Cross-City Line

What is now the Cross-City Line was not built as a single route; it is a combination of lines opened by different companies at different times between 1837 and 1885.[1]

On the northern half of the route (Birmingham–Lichfield):

• The oldest section is between Duddeston (originally named Vauxhall) and Aston, which was part of the Grand Junction Railway from Birmingham to Earlestown, opened in 1837.[2] This was extended towards the centre of Birmingham, at Curzon Street, the following year, and into Birmingham New Street in 1854.[3]
• The line from Aston to Sutton Coldfield was opened by the London and North Western Railway in 1862,[3] and extended to Lichfield City in 1884, where it connected with the South Staffordshire Line between Walsall and Lichfield Trent Valley, which had opened in 1849.[4]

On the southern half of the route (Birmingham–Redditch):

• The Birmingham West Suburban Railway (BWSR), opened 1876, originally ran as a single-track branch off the B&GR. The branch split off near Lifford and followed the canal to a terminus at Granville Street (intended to be temporary, but plans for Suffolk Street terminus collapsed). The line was later overhauled and made double-track, with the route changing between Kings Norton and Bournville and end of the line branching off before Granville Street. This was so that the line could be extended to reach an expanded Birmingham New Street and terminate there instead (1885).[3][5] The Cross-City Line runs on the entire length of the BWSR (Kings Norton to New Street).
• The Birmingham and Gloucester Railway (B&GR), opened 1840, ran to termini at Camp Hill, then Birmingham Curzon Street (1841), and later New Street (1854). Trains on this line would originally had to reverse out of the station to head to Lichfield, whereas trains on the subsequent BWSR branch extension did not, rendering the line impractical for these services above Kings Norton. The Cross-City Line runs on the B&GR between Bromsgrove and Kings Norton; the original route to New Street now forms the Camp Hill line.[3][6]
• The single-track branch line from Barnt Green to Redditch followed in 1859, as part of the Midland Railway's Gloucester Loop Line, which was closed south of Redditch in 1964.[7]

These lines from Birmingham to Barnt Green and Redditch were operated by the Midland Railway and the line to Lichfield was operated by the London and North Western Railway, so there were no through services. This continued despite the Grouping of the LNW and Midland Railways to form the London Midland and Scottish Railway in 1921, and subsequent nationalisation to form British Railways.

Prior to the creation of the Cross-City Line, the northern half of the route from New Street to Sutton Coldfield and Lichfield had a well used regular suburban service, which had been switched from steam to diesel multiple unit (DMU) operation in 1956, leading to a large increase in usage.[1] However, the southern half of the route from New Street to Redditch was a different matter: In 1964, the closure of all the stations between New Street and Redditch (along with the branch to Redditch) was proposed by the Beeching Axe. They were reprieved from closure in 1967, however the service was cut back to a handful of trains at peak times for commuters.[8]

In the early-1970s the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive (WMPTE) gained responsibility for managing and planning the local railway network in the West Midlands, and they set about looking for ways it could be improved: The WMPTE Passenger Transport Plan of 1972 recognised the need for a cross-city rail service, and especially an improved service to the south of Birmingham with new stations to serve the growth areas in the south of the city.[9]

The Cross City Line project was sanctioned by the WMPTE in May 1975 and launched on 8 May 1978. Costing £7.4 million (equivalent to £66,040,000 in 2021),[10] it involved joining the services into Birmingham from north and south into a single through service, along with the re-opening of Five Ways station (the original had closed in 1944 as a wartime economy measure[11]) and new stations to serve the University of Birmingham and Longbridge (the former station at Longbridge was on the branch line to Halesowen and Old Hill). Most of the other stations on the southern half of the route were rebuilt at the same time, and improvements were made to signalling and junctions. Of the new stations, the only one to be officially opened was University, which the then Secretary of State for Transport Bill Rodgers MP formally opened on 8 May 1978. There is a plaque on platform 2 marking this occasion.[12][9]

Longbridge railway station in 1979, still unfinished having opened the previous year. At this time diesel multiple units operated the service.

Services initially ran on a 15-minute frequency between Longbridge and Four Oaks via Birmingham New Street, with an hourly extension to Lichfield City, using refurbished Class 116 Diesel Multiple Units. The new service was an instant success, and by the end of the first year was carrying 30,000 passengers daily.[13][12]

Services were extended to Redditch in 1980, initially on an hourly frequency, increased to half-hourly in 1989. The service to Lichfield City was increased to half hourly in 1986, and on 28 November 1988, some services were extended to terminate at the re-opened high level platforms of Lichfield Trent Valley.[13][12][14]

By the late-1980s, the elderly diesels operating the service were becoming increasingly unreliable, and the WMPTE (now reorganised as Transport for West Midlands, formerly Centro) pressed for electrification. The decision to electrify the line was made on 7 February 1990 by the then Transport Minister Cecil Parkinson during the campaign for a by-election in the Mid Staffordshire constituency.[15][12]

Work started on electrifying the route with the 25 kV AC overhead line system in May 1990, and it was completed on 6 June 1993. Redditch, Alvechurch, and Blake Street stations were rebuilt at this time, and several other stations including Barnt Green were extensively modified to accommodate the new longer electric trains. The signalling was also modernised at the same time as the electrification, as part of a parallel scheme. A new fleet of Class 323 Electric Multiple Units were introduced to work the electrified line, and replace the elderly diesels. Full service with the Class 323s did not begin until 1994, due to initial reliability problems with the new units. Some elderly Class 304, Class 308 and Class 310 EMUs were drafted in to operate services in the interim, along with some of the original diesel units.[15][12]

The cost of the electrification scheme was estimated at £64.5 million (equivalent to £139,780,000 in 2021),[10] of which around 70% was funded by Centro, and the remainder by the Regional Railways sector of British Rail.[15]

Aerial view of the new railway bridge (nearest to camera) and aqueduct over the diverted A38, taken in January 2013

At Selly Oak, a new bridge was constructed in 2011 to carry the railway over a new section of the A38.

The single track between Barnt Green and Redditch restricted the number of trains that could run to Redditch to two per hour. In November 2013 a scheme was approved to construct a new passing loop at Alvechurch to allow the service to be increased to three trains per hour.[16][17] The line between Barnt Green and Redditch was closed for eight weeks for the works to be carried out, and was reopened on 1 September 2014. The improved service began in December 2014.[18][19]

Electrification was also extended from Barnt Green to Bromsgrove station, which was rebuilt in 2016 and was added as a second southern terminus once electrification was completed in August 2018.[20] These changes allowed three trains per hour to run to both Redditch and Bromsgrove.[21][17][22]

Three of the ten new Class 350 trains that London Midland introduced in 2014 have displaced Class 323s on other routes in the West Midlands to enable an increase in capacity between Longbridge and Redditch, and the extension of all remaining Longbridge trains to Bromsgrove after electrification. Class 350s are not currently authorised to be used on the Cross City Line.[23]

Post-pandemic the Cross-City Line weekday service has been reduced from 6 to 4 trains per hour in each direction usually operated by two sets of Class 323s, forming 6 cars. 6 trains per hour are expected to be reintroduced as part of Midlands Rail Hub, using Class 730s.[24]