Smethwick Rolfe Street railway station

Smethwick Rolfe Street is one of two railway stations serving the town of Smethwick, West Midlands, England. It is situated on the Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford Line 3¼ miles (5 km) north west of Birmingham New Street. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by West Midlands Railway. The other station serving Smethwick is Smethwick Galton Bridge, which is the next stop up the line.

Smethwick Rolfe Street
Location
PlaceSmethwick
Local authoritySandwell
Coordinates52.496°N 1.971°W / 52.496; -1.971
Grid referenceSP021887
Operations
Station codeSMR
Managed byWest Midlands Railway
Number of platforms2
DfT categoryE
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15 0.407 million
2015/16 0.454 million
2016/17 0.504 million
2017/18 0.528 million
2018/19 0.625 million
– Interchange 45
Passenger Transport Executive
PTETransport for West Midlands
Zone2
History
Key datesOpened 1852 (1852)
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Smethwick Rolfe Street from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

History

The station was opened in July 1852[1] by the Birmingham, Wolverhampton, & Stour Valley Railway Company (later absorbed by London and North Western Railway) as part of the Stour Valley Line from Birmingham to Wolverhampton. It was rebuilt in its present form in 1890[1] when two level crossings in the centre of Smethwick were abolished. Drawings of the rebuilt station can be found on the Smethwick Rolfe Street Station gallery page of the Network Rail Corporate Archive.

In 1985, pupils from Parkside Junior School created a mural for Platform 1 under the direction of artist Jeremy Waygood as part of the Birmingham to Wolverhampton Corridor Initiative.[2]

In June 2017, this mural was removed and replaced by one created by students from Sandwell College under the direction of artist Steve Field. In addition, an exhibition room was created by another set of students from the college to display the history of the station and of the murals.[3] In October 2017 this work was recognised in the ACoRP Community Rail Awards with a 1st place for Involving Diverse Groups and a 3rd place for Community Art Schemes - Permanent.[4]

Services

The station is served by two trains per hour in each direction Mondays to Saturdays, by the local service between Wolverhampton, Birmingham New Street and Walsall via Aston.[5] On Sundays, the service runs hourly between New Street and Wolverhampton only.

These are usually operated by a mixture of Class 323 and Class 350s EMUs but occasional Class 170 DMUs are used.

Avanti West Coast, London Northwestern Railway and Transport for Wales trains run through the station but do not stop. London Northwestern Railways and Transport for Wales call at the nearby station of Smethwick Galton Bridge en route to Holyhead or Aberystwyth.[6]

The station platforms.
Preceding station National Rail Following station
Birmingham New Street   West Midlands Railway
Walsall/Birmingham - Wolverhampton		   Smethwick Galton Bridge
  London Northwestern Railway
Birmingham-Liverpool		  
  Historical railways  
Soho
Line open, station closed		   London and North Western Railway & Great Western Railway   Smethwick West
Line open, station closed
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References
  1. Clinker, C (1958). Railways of the West Midlands a chronology 1808-1954. London: Stephenson Locomotive Society. pp. 21, 46.
  2. "Young artists improve view". Smethwick Telephone. 25 July 1985.
  3. "Latest news". www.londonmidland.com. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  4. "Community Rail Awards 2017 | ACoRP". acorp.uk.com. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  5. GB eNRT May 2016 Edition, Table 68 (Network Rail)
  6. Arriva Trains Wales Timetable 1: Swansea to Shrewsbury, Cambrian Coast and Chester to Birmingham


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