Sutton Coldfield railway station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sutton Coldfield | |||
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|---|---|---|---|
| The main entrance hall to Sutton Coldfield railway station. | |||
| Location | |||
| Place | Sutton Coldfield | ||
| Local authority | Birmingham | ||
| Coordinates | Coordinates: | ||
| Grid reference | SP118963 | ||
| Operations | |||
| Station code | SUT | ||
| Managed by | London Midland | ||
| Platforms in use | 2 | ||
| Live departures and station information from National Rail | |||
| Annual Rail Passenger Usage | |||
| 2004/05 * | 0.512 million | ||
| 2005/06 * | 0.542 million | ||
| Passenger Transport Executive | |||
| PTE | West Midlands | ||
| Zone | 4 | ||
| History | |||
| 1862 | Opened | ||
| 2003 | Renovated | ||
| National Rail - UK railway stations | |||
| * Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Sutton Coldfield from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. | |||
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Sutton Coldfield railway station is the main railway station for the town of Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands. It is situated on the Redditch-Birmingham New Street-Lichfield Cross-City Line 12 km (7½ miles) north east of Birmingham New Street.
The station is of Victorian architecture with red brick and elaborate ceilings and pillars. One platform is sheltered while the other is open air. The main building itself is built on a hill with a tunnel running underneath it. It is accessed via Station Street.
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[edit] History
The station was constructed in 1862, as the northern terminus the line from Birmingham built by the London and North Western Railway. In 1884, the line was extended north to Lichfield, and after the grouping of railway companies in 1923, it came under the control of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.
The station was the location of a train crash on 23 January 1955, in which 17 people died.
From 1978, the station became one of those served by the new Cross-City Line, sponsored by the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive. As part of that scheme, there were proposals to demolish the station and rebuild it, as happened to many of the other stations on the line. However, local campaigning saved it.
[edit] 2003 repairwork
Following the provision of a large sum of money in 2003, the station underwent a programme of refurbishment. Many new facilities were provided, and repair work was undertaken to the station building. The southbound platform was repainted and a former wooden ticket office removed because it had become a target for vandalism and concerns were raised about its fire safety. A new ticket vending machine was placed on the platform which reduced queues at the ticket office in the main building. A station shop and a new waiting room were provided. On the northbound platform, the small waiting room was replaced with new seats. Passenger information system boards were also installed on both platforms which provides passengers with up-to-the-minute information on train times. The interior of the station was also repainted and the ticket office in the main building was extended.
[edit] Services
Train services operate every 10-20 minutes, Monday to Saturday, and every 30 minutes on Sundays. The majority of trains operate between Lichfield Trent Valley and Longbridge, with some trains terminating at Four Oaks. Some services continue on to Redditch to the south.
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wylde Green | London Midland Cross-City Line |
Four Oaks | ||
[edit] References
- An Historical Survey Of Selected LMS Stations Vol. One Dr R Preston and R Powell Hendry. Oxford Pub. Co. (1982, Reprinted in 2001) ISBN 0860931684
[edit] External links
- Train times and station information for Sutton Coldfield railway station from National Rail
- Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Sutton Coldfield railway station
- Railways of Warwickshire entry
- BBC Page on the January 1955 accident
