Duddeston railway station

Duddeston railway station is situated in the Duddeston area of Birmingham, England on the Redditch-Birmingham New Street-Four Oaks-Lichfield Cross-City Line and the Walsall line. Services on the Cross-City Line (and occasionally on the Walsall line) are usually operated by Class 323 electric multiple units, while Class 350 electric multiple units are commonly used on services to and from Walsall.

Duddeston
National Rail
Duddeston station
General information
LocationDuddeston, Birmingham
England
Coordinates52.488°N 1.871°W / 52.488; -1.871
Grid referenceSP088878
Managed byWest Midlands Railway
Transit authorityTransport for West Midlands
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeDUD
Fare zone2
ClassificationDfT category E
Key dates
1837Opened as Vauxhall station
1869Rebuilt and reopened
1889renamed Vauxhall and Duddeston
6 May 1974renamed Duddeston
Passengers
2017/18Increase 0.268 million
2018/19Increase 0.343 million
2019/20Increase 0.408 million
2020/21Decrease 0.116 million
2021/22Increase 0.242 million
Location
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

Vauxhall station in 1837

Duddeston opened in 1837 as Vauxhall, the temporary Birmingham terminus of the Grand Junction Railway from Warrington.[1]:12 When the permanent terminus at Curzon Street opened in 1839, Vauxhall became a goods-only station. An extract from an 1859 railway inspector's report into a minor collision reveals something of how the station was operated:[2]

There are sidings on both sides of the main line, and the station being on a curve, and the view interrupted by buildings, it is necessary to have a series of signalmen at short intervals for the protection of the switches and crossings connected with the main line


One of these signalmen (for the protection of the down line), when he had any shunting to do, had to warn a signalman on his right by turning on a disc signal; and he had also to work the arm of a semaphore signal on the Birmingham side of the station to stop all down trains on the main line.

The station was rebuilt and re-opened to passengers in 1869 under the LNWR and was renamed Vauxhall and Duddeston in 1889.

In 1941 it was hit by a bomb during a night raid and was destroyed. It was rebuilt in a temporary fashion, and in the mid-1950s it caught fire and was subsequently rebuilt.

The line through the station, to Walsall via Perry Barr, was electrified in 1966 as part of the London Midland Region's electrification programme.[3] The actual energization of the line from Coventry to Walsall through Perry Barr took place on 15 August 1966.[4]

The station was renamed Duddeston on 6 May 1974.[5]

The entrance and ticket hall are over the tracks, on the Duddeston Mill Road bridge. The former Midland Railway line to Derby is nearby.

Adjacent are railway sheds that were once used for industrial purposes. They are now disused and the entrance has been blocked to prevent trespassing. A shed on the opposite side of the station to the remaining sheds has been demolished and its site is wasteland. The station has two island platforms serving four tracks, but only one island platform remains in use; the other has fallen into disrepair.

The remaining platform features artwork on black metal backgrounds.

Services

Platform artwork and disused sheds
A London Midland Class 323 departs Duddeston with a service to Redditch in 2008

Two services in each direction stop every hour:

A limited number of trains continue past Walsall to Hednesford or Rugeley Trent Valley.

In 2011, London Midland proposed the closure of the ticket office.[8] The request was denied.[9]

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Aston   West Midlands Railway
Lichfield - Four Oaks - Birmingham - Bromsgrove/Redditch
Cross-City Line
  Birmingham New Street
  West Midlands Railway
Walsall - Birmingham - Wolverhampton
 
  West Midlands Railway
Rugeley - Walsall - Birmingham
Chase Line
Limited service
 

References

  1. Drake, James (1838). Drake's Road Book of the Grand Junction Railway (1838). Moorland Reprints. ISBN 0903485257.
  2. Capt. George Ross (RE) (11 March 1859). Accident Returns: Extract for the Accident at Vauxhall on 26th January 1859. Board of Trade. p. 16.
  3. Nock, O.S. (1966). Britain's New Railway. London: Ian Allan. pp. 147–159.
  4. Gillham, J.C. (1988). The Age of the Electric Train - Electric trains in Britain since 1883. Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 169.
  5. Slater, J.N., ed. (July 1974). "Notes and News: Stations renamed by LMR". Railway Magazine. London: IPC Transport Press Ltd. 120 (879): 363. ISSN 0033-8923.
  6. "Train Times | The Cross City Line | 21 May until 9 December 2023". West Midlands Railway.
  7. "Train Timetables and Schedules | Duddeston". West Midlands Railway.
  8. "Proposed changes to ticket office opening hours". Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  9. "Rail ticket office cuts overruled". BBC News. 17 September 2012.
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