LINE PLAN   Stafford   Rugeley Trent Valley   Lichfield Trent Valley   Tamworth   Polesworth   Atherstone   Nuneaton   Bedworth   Coventry   Rugby Wheels: SR. If you're on wheels, see our Easy Access page for explanation.

Stafford offers the rarity of seats on the overbridge, giving passengers a view of the southern approaches while trains run under their feet. A full list of routes covered by Dudley Mall appears at the foot of this page.

STAFFORD station was probably rebuilt as part of the West Coast electrification scheme in the early 1960s, and its challenging concrete just looks dingy and ugly now. That apart, the station is well appointed with a bright concourse and ticket area, plus a travel centre, newsagent and snack bar all to hand. Every platform has waiting rooms at the outer ends of each canopy and - unusually - there are seats on the overbridge to watch the busy procession of trains in comfort (along with a further waiting room over tracks 4 and 5). Stafford (the place) seems small to warrant this provision, though the station obviously has heavy commuter use and may also be a transfer point. The overbridge is 32 steps up, and while it has no public lifts the goods lifts close by can be used with staff assistance. There are timetables, overhead monitors, station plans and local street plans dotted around the station, but don't look for platform 2 - there isn't one. Outside there is pay and display parking at daily rates (£6.00 in May 2007), plus a very small short-stay collection point. Nearby is an Arriva bus stop serving several routes. Wheels: SR. Stafford also serves the Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton and Birmingham line.

RUGELEY TRENT VALLEY is a generous mile to the north of Rugeley, but well signed along the B5013 from the roundabout at the west end of Horse Fair. The railway itself is obvious from a distance but the turn up to the station comes suddenly by the railway bridge. The exit at the same point is positively dangerous, especially for lone drivers. There is little vision either way - a real case of keep checking, hit the accelerator and pray. Though the railway itself is important, the station isn't, with little more than casual parking, a passenger overbridge and a bus shelter. The line out from Birmingham ends here, though trains may continue to Stafford. The station is definitely not pram or wheelchair-friendly. Wheels: SR Rugeley Trent Valley also serves the Rugeley-Birmingham line.

LICHFIELD TRENT VALLEY The access road is a spur off the A38 on the north-east side of the city. The main station serves the Trent Valley line, with the Burton-on-Trent line running on a viaduct across one end. The ticket office is on the Trent Valley platform beside the pay- and-display parking area (totally full when we visited) with two disabled spaces adjacent to it. The Burton platform runs across the viaduct itself, reached by steps (but not lift or ramp) from each of the lower platforms, with the upper platform also serving as the passenger bridge to the far side. The Burton platform itself serves trains in both directions (the thin platform being for railway use). The ticket office includes seating and there are shelters on the other platforms. Wheels: Trent Valley northbound (to Stafford) otherwise no easy access. Lichfield Trent Valley also serves the Lichfield-Birmingham line.

TAMWORTH is a two level station, making it an exchange point. If you're new to it, check your platform carefully for the train you intend catching. There are two ways to get to Birmingham, according to which platform you are on. Tamworth's modern entrance foyer (platform 1) is on the lower level and has a ticket office plus seats for about 20 people. Its partner opposite can only boast a bus shelter. However, stairs and lifts to the upper platforms will take you to quite reasonable waiting rooms on both sides. The upper platforms act as overbridges for the lower ones, but if you are actually changing levels, make sure you take the right steps/lift to reach the platform you want. The station access is directly off the A513 at a roundabout that links Offa Drive to Saxon Drive. There is fee-based parking, but it was very full when we visited. Wheels: SR, BN. Tamworth crosses the Birmingham-Nottingham line. Click here to transfer to our guide for that line.

POLESWORTH station lies on the northern edge of the village. A sign on the right side of Station Road points to Pooley View off to the left, just before the railway overbridge. An immediate right turn into Orchard Close leads you to the station's easy-access northbound platform and parking for a handful of cars. Polesworth is another diminished station, with its buildings gone, its middle platform erased and the middle staircase gap blocked up in the unsheltered steel overbridge. The bridge is the only access to the southbound platform, ruling out wheelchair access, and the only refuge from the weather is a pair of bus shelters with most of the glass replaced with rusting sheets of metal. Passenger services call at roughly three-hour intervals. Wheels: SR.

ATHERSTONE station lies about 100 yards to the northwest of the town centre, just where the eastbound slip road from the A5 comes down to it, and the station is clearly signed. In 1985 Atherstone won an award for the preservation of its station building, but times have moved on. A small car park (about 16 cars) gives level access to the southbound platform, but only a modern high steel overbridge (high to clear the electric train power catenary) will get you to the other side. The station building is now in separate hands - though it does back on to the platform, where it has been treated to mindless graffiti. Two bus shelters are the only theoretical shelter from the elements, but these have been grimly vandalised and are useless. Trains call every 2-3 hours. Wheels: SR.

