General information | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Location | Smethwick, Sandwell England | ||||
Grid reference | SP014893 | ||||
Managed by | West Midlands Railway | ||||
Transit authority | Transport for West Midlands | ||||
Platforms | 4 (2 high level, 2 low level) | ||||
Other information | |||||
Station code | SGB | ||||
Fare zone | 2 | ||||
Classification | DfT category E | ||||
History | |||||
Original company | British Rail | ||||
Key dates | |||||
1995 | Opened | ||||
Passengers | |||||
2019/20 | 0.869 million | ||||
Interchange | 0.616 million | ||||
2020/21 | 0.234 million | ||||
Interchange | 0.129 million | ||||
2021/22 | 0.500 million | ||||
Interchange | 0.369 million | ||||
2022/23 | 0.660 million | ||||
Interchange | 0.388 million | ||||
2023/24 | 0.705 million | ||||
Interchange | 0.428 million | ||||
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Smethwick Galton Bridge is a split-level railway station in Smethwick,West Midlands,England. It is at a point where two railways' lines cross on two levels. It has platforms on both lines,allowing interchange between them. The two low-level platforms serve the Birmingham New Street to Wolverhampton Line,while the two high-level platforms serve the Birmingham Snow Hill to Worcester Line. The high level line passes over the low level line at a right angle on a bridge. West Midlands Railway manages the station and operates most of its services,with others provided by Chiltern Railways and London Northwestern Railway.
Running parallel to the low-level line is the Birmingham New Main Line canal. The high-level platform extends over the canal,and the line Northbound quickly passes over a surviving section of the higher Old Main Line.
It is an important interchange;over 600,000 people changed trains at the station during 2019/20. [1]
The station was opened in September 1995 at a cost of £4 million as part of the £28.5 million Jewellery Line scheme to reopen the line between Smethwick and Birmingham Snow Hill station. [2] It was built as an interchange station with the Birmingham New Street-Wolverhampton line, [2] and the platforms on both lines opened at the same time. It is named after the adjacent Galton Bridge. Upon opening,the nearby Smethwick West station became redundant and was closed soon after. [2] [3] An opening ceremony took place on 24 May 1995 to mark the completion of the new station. [2]
There are four platforms at Smethwick Galton Bridge. Platforms 1 &2 are on the Birmingham –Worcester line,whilst Platforms 3 &4 are on the Birmingham –Wolverhampton line.
West Midlands Railway provide most of the passenger services,on the high level platforms they offer 4 tph (trains per hour) between Birmingham Snow Hill and Kidderminster using their Class 172 Turbostar DMUs,of these,2tph continue past Kidderminster to either Worcester Shrub Hill and/or Worcester Foregate Street,with some services continuing to Great Malvern. [4] In the opposite direction,2tph extend beyond Snow Hill to Dorridge and 2tph Whitlocks End,with 1tph each from Dorridge and Whitlocks End extending to Stratford-Upon-Avon.
Chiltern Railways also offers an early morning peak service to London Marylebone on the Chiltern Main Line. A return journey operates on weekdays in the other direction in the evening,usually terminating at Stourbridge Junction. [5] They formerly terminated at Kidderminster before the service to Kidderminster was withdrawn in the May 2023 timetable changes. [6] [7] [8] There is no Chiltern service stopping at the station on Saturdays.
On Sundays,the level of service drops to 1tph between Dorridge and Stourbridge Junction and another tph between Stratford-Upon-Avon (via Whitlocks End) and Worcester stations,providing 2tph for Smethwick Galton Bridge between Birmingham Snow Hill and Stourbridge Junction. On Sundays there is also no return Chiltern service from London to Stourbridge.
West Midlands Railway also provide the majority of the services on the lower-level platforms. A half-hourly local stopping service between Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton operated by Class 350 or Class 730 EMUs,calls at all stops between Birmingham and Wolverhampton,with most trains continuing to Walsall after Birmingham New Street. An hourly long-distance service to/from Liverpool Lime Street via Runcorn run by London Northwestern Railway also calls,originating at Birmingham New Street operated by Class 350 EMUs. [9] [10] [11] A service to and from Shrewsbury via Telford Central also calls operated by Class 196 DMUs,hourly off-peak with 2tph at peak times. Southbound the service calls at Birmingham New Street only.
On Sunday,the level of service drops to an hourly local service between Walsall and Wolverhampton,stopping at all stations on the line,an hourly service to/from Liverpool Lime Street and an hourly service to/from Shrewsbury. [12]
The Transport for Wales calls were withdrawn and moved to Sandwell &Dudley in the December 2022 timetable change. [13]
The majority of people who travel towards Smethwick Galton Bridge travel via bus. The buses that travel to Smethwick Galton Bridge are the 80 travelling towards Birmingham and West Bromwich,and the 87 bus travelling towards Dudley and Birmingham. [14]
There is limited parking,as it only has a small car park,right next to the station and a bigger car park across the road.
Birmingham Snow Hill,also known as Snow Hill station,is a railway station in Birmingham City Centre. It is one of the three main city-centre stations in Birmingham,along with Birmingham New Street and Birmingham Moor Street.
