Polesworth railway station

Polesworth station was opened with the line on 15 September 1847 by the London and North Western Railway.{{cite web |last1=Quick |first1=Michael |title=Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain |url=https://rchs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Railway-Passenger-Stations-ver.-5.03.pdf |publisher=Railway and Canal Historical Society |access-date=28 December 2021 |page=360}}

The line through the station was originally double tracked, but was widened to quadruple tracks between 1901 and 1903. A large gap exists between the tracks in the middle of the station because space was made for a planned island platform, which was never built; however, there was a signal box in the space until it was closed in 1990.{{cite book |last1=Mitchall |first1= Vic |last2=Smith |first2=Keith |title=Rugby to Stafford: The Trent Valley Line |date=2011 |publisher=Middleton Press |isbn=978-1-908174-07-9}}

In the decades before 2004, the station was served only by an infrequent local stopping service which ran between {{rws|Stafford}} and {{rws|Rugby}}. When the Coventry to Nuneaton Line was reopened to passenger trains in 1987, the service was diverted to terminate at {{rws|Coventry}} instead of Rugby. The May 1974 timetable shows six daily trains between Stafford and Rugby in each direction calling at Polesworth. The May 2000 timetable shows the service reduced to five daily trains between Stafford and Coventry.

Between May 2004 and December 2005, Polesworth station was closed due to the modernisation of the West Coast Main Line. During this period, the footbridge to platform 2 was removed by contractors and was not replaced. Thus, since the station reopened, it has received only a single daily parliamentary service by London Northwestern Railway, in the northbound direction only.{{cite web |title=Welcome to the Midlands' 'ghost station' with just one daily train and a passenger every three days |first=Huzna |last=Anjum |url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/welcome-midlands-ghost-station-just-30418839 |publisher=Birmingham Mail |access-date=2 March 2025 |date=23 November 2024}}

In 2005, the Strategic Rail Authority called for Polesworth station to be closed, in its "West Midlands Route Utilisation Strategy", noting that each train that calls there receives on average fewer than one passenger.{{cite web |url=https://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/strategyfinance/strategy/westmidlandsrouteutilisation3520 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2007-12-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070717020602/http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/strategyfinance/strategy/westmidlandsrouteutilisation3520 |archive-date=17 July 2007 |df=dmy-all }}

On 21 July 1947, an express train from {{rws|London Euston}} to {{rws|Liverpool Lime Street}} derailed at speed on a curve around one mile south of the station. It resulted in five deaths and nineteen serious injuries, with another 45 sustaining minor injuries. The inquiry blamed the accident on the poor condition of the track, which was near the end of its life and in need of renewal; a major contributing factor was the backlog of track maintenance and renewals which had built up due to the Second World War.{{cite web |title=MoT Accident Report, 1947 |url=https://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/MoT_Polesworth1947.pdf |publisher=Railways Archive |access-date=28 December 2021}}

Another derailment of a passenger train occurred at the station on 19 November 1951, which overturned the locomotive and caused minor injuries to two people. This was blamed on the driver missing a caution signal and then running over a crossover between the fast and slow lines at excessive speed.{{cite web |title=MoT Accident Report, 1951 |url=https://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/MoT_Polesworth1951.pdf |publisher=Railways Archive |access-date=28 December 2021}}

The station is served by one parliamentary train each day on Mondays-Saturdays, operated by London Northwestern Railway; a {{rws|Northampton}} to {{rws|Crewe}} train calls at 06:48.{{Cite web |title=Train timetables and schedules |work=London Northwestern Railway |date=15 December 2024 |access-date=2 March 2025 |url= https://www.londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk/travel-information/journey-planning/train-timetables-and-schedules}}

{{adjacent stations|noclear=y

|system1=National Rail

|line1=London Northwestern Railway|type1=London - Crewe|left1=Tamworth|right1=Atherstone|note-mid1=Limited service

}}

In July 2019, Warwickshire County Council's Draft Rail Strategy for 2019–2034 proposed that a new station called Polesworth Parkway could be opened at a different location in proximity to the A5 and B5000 roads. If approved, building could go ahead between 2027 and 2033. No mention is made of what could happen to the existing station.{{cite web |title=Warwickshire Rail Strategy 2019–2034 |url=https://ask.warwickshire.gov.uk/communities/draft-warwickshire-rail-strategy-2019-2034/supporting_documents/Warwickshire%20Rail%20Strategy%2020192034%20DRAFT%20for%20consultation.pdf |publisher=Warwickshire County Council |access-date=28 July 2019 |page=25}}

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• [http://warwickshirerailways.com/lms/polesworth.htm Polesworth station entry on Warwickshire Railways]

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{{Warwickshire railway stations|open}}

Category:Railway stations in Warwickshire

Category:DfT Category F2 stations

Category:Former London and North Western Railway stations

Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1847

Category:Railway stations served by West Midlands Trains

Category:Low usage railway stations in the United Kingdom

Category:1847 establishments in England

Category:John William Livock buildings

Category:Polesworth

Category:Railway accidents and incidents in Warwickshire

Category:1947 disasters in the United Kingdom

Category:Stations on the West Coast Main Line