Berney Arms railway station
Encyclopedia
Berney Arms railway station is a halt serving the remote settlement of Berney Arms
in the Halvergate Marshes
, in the English
county
of Norfolk
.
The station, which is 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from the nearest road, is the most remote station in Norfolk. It is accessible only by rail, by boat, or on foot.
Trains stop at Berney Arms only on request
, and only during daylight hours as there is no lighting at the station, which is unstaffed.
The station was adopted in 2010 as part of the 'station adoption scheme'.
wanted to close the line between Reedham
and Great Yarmouth
, with the associated closure of the station. Local opposition resulted in the plan being withdrawn.
The former Berney Arms signal box
is preserved at Mangapps Railway Museum
, Burnham on Crouch, Essex
.
The line is promoted as part of the Wherry Lines
service operated by National Express East Anglia. Services use Class 153
, Class 156
or Class 170 diesel multiple unit
s.
Monday - Friday Services
2 trains per day (tpd) to Great Yarmouth(10mins)
2tpd to Norwich(21mins)
Saturday Services
3tpd to Great Yarmouth
2tpd to Norwich
Sunday Services
5tpd to Great Yarmouth
5tpd to Norwich
Berney Arms sees 19 trains per week to either Great Yarmouth or Norwich. No other passenger trains use this line, other trains to Great Yarmouth travel via Lingwood and Acle.
and Breydon Water
nature reserves are located in the vicinity of the station. The public house
, from which the station takes its name, is still functional - normally daily in the summer, and only at weekends in the winter. The pub is about 600 metres from the station.
A post office
at Berney Arms Station opened in 1898 but closed in 1967.
Berney Arms
Berney Arms is a place on the north bank of the River Yare, close to Breydon Water in the English county of Norfolk. It is part of the civil parish of Reedham, is administered by the district of Broadland and lies within The Broads National Park...
in the Halvergate Marshes
Halvergate Marshes
The Halvergate Marshes are marshes situated south of the River Bure on the Norfolk Broads in Norfolk, England, United Kingdom.Halvergate Marshes were an estuary in Roman times. Around 400 years ago the land was drained and converted to grazing marsh...
, in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
of Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
.
The station, which is 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from the nearest road, is the most remote station in Norfolk. It is accessible only by rail, by boat, or on foot.
Trains stop at Berney Arms only on request
Request stop
In public transport, a request stop or flag stop describes a stopping point at which trains or buses stop only on an as-need or request basis; that is, only if there are passengers to be picked up or dropped off. In this way, infrequently used stopping points can be served efficiently.Trains save...
, and only during daylight hours as there is no lighting at the station, which is unstaffed.
The station was adopted in 2010 as part of the 'station adoption scheme'.
History
The station was opened in 1844 as part of the Yarmouth and Norwich Railway. Local landowner Thomas Trench Berney sold the land to the railway company on condition that a station be built. A few years later, the railway company stopped serving the station, saying that there had been no agreement to actually serve the railway station that they agreed to build. After lengthy legal proceedings, it was agreed to serve the station in perpetuity. Or at least this is the accepted "story". There is, however, no proof of any legally binding obligation to keep the station open. During the 1980s British RailBritish Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
wanted to close the line between Reedham
Reedham, Norfolk
Reedham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk and within The Broads. It is situated on the north bank of the River Yare, some east of the city of Norwich, south-west of the town of Great Yarmouth and the same distance north-west of the Suffolk town of Lowestoft.The Romans...
and Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...
, with the associated closure of the station. Local opposition resulted in the plan being withdrawn.
The former Berney Arms signal box
Signal box
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...
is preserved at Mangapps Railway Museum
Mangapps Railway Museum
The Mangapps Railway Museum is a heritage railway located near Burnham-on-Crouch in Essex. The stretch of standard gauge track and museum are owned and operated by the Jolly family assisted by a dedicated staff of volunteers...
, Burnham on Crouch, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
.
Services
According to one source, the number of trains serving Berney Arms has been much reduced over the last fifty years. In April 1961, there were a minimum of eleven services daily. The basic winter service now has just three daily stops from Monday to Saturday. In summer, with longer daylight hours, one extra stop is usually scheduled in the early evening. Trains are more frequent on Sundays all year round.The line is promoted as part of the Wherry Lines
Wherry Lines
The Wherry Lines are railway lines in England, from Norwich to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. These lines pass through The Broads. The line is part of the Network Rail Strategic Route 7, SRS 07.11 and is classified as a rural line...
service operated by National Express East Anglia. Services use Class 153
British Rail Class 153
The British Rail Class 153 Super Sprinter is a single car diesel multiple unit converted from British Rail Class 155s.-Description:These units were originally built as two-car Class 155 units by British Leyland from 1987–88, but were converted by Hunslet-Barclay at Kilmarnock from 1991-92...
, Class 156
British Rail Class 156
The British Rail Class 156 Super Sprinter is a diesel multiple-unit train . 114 of these units were built from 1987 to 1989 by Metro-Cammell at its Washwood Heath Works in Birmingham...
or Class 170 diesel multiple unit
Diesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...
s.
Monday - Friday Services
2 trains per day (tpd) to Great Yarmouth(10mins)
2tpd to Norwich(21mins)
Saturday Services
3tpd to Great Yarmouth
2tpd to Norwich
Sunday Services
5tpd to Great Yarmouth
5tpd to Norwich
Berney Arms sees 19 trains per week to either Great Yarmouth or Norwich. No other passenger trains use this line, other trains to Great Yarmouth travel via Lingwood and Acle.
Locality
RSPB Berney MarshesRSPB Berney Marshes
Berney Marshes RSPB reserve is a nature reserve in the care of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds . It is situated south of the River Bure in Norfolk, England, within The Broads National Park.It is part of the Halvergate Marshes....
and Breydon Water
Breydon Water
Breydon Water is a massive stretch of sheltered estuary at Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England. It is at gateway to the Norfolk Broads. It is the UK's largest protected wetland. It is 5 km long and more than 1.5 km wide in places...
nature reserves are located in the vicinity of the station. The public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
, from which the station takes its name, is still functional - normally daily in the summer, and only at weekends in the winter. The pub is about 600 metres from the station.
A post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
at Berney Arms Station opened in 1898 but closed in 1967.
Further reading
- Berney Arms Station featured in an article entitled "Unlikely Survival" in The Railway Magazine, Apr 1984, pp. 132–133.
- An article on the history and current use of the station appeared in Hidden Europe Magazine, Nov 2006 (Issue 11), pp. 10–11.
- David McKie wrote "The rail to nowhere" in The Guardian, 12 July 2010.