Five Ways railway station

Five Ways railway station is a railway station serving the Five Ways and Lee Bank areas of Birmingham, England. It is situated on the Cross-City Line.

Five Ways
Location
PlaceFive Ways
Local authorityBirmingham
Coordinates52.470°N 1.913°W / 52.470; -1.913
Grid referenceSP059858
Operations
Station codeFWY
Managed byWest Midlands Trains[1]
Number of platforms2
DfT categoryD
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15 1.453 million
2015/16 1.586 million
2016/17 1.661 million
2017/18 1.766 million
2018/19 2.301 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTETransport for West Midlands
Zone1
History
1885Opened
1944Temporary Closure
1950Official Closure
1978Reopened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Five Ways from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

The original Five Ways station operated between 1885 and 1944. The station was reopened in 1978 when the Cross-City line services were created.

History
LMS Birmingham to Five Ways train ticket, issued on 17 May 1927

The original station was opened in 1885 by the Midland Railway, when the Birmingham West Suburban Railway (BWSR) was extended into Birmingham New Street. It fell prey to competition from local bus services, and services were suspended in 1944, as a wartime economy measure, under the auspices of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.[2] The closure was made permanent by British Railways in 1950.[3]

Alongside the station was the spur line leading to Central Goods station. The junction to this line was just south of Five Ways. The spur was part of the original alignment of the BWSR, leading to its original terminus at Granville Street. Following the closure of Granville Street in 1885, the spur line was extended to run to Central Goods station, which remained open until the late 1960s.[4]

Reopening

The station was rebuilt and reopened in 1978 to the designs of the architect John Broome[5] as part of the creation of the Cross-City Line services. Built with its main entrance on Islington Row Middleway.[4] British Rail also carried out electrification of the lines through the station in 1993.

Ticket barriers were installed at the start of 2009 and became operational shortly before the end of April in the same year.

The station achieved a milestone in 2009/10 by having over 1 million "entries and exits", as denoted by ticket sales.

Station masters
  • John Edward Hemmings 1885[6] - 1895 (formerly station master at Granville Street)
  • Ralph Bloomfield Knight 1895 - ????
  • W.J. Salcombe ???? - 1923 (afterwards station master at Stoke Works)
  • J.H. Hunt 1923[7] - ???? (formerly relief signal man at Derby)

Local attractions

Five Ways is the nearest railway station to Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Edgbaston cricket ground and the Birmingham Oratory.

Services

The station is served by West Midlands Trains local "Cross-City" services between Redditch and Lichfield, operated by Class 323 electrical multiple units. Trains operate every 10 minutes during Monday-Saturday daytimes, every 10–20 minutes Monday-Saturday evenings, and every 30 minutes on Sundays.[8]

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References
  1. Station facilities for Five Ways
  2. "Five Ways Station". Warwickshire Railways. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  3. Passengers No More by G.Daniels and L.Dench
  4. "Five Ways Station". Rail Around Birmingham & the West Midlands. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  5. Lawrence, David (2018). British Rail Architecture 1948-97. Crecy Publishing Ltd. p. 155. ISBN 9780860936855.
  6. "1881-1898 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating Traffic and Coaching Departments. 491/1024: 328. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  7. "L.M.S. Railway. New Stationmasters". Derbyshire Advertiser and Journal. England. 20 October 1923. Retrieved 27 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. Table 69 National Rail timetable, May 2016
Preceding station National Rail Following station
West Midlands Railway
Cross-City Line
University
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