| Henley-in-Arden | |
| Symbol Location: | gb |
| Symbol: | rail |
| Borough: | Henley-in-Arden, Stratford-on-Avon |
| Country: | England |
| Grid Name: | Grid reference |
| Manager: | West Midlands Trains |
| Platforms: | 2 |
| Code: | HNL |
| Classification: | DfT category F1 |
| Footnotes: | Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
| Mapframe: | yes |
| Mapframe-Zoom: | 14 |
Henley-in-Arden is a railway station serving the town of Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire, England. It is on the North Warwickshire Line between Birmingham and Stratford-upon-Avon.
The first railway station at Henley was opened to passengers on 6 June 1894 (and to goods on 2 July 1894) at the end of a short branch line, 3miles in length, running from Rowington Junction, near (then known as Kingswood) on the Great Western Railway (GWR) main line from London to Birmingham. Construction of the branch line began in 1860, but was not finished because of a lack of funding. Construction was begun again in the 1890s by a new company, the Birmingham and Henley in Arden Railway, and completed in June 1894. The branch came under the control of the GWR in 1900.[1] [2]
On 9 December 1907 the North Warwickshire Line was opened for goods traffic; it opened to passengers on 1 July 1908. This connected Henley with a new station, and made the branch line superfluous. A short spur, 32chain in length, was constructed to allow branch line trains to enter the new station, but the old one continued to be used for goods. The branch continued in operation until 1915, when it was closed as a wartime economy measure, and its tracks were taken up to be used for the First World War war effort. Official closure of the 2miles between Rowington Junction and the old station took place on 1 January 1917. The short spur to the old station continued to be used for goods until December 1962.[1]
The current station was opened in 1908 with the North Warwickshire Line, which then was an important main line connecting Birmingham with Cheltenham via Stratford-upon-Avon. The new station was one of the most prestigious on the new line, and was provided with three platforms. One of which was for trains terminating from Birmingham, and for a short period, trains terminating from the old branch line, until it closed.[3]
The station today is unstaffed, and only two of the three original platforms are in use. The original station building and canopy is still extant on one platform, but is now boarded up.[4]
A modern lift-equipped footbridge was installed at the station in 2014, the original footbridge was dismantled and donated to the heritage Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway[5] where it was re-erected at Broadway.
The station is served by hourly local trains in each direction, between Birmingham Snow Hill and Stratford-upon-Avon, run by West Midlands Trains. Most Birmingham trains continue to . On Sundays, trains run to/from on the same hourly frequency.
Several accidents have taken place at both the original and present stations at Henley:[6]