Northfield railway station

Northfield railway station serves the Northfield area of Birmingham, England. It is situated on the Cross-City Line, and is managed by West Midlands Trains, who also operate all of the rail services that serve it.

Northfield
Location
PlaceNorthfield
Local authorityBirmingham
Coordinates52.408°N 1.964°W / 52.408; -1.964
Grid referenceSP024789
Operations
Station codeNFD
Number of platforms2
DfT categoryE
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15 0.777 million
2015/16 0.845 million
2016/17 0.863 million
2017/18 0.896 million
2018/19 0.989 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTETransport for West Midlands
Zone4
History
Key datesOpened 1870 (1870)
1978Rebuilt
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Northfield from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

History

The station was opened on 1 September 1870 by the Midland Railway. In 1892, the line through Northfield was quadrupled (though only the inner pair of lines had platform access).[1]

In 1913 it was the subject of an arson attack by suffragettes. The fire was extinguished before serious damage was done.[2]

The station was placed under threat of closure in 1963, when the suburban service to Redditch was listed for withdrawal in the Beeching Report and its frequency cut significantly. Following widespread public opposition and a campaign by local MPs, the route was subsequently reprieved in 1965 but for the next thirteen years it only received a limited service (just four return trips per day to & from New Street).

In May 1978, the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive launched the new Cross City line suburban service, which linked the existing New Street to Lichfield route to a revamped service along the former Midland main line through Kings Norton to a newly re-sited terminus at Longbridge. One completely new station was opened at University (Birmingham), two others reopened and the remainder rebuilt & upgraded. Northfield received new slow line platforms as part of the £7.4 million upgrade package.[3] and other improvements to the designs of the architect John Broome[4] Since then, the station has received a regular interval service from Birmingham and a variety of other improvements (notably the extension of the route at both ends in the 1980s and electrification in 1993).

In 2013, lifts were built on both sides of the subway to allow disabled access to both platforms.

It currently has two operational platforms, numbered '1' and '4', with a disused island platform in the centre of the four-track lines.

Station masters
  • J.W. Brookes 1876 - 1880
  • Edgar Roach 1880 - 1884
  • William Morton 1884 - 1915 - ????
  • J.W Hook 1919[5] - ????
  • Harry Ariss ca. 1940
  • F.W. Maker ???? - 1957
  • F.G. Courtney 1957[6] - ????

Services

All rail services at the station are provided by West Midlands Trains, on the Cross-City Line.

All the services at this station are operated by Class 323s electric trains.

Service Frequency:

6 trains per hour in each direction (every 10 minutes) at peak times (Mon-Sat daytimes).

4 trains per hour in each direction (every 10 or 20 minutes) at off-peak times (Mon-Sat evenings, and all day Sunday).

Northbound services terminate at either Four Oaks, Lichfield City, Lichfield Trent Valley, or (some Mon-Sat evening services only) Birmingham New Street.

Southbound services terminate at either Bromsgrove or Redditch.[7]

Connections

National Express West Midlands route 48 (Northfield - West Bromwich) stops on nearby Church Hill.

Kev’s Cars and Coaches route 19 (Maypole - Rubery) stops directly outside the station building.

Facilities

The station has a ticket office and Automated Ticket Machines. The station is also equipped with Real-Time Information boards and recorded announcements.

The station has a small car park, provided free by Transport for West Midlands.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
West Midlands Railway
Cross-City Line
gollark: That's actually not a bad idea.
gollark: This is why [REDACTED] apiaristic forkbomb.
gollark: I have a plan to beat all things ever, but it is SLIGHTLY cheating.
gollark: Yes, this is true.
gollark: I was going to make something guess what strategy the enemy is using and play against that.

References
  1. Northfield StationWarwickshire Railways; Retrieved 31 May 2016
  2. Tamworth Herald - Saturday 1 November 1913
  3. "History of the Cross City Line" Redditch Model Railway Club; Retrieved 31 May 2016
  4. Lawrence, David (2018). British Rail Architecture 1948-97. Crecy Publishing Ltd. p. 155. ISBN 9780860936855.
  5. "Former Wadborough Station Master". Evesham Standard and West Midland Observer. England. 29 March 1930. Retrieved 31 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. "Mr. F.G. Courtney". Birmingham Daily Post. England. 3 April 1957. Retrieved 31 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. GB eNRT May 2019 Edition, Table 69 (Network Rail)
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