Bordesley railway station proposed closure

[thenorthern]

Just seen this tucked away on the Government's website.

Consultation description​

Network Rail (NR) is proposing to close the railway station at Bordesley, Birmingham, on or after 4 June 2029.
NR has developed plans to increase the capacity and connectivity of the Midlands Regional Rail network by providing more services into Birmingham’s Moor Street and Snow Hill stations.
This means 2 new elevated connecting tracks (chords) are required to connect the lines on the existing Bordesley viaduct from Birmingham’s Snow Hill and Moor Street stations to the Camp Hill line

The junction for the chords will be located in the space Bordesley station occupies. To construct the new chords, Bordesley station must be closed and removed.
Network Rail has taken account of the Department for Transport’s (DfT) railways closures guidance.

Bordesley railway station closure

Seeks views on Network Rail's proposal to close Bordesley railway station.

www.gov.uk

Suprisingly they are not planning to close it due to lack of use but rather it's in the way of a planned development. Given that there are a fair few people now using the station I can't see the government allowing it to be closed without a direct replacement. It's not like Norton Bridge or the Sinfin branch.

 

[Sprinter107]

Its only well used on match days. At other times it has just one train per week in one direction on Saturday afternoons. Once the football ground is relocated, it wont be needed on match days.

 

[aron2smith]

A shame they won't develop the area within walking distance of it and provide a proper service. Could be apart of the cross-city services and then would be quite useful. Birmingham just comes across as a right mess! Thought the same with Ardwick in Manchester, some potential there. Places like this were transformed in Inner London decades ago, so why can't the same happen in either Birmingham or Manchester?

 

[Sprinter107]

Its less than a mile into Moor Street. There are a bunch of high frequency bus routes that stop right outside it, and then there are a another bunch of high frequency bus routes about a minutes walk away. There will soon be a tram stop quite near.
When it had a regular off peak service, very few used it. I remember the trains stopping there, and no one would get on or off.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Just seen this tucked away on the Government's website.



Suprisingly they are not planning to close it due to lack of use but rather it's in the way of a planned development. Given that there are a fair few people now using the station I can't see the government allowing it to be closed without a direct replacement. It's not like Norton Bridge or the Sinfin branch.

More generally, how long is it since any other station was actually closed, as opposed to mothballed with no trains at all?

 

[Bletchleyite]

More generally, how long is it since any other station was actually closed, as opposed to mothballed with no trains at all?

Was Etruria (which has been completely removed to slew the track) the last one? I think it might have been.

Technically stations on the Oldham Loop were closed but of course they now have a tram service instead of a train service.

 

[edwin_m]

Technically stations on the Oldham Loop were closed but of course they now have a tram service instead of a train service.

In the case of Mumps and Werneth the "replacement" tram stop is a few hundred metres away, though more convenient for the majority of passengers. I don't recall if any of the Oldham Loop stations required an official closure process.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I don't recall if any of the Oldham Loop stations required an official closure process.

I seem to remember all of them did, yes, as they were losing their rail service even if they were gaining a tram service.

When the tram first started Mumps station was in its original location, by the way, it was moved later. Werneth never received trams, though.

 

[waverley47]

Just seen this tucked away on the Government's website.



Suprisingly they are not planning to close it due to lack of use but rather it's in the way of a planned development. Given that there are a fair few people now using the station I can't see the government allowing it to be closed without a direct replacement. It's not like Norton Bridge or the Sinfin branch.

Unfortunately that planned development is two new chords, four tracking from Bordesley to Moor Street, and a rough doubling of services into and out of Moor St, which would benefit far more people than the station.

A final set of drawings which outline what space can be used to build the chords have been submitted; those plans are not the final design of the chord, but the land that they can use to build the chord goes right through the middle of Bordesley station. As such, the station is going to need to go unless there are an overwhelming number of objections, and a fudge needs to be found.

It's expected the land that is currently the platform will be on a gradient and will be replaced by the large concrete abutment box at the Moot St end of the flyovers, and as such there won't be space for the platforms.

 

[TransportHub]

When the Eastside tram extension opens the Digbeth High Street stop won't be that far away, and any further extension will be closer. Maybe that's why it's not till 2029?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Feb 2026 ==

It's Wikipedia so might be rubbish but
"The proposed route would also pass directly by St Andrew's Stadium, home of Birmingham City FC, intended as an alternative to Bordesley station. Funding was approved in June 2025."