Jewellery Quarter station is a combined railway station and tram stop,situated in the Jewellery Quarter of Birmingham,England. The station is served by West Midlands Trains,Chiltern Railways,and West Midlands Metro.
The Hawthorns station is a railway station and tram stop,opened in 1995 in Smethwick,near Birmingham,West Midlands,England. The station shares its name with the local football ground,The Hawthorns,the home of West Bromwich Albion F.C.,which it serves. There is a park and ride facility at the tram stop.
Hagley railway station serves the English village of Hagley,Worcestershire. Trains call in each direction,running to or through Kidderminster westwards and through Stourbridge and Birmingham Snow Hill eastwards. Customer Information Screens are installed on either platform. All services are operated by West Midlands Trains.
Hartlebury railway station serves the village of Hartlebury in Worcestershire,England. All trains serving the station are operated by West Midlands Trains. The station is unstaffed and is about half a mile to the east of the village.
The Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster line is a railway line which runs from Birmingham Snow Hill to Worcester via Stourbridge and Kidderminster in the West Midlands,England. It is one of the Snow Hill Lines,with trains operated by West Midlands Trains and Chiltern Railways using a variety of rolling stock including Class 172 and Class 168 diesel units. It is a future aspiration of Network Rail to electrify the entire line,as well as the Chiltern Main Line to London Marylebone.
Stourbridge Junction is one of two railway stations serving the town of Stourbridge,in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands,England. It lies on the Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster Line and is the junction for the Stourbridge Town Branch Line,said to be the shortest operational branch line in Europe. The other station serving Stourbridge is Stourbridge Town at the end of the branch line.
Dorridge railway station serves the large village of Dorridge in the West Midlands of England. The station is served by Chiltern Railways,who manage the station,and also by West Midlands Trains. It is situated 10+1⁄2 miles (16.9 km) south of Birmingham Snow Hill.
Solihull railway station serves the market town of Solihull in the West Midlands of England. The station is served by West Midlands Trains and Chiltern Railways. CrossCountry serve the station occasionally to replace stops at Coventry and Birmingham International during engineering work. Solihull used to have a regular Virgin CrossCountry service to Manchester Piccadilly,Blackpool North and Portsmouth Harbour until 2004,when all services through the station were made to run non-stop between Birmingham and Leamington Spa.
Olton railway station serves the Olton area of the town of Solihull,in the West Midlands of England. The station is operated by West Midlands Trains. The entrance seen in the centre where the station's booking office is located leads into a tunnel which runs under the tracks providing an access staircase and lift to the island platform. The station also has a car park and bicycle racks.
Acocks Green railway station serves the Acocks Green area of Birmingham,in the West Midlands region of England. Pre-nationalisation a GWR station on their main line from London (Paddington) to Birkenhead (Woodside) the station is now served by West Midlands Railway,who manage the station.
Tyseley railway station serves the district of Tyseley in Birmingham,West Midlands,England. It is at the junction of the lines linking Birmingham with Leamington Spa and Stratford-upon-Avon.
Droitwich Spa railway station serves the town of Droitwich Spa in Worcestershire,England. It is located just to the south-west of Droitwich Spa Junction of the Worcester to Leamington Spa Line and the Worcester to Birmingham New Street line. The station is managed by West Midlands Trains,who also operate all trains serving it.
Cradley Heath railway station serves the town of Cradley Heath in the West Midlands of England. It is on the Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster line. The station is managed by West Midlands Railway,who provide the majority of train services;there are also occasional services provided by Chiltern Railways.
Lye railway station serves the Lye area of Stourbridge,in the West Midlands of England. The station is managed by West Midlands Trains,who provide the majority of train services;Chiltern Railways also operate a small number of trains. It is situated on the Birmingham-Stourbridge line.
Rowley Regis railway station serves the town of Blackheath and the Rowley Regis area of Sandwell,in the county of West Midlands,England. It is located on the Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster Line. The station is managed by West Midlands Railway,who provide the majority of train services;there are also occasional services provided by Chiltern Railways.
Langley Green railway station serves the Langley Green area of the town of Oldbury in Sandwell,in the West Midlands,England. It is located on the Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster Line. The station is managed by West Midlands Trains,who provide the majority of train services;there are also occasional services provided by Chiltern Railways.
The Snow Hill Lines is the collective name for the railway lines running through Birmingham Snow Hill,and Birmingham Moor Street stations in Birmingham,United Kingdom. They form an important part of the suburban rail network of Birmingham,Warwickshire and Worcestershire. All other lines to/through Birmingham use Birmingham New Street station. The Snow Hill lines carry around 20% of the daily rail services into Birmingham;the remainder use New Street.
Smethwick West was a railway station on the Great Western Railway between Stourbridge Junction station and Smethwick Junction. It was opened as Smethwick Junction railway station in 1867.
Stratford-upon-Avon Parkway is a railway station located on the northern outskirts of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire,England. It is on the North Warwickshire Line,adjacent to the A46.