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Smethwick Rolfe Street railway station

Coordinates: 52°29′46″N 1°58′16″W / 52.496°N 1.971°W / 52.496; -1.971
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Smethwick Rolfe Street
National Rail
General information
LocationSmethwick, Sandwell
England
Coordinates52°29′46″N 1°58′16″W / 52.496°N 1.971°W / 52.496; -1.971
Grid referenceSP021887
Managed byWest Midlands Railway
Transit authorityTransport for West Midlands
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeSMR
Fare zone2
ClassificationDfT category E
History
Opened1852
Original companyBirmingham, Wolverhampton & Stour Valley Railway
Passengers
2018/19Increase 0.625 million
2019/20Increase 0.638 million
2020/21Decrease 0.143 million
2021/22Increase 0.292 million
2022/23Increase 0.402 million
Location
Map
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

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.

History

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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]

Work began in January 2022 to install lifts to allow step-free access to the station. The project is expected to be completed by July.[5]

Services

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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. On Sundays, the service runs hourly.[6][7][8] These are operated by Class 350 and Class 730 EMUs.

Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, London Northwestern Railway and Transport for Wales Rail trains run through the station but do not stop. London Northwestern Railway does call at the nearby station of Smethwick Galton Bridge en route to Liverpool Lime Street.[9]

The station platforms.
Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Birmingham New Street   West Midlands Railway
Walsall/Birmingham - Wolverhampton
  Smethwick Galton Bridge
  Historical railways  
Soho
Line open, station closed
  London and North Western Railway & Great Western Railway   Smethwick West
Line open, station closed

References

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  1. ^ a b 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. Archived from the original on 31 May 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  4. ^ "Community Rail Awards 2017 | ACoRP". acorp.uk.com. Archived from the original on 16 October 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  5. ^ White, Chloe (4 January 2022). "West Midlands railway station to benefit from step-free access". RailAdvent. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Train Timetables and Schedules | Smethwick Rolfe Street". West Midlands Railway.
  7. ^ "Train times | 10 December until 1 June 2024 | Rugeley to Birmingham New Street via Walsall". West Midlands Railway.
  8. ^ "Train times | 10 December 2023 until 1 June 2024 | Wolverhampton to Birmingham via Smethwick". West Midlands Railway.
  9. ^ "Timetable | Birmingham to Liverpool | 21 May 2023 to 9 December 2023". London Northwestern Railway. 21 May 2023. Archived from the original on 14 May 2023.
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