West Midlands Metro - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

In the East Birmingham to Solihull extension section

 

[Cross City]

It's Wikipedia so might be rubbish but
"The proposed route would also pass directly by St Andrew's Stadium, home of Birmingham City FC, intended as an alternative to Bordesley station. Funding was approved in June 2025."

This is correct. It'll be routed from Digbeth High St, Up Adderley St, across the ring road, Up Kingston Road and then through the pedestrianised area popping out on the Coventry Rd next to the football ground. It'll then go up Cattell Rd to the new Sports Quarter.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

More generally, how long is it since any other station was actually closed, as opposed to mothballed with no trains at all?

Ravensthorpe station, perhaps? Closed mid December 2025.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Ravensthorpe station, perhaps? Closed mid December 2025.

I hadn't thought of relocations. Does this means Ravensthorpe went through whatever the statutory closure process is at the moment? The process (as I understand it) which is part of the reason why IBM etc. are currently not-closed-but-not-served.

 

[zwk500]

I hadn't thought of relocations. Does this means Ravensthorpe went through whatever the statutory closure process is at the moment? The process (as I understand it) which is part of the reason why IBM etc. are currently not-closed-but-not-served.

Newhaven Marine was only formally closed in 2020, some 14 years after the station had been declared unsafe for passengers. It only went through the formal process to allow the site to be redeveloped as a freight terminal.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I hadn't thought of relocations. Does this means Ravensthorpe went through whatever the statutory closure process is at the moment?

As I recall, closure ratification notices for Ravensthorpe station were put on display at a number of various stations in the North.

 

[zwk500]

I hadn't thought of relocations. Does this means Ravensthorpe went through whatever the statutory closure process is at the moment? The process (as I understand it) which is part of the reason why IBM etc. are currently not-closed-but-not-served.

Ravensthorpe railway station closure

Seeks views on Network Rail's proposal to close Ravensthorpe railway station.

www.gov.uk

Ravensthorpe did indeed go through the process.

Listed on the DfT's consulation pages are (In reverse date order, by last update) https://www.gov.uk/search/policy-papers-and-consultations?parent=/transport/rail-stations&topic=07160f26-9be6-4c30-93d5-f4017ea21284

Bordesley (Feb 2026) [Demolition to allow building of new chords to Birmingham Moor St]
Ravensthorpe (Sep 2025) [Relocation]
Newhaven Marine (Sep 2020) [demolition and redevelopment to Freight terminal]
Angel Road (Jan 2019) [Replacement by Meridian Water]
Norton Bridge (Nov 2017) [Formal closure as part of Grade-separation project]
Rochester (July 2015) [Relocation]
Folkestone Harbour (May 2014) [Branch and Station closure as redundant]

 

[thenorthern]

If anyone wants to see a list of station closures from the Office of Rail and Road since the Railways Act 2005 here is a link.

Closures | Office of Rail and Road

Our role and responsibilities in the ratification of the closure of railway passenger services, stations and passenger networks.

www.orr.gov.uk

Looking at other stations that have closed in the last full year before the 2003 upgrade Etruria was used by 6,566 passengers while Norton Bridge was used by 4,793 passengers which is a small fraction of Bordesley's 29,062, meaning I think it would be much harder to justify closure compared to other recent closures.

 

[CyrusWuff]

More generally, how long is it since any other station was actually closed, as opposed to mothballed with no trains at all?

Newhaven Marine, and Angel Road before that (albeit that was with Meridian Water opening the following day.)

Before that, Norton Bridge.

 

[Farigiraf]

More generally, how long is it since any other station was actually closed, as opposed to mothballed with no trains at all?

The last station to be closed that wasn't either mothballed beforehand or replaced by a new station nearby was Abercynon North in 2008.

 

[The Planner]

If anyone wants to see a list of station closures from the Office of Rail and Road since the Railways Act 2005 here is a link.

Closures | Office of Rail and Road

Our role and responsibilities in the ratification of the closure of railway passenger services, stations and passenger networks.

www.orr.gov.uk

Looking at other stations that have closed in the last full year before the 2003 upgrade Etruria was used by 6,566 passengers while Norton Bridge was used by 4,793 passengers which is a small fraction of Bordesley's 29,062, meaning I think it would be much harder to justify closure compared to other recent closures.

It will close.

 

[Kite159]

The last station to be closed that wasn't either mothballed beforehand or replaced by a new station nearby was Abercynon North in 2008.

