.^[2] Whilst completion of the station would follow shortly after, significant rebuilding would occur later in the nineteenth century, when the current Victorian Gothic buildings, designed by R.E. Johnson,^[3] would be constructed.^[4] The station opened on 6 December 1853 and the name was simplified to Hereford in 1893, on the closure of Barton station to passengers.^[5]

In 1866, a line connecting the NA&HR's route to the south of the city, branching off from the line to Barton at Redhill and joining with the HR&GR's route into Barrs Court station from the south, rendered Barton station obsolete, as through north–south services could now utilise the larger and better equipped Barrs Court station. However, Barton clung onto passenger services until January 1893,^[6] the last services to use it being Midland Railway trains to Hay-on-Wye and Brecon Free Street. It would remain open as a goods-only station until 1979; the route through it from north to south was used as a goods-only line to avoid Barrs Court, also remained until approximately this time.^{[disputed (for: Its signalboxes had all closed in 1966)  – discuss]}

The former branches to Brecon via Hay-on-Wye and Gloucester both closed to passenger traffic in the early 1960s; Brecon services were withdrawn from 31 December 1962,^[7] whilst the Gloucester via Ross-on-Wye line fell victim to the Beeching Axe on 2 November 1964.^[8]

The station was designated a Grade II listed building in 1973.^[9]

Facilities

The ticket hall in 2018

The station is staffed seven days a week, with a ticket office, café, waiting rooms and self-service ticket machines available. There is a 146-space car park and 50 spaces for bicycles.^[10]

It was accorded Secure Station status in 2004^[11] and automated ticket barriers have been in operation since 28 February 2006.^[4]

Services

v t e Railways in Hereford
Legend
Welsh Marches line (S&HR) Cotswold Line (OW&WR) Hereford, Hay & Brecon Rly Hereford Barrs Court Hereford Barton River Wye Rotherwas Junction Welsh Marches line (NA&HR) Hereford, Ross & Gloucester Rly

Hereford is served by three train operating companies:

• Great Western Railway operates 4 tpd (trains per day) to London Paddington, via Worcester Foregate Street^[12]
• Transport for Wales operates 1 tph (trains per hour) between Manchester Piccadilly and Cardiff Central, of which 1 tp2h runs further to Carmarthen. In addition, 1 tp2h runs between Cardiff Central and Holyhead^[13]
• West Midlands Trains runs 1 tph to Birmingham New Street.^[14]

On Sundays, the service to Birmingham New Street is reduced to 1 tp2h, the service to London Paddington is reduced to 3 tpd and the service to Holyhead is reduced to 2 tpd.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Abergavenny		Transport for Wales Welsh Marches line		Leominster
Abergavenny		Transport for Wales Premier Service		Ludlow
Terminus		West Midlands Railway Hereford to Birmingham		Ledbury
		West Midlands Railway Hereford to Dorridge
		Great Western Railway Cotswold Line
	Historical railways
Holme Lacy		Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway British Railways		Terminus

See also

• Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal

Notes

1. Co-ordinates for the former site of Barton station are: 52.0563°N 2.7245°W / 52.0563; -2.7245