NUNEATON station lies on the north side of the town centre, just to the west of the A444. It is at the confluence of lines from Birmingham, Stafford, Leicester, Coventry and Rugby and this complexity has created a sizeable station. The buildings have not been 'modernised' (in the stripped to bus shelters sense) and the station thus retains a full set of waiting rooms, refreshments, even a model shop, and extensive platform canopies to give shelter. An overbridge gives normal pedestrian access between platforms, but passenger lifts have been added as well. In 2003-4 the rail approaches were remodelled to allow a new platform (6/7) to be added to relieve the pressure on this busy station as part of the West Coast Main Line modernisation scheme. The new platform is reached by an extension to the passenger overbridge and a new lift down to the new platform. Outside, there is substantial pay and display parking with daily rate (£3.00 in 2003) as the minimum fee. Wheels: BL, SR. Nuneaton also serves the Birmingham-Leicester line. The next station on the Trent Valley Line is Rugby, but there is also a connection from Nuneaton via Bedworth to Coventry (see below) - from where you can also continue to Rugby if you wish.

BEDWORTH station is on Bulkington Road, about 5 minutes from the town centre. It's a very basic station accessed by smooth ramps with strong handrails (but wheelchair users might usefully wear gloves as some of the plants are thorny). Each platform has a rather grim-looking open-front bus shelter with 10 tip-up seats. The station has no ticket office, but there is a car park for about 20 spaces - entrance in Railway Terrace. Wheels: SR.

COVENTRY is one of the major Midlands stations. It has four platform faces and all platforms are protected by long canopies. The platforms are linked by two parallel passenger bridges - one for pedestrians, and one for lift users. Although these seem to be linked, they actually connect only above platform 4. The concourse has the main ticket office, a full range of other services, and leads directly to platform 1 (with steps off to the left to get to the overbridge). Outside, there are buses departing from one face of the building, taxis from another, and car parking (not free) is adjacent. Apart from the unexpected separateness of the overbridges (shown by the thick line on the plan), the station is straightforward for all users, including prams, trolleys and wheelchairs. Wheels: SR. Coventry is part of the Birmingham-Coventry-London line.

RUGBY station lies to the north east of the town centre, and is not quite the station it was in the high tide of railways, but it is still a major station sitting at the junction of the two routes to Stafford (via Birmingham and via the Trent Valley). The original building still has a full range of facilities including waiting areas, snacks, newspapers, and drinking bowls for your dogs, and most of the platform is covered by a canopy. Access is by an underpass from Railway Terrace, emerging as a ramp up to the platform beside the ticket office and travel centre. There is a second underpass heading to the far side of the station, but this was locked when we visited. There is a taxi rank in Railway Terrace, buses call, there is 20 minute short term parking and two car parks for long stays. Since our visit, Rugby station has been undergoing extensive remodelling as part of the general speeding up of train services on the West Coast Route. A new platform came into in use on the south side of the station in 2007 and became the new platform 1. This means that the other platforms will also be renumbered. Two more platforms will be completed in 2008, and a new entrance and ticket office is also in the scheme. Wheels: RS Rugby also serves the Birmingham-Coventry-London line.

Notes and sketches are intended only to give a general impression at the time of our visit, and should not be relied upon for more than that. Dudley Mall accepts no liability for errors, but will correct any significant ones notified to us through dudleymall@dudleymall.co.uk or by post to Dudley Mall, 62 Gervase Drive, Dudley, West Midlands DY1 4AT.

Routes Table:       Stations A-Z All Routes Map Information Page Birmingham New Street Station B'ham - Cheltenham & Bristol B'ham - Coventry & London Euston B'ham - Derby & Nottingham B'ham - Kidderminster & Worcester B'ham - Leamington Spa B'ham - Leicester B'ham - Lichfield B'ham - Redditch & Worcester B'ham - Rugeley B'ham - Stratford-upon-Avon Bristol - Exeter Cheltenham Spa - Cardiff Chester - Hereford & Cardiff Chester - Llandudno Crewe - Shrewsbury Crewe & Stoke - Wolv & Birmingham Derby & Notting'm - Bedford & London Ipswich - Cambridge & Norwich Leamington Spa - London Leamington Spa - Oxford Leicester - Cambridge Manchester - Crewe via M. Airport Manchester - Crewe via Stockport Norwich - Cambridge Norwich - Great Yarmouth Norwich - Lowestoft Norwich - Sheringham Nottingham - Grantham Oxford to Bicester Shrewsbury - Llandrindod Stafford - Rugby via Trent Valley Stoke-on-Trent - Derby       Walsall - Shrewsbury Worcester - Hereford Worcester - Oxford

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