Although you could argue it was replaced by a rebuilt Abercynon (South)

 

[Russel]

Possibly controversial but I'd support a limited program of closures of stations similar to Bordesley, for example Pilning, stations that no longer serve a purpose but we're paying to keep open for no real reason.

 

[The exile]

Possibly controversial but I'd support a limited program of closures of stations similar to Bordesley, for example Pilning, stations that no longer serve a purpose but we're paying to keep open for no real reason.

Thing is, in the grand scheme of things, it costs very little to keep them open. In some cases it'll be the need to spend serious money that administers the coup de grace (or the fact that they're in the way of something more generally beneficial, as in this case) , but until that moment comes it's better to keep them "ticking over" as it'll will be much easier to breathe more life into a station that is still open than to resuscitate one that is completely closed (even if the physical building work required is exactly the same).

 

[TransportHub]

Thing is, in the grand scheme of things, it costs very little to keep them open. In some cases it'll be the need to spend serious money that administers the coup de grace (or the fact that they're in the way of something more generally beneficial, as in this case) , but until that moment comes it's better to keep them "ticking over" as it'll will be much easier to breathe more life into a station that is still open than to resuscitate one that is completely closed (even if the physical building work required is exactly the same).

Exactly, for years Longcross (on the SW Reading line) had a limited service but a film studios and housing cropped up near the station and now it gets 2tph each way! much easier to up the service at a timetable change than reopen a closed station. Especially ones that have lots of trains passing through but limited stoppers (Polesworth springs to mind here!)

 

[Budge1980]

Re Bordesley, there is a Public Notice on the platform at Haddenham & Thame Parkway (HDM) on the Birmingham bound platform regarding the proposed closure. Obviously no trains from HDM (or indeed Chiltern) call at the station so was interested to see it.

 

[Farigiraf]

Although you could argue it was replaced by a rebuilt Abercynon (South)

That's true, in which case I think the last 'proper' closure was the Sinfin branch line.

Possibly controversial but I'd support a limited program of closures of stations similar to Bordesley, for example Pilning, stations that no longer serve a purpose but we're paying to keep open for no real reason.

Many of these do have potential though, it's just not met yet - Pilning and Brigg for example serve actual communities (compared to say Berney Arms) they just happen to be neglected. Better to keep these open even if just on paper than to close them.

 

[Sprinter107]

Re Bordesley, there is a Public Notice on the platform at Haddenham & Thame Parkway (HDM) on the Birmingham bound platform regarding the proposed closure. Obviously no trains from HDM (or indeed Chiltern) call at the station so was interested to see it.

Yes, Chiltern do sometimes call on match days.

 

[thenorthern]

Possibly controversial but I'd support a limited program of closures of stations similar to Bordesley, for example Pilning, stations that no longer serve a purpose but we're paying to keep open for no real reason.

I would agree that we should stop kicking the can down the road with "parliamentary" stations. Not necessarily close them all but some such as Polesworth, Barlaston and Wedgwood it's now been more than 20 years since the West Coast Upgrade happened. Realisticaly the government and the TOCs need to stop kicking the can down the road and decide what to do with these stations.

 

[Farigiraf]

I would agree that we should stop kicking the can down the road with "parliamentary" stations. Not necessarily close them all but some such as Polesworth, Barlaston and Wedgwood it's now been more than 20 years since the West Coast Upgrade happened. Realisticaly the government and the TOCs need to stop kicking the can down the road and decide what to do with these stations.

I just don't really see the point. I guess it makes sense for some mothballed stations, such as IBM, Stanlow & Thornton and Redcar British Steel, as these have been closed for years and serve no settlements. However, among the very low usage stations, most of them are on quiet branch lines where a closure won't make much of a difference, while others only have low usage due to bad service provision rather than lack of demand.

Out of the three you named - Polesworth, Barlaston and Wedgwood - I think both Polesworth and Barlaston would both justify hourly calls if there was enough capacity to stop more trains there. Even so-called basket cases - like Chathill, Acklington, Elton & Orston and Lakenheath would serve a purpose if they were given a car park and a decent train service.

 

[edwin_m]

Even so-called basket cases - like Chathill, Acklington, Elton & Orston and Lakenheath would serve a purpose if they were given a car park and a decent train service.

I'd question that where other stations are close by. Why slow down everyone else's journey to provide a park and ride, when whoever might use it could just drive a bit further and park at a station that also has other reasons to exist?