The station was opened by the Midland Railway in 1885 as part of the Birmingham West Suburban Railway which was extended to Birmingham New Street [1]. The station, which had suffered from a decline in traffic due to competition from buses, was temporarily closed in 1944 as a wartime economy measure though this was made permanent in 1950. The station was re-opened in 1978 [2] as part of the Cross-City Line and the station rebuilt in a similar red brick and metal sheeting style [3] to some of the other stations on the line [3]. The line was electrified in 1993.
The station platforms are in a cutting with a surface level entrance and booking hall. Access to the platforms is via stairs or lifts. The two platforms have partial canopies in a style used on a number of Cross-City Line stations. The station is managed by West Midlands Railway.
WMR 323 213 arrives with a South bound service
View down the platform towards the city centre
View showing the footbridge
WMR 323 206 prepares to depart
The main station building is on stilts
[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Bromsgrove to Birmingham (Middleton Press, 2006) Fig. 100
[2] John Glover, BR Diary 1978-1985 (Ian Allan, 1985) p. 19
[3] David Lawrence, British Rail Architecture 1948-97 (Crecy Publishing, 2018) p. 154
