Five Ways railway station

Five Ways railway station is a railway station serving the Five Ways and Lee Bank areas of Birmingham, England. It is situated on the Cross-City Line.

Five Ways
National Rail
General information
LocationFive Ways, Birmingham
England
Coordinates52.4713°N 1.9129°W / 52.4713; -1.9129
Grid referenceSP059858
Managed byWest Midlands Railway[1]
Transit authorityTransport for West Midlands
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeFWY
Fare zone1
ClassificationDfT category D
Key dates
1885Opened
1944Temporary Closure
1950Official Closure
1978Reopened
Passengers
2017/18Increase 1.766 million
2018/19Increase 2.301 million
2019/20Increase 2.497 million
2020/21Decrease 0.564 million
2021/22Increase 1.171 million
Location
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

The original Five Ways station operated between 1885 and 1944. The station was reopened in 1978 when the Cross-City line services were created.

History
LMS Birmingham to Five Ways train ticket, issued on 17 May 1927

The original station was opened in 1885 by the Midland Railway, when the Birmingham West Suburban Railway (BWSR) was extended into Birmingham New Street. It fell prey to competition from local bus services, and services were suspended in 1944, as a wartime economy measure, under the auspices of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.[2] The closure was made permanent by British Railways in 1950.[3]

Alongside the station was the spur line leading to Central Goods station. The junction to this line was just south of Five Ways. The spur was part of the original alignment of the BWSR, leading to its original terminus at Granville Street. Following the closure of Granville Street in 1885, the spur line was extended to run to Central Goods station, which remained open until the late 1960s.[4]

Reopening

The station was rebuilt and reopened in 1978 to the designs of the architect John Broome[5] as part of the creation of the Cross-City Line services. Built with its main entrance on Islington Row Middleway.[4] British Rail also carried out electrification of the lines through the station in 1993.

Ticket barriers were installed at the start of 2009 and became operational shortly before the end of April in the same year.

The station achieved a milestone in 2009–10 by having over 1 million "entries and exits", as denoted by ticket sales.

Local attractions

Five Ways is the nearest railway station to Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Edgbaston Cricket Ground and the Birmingham Oratory.

Services

The station is served by West Midlands Trains local "Cross-City" services, northbound to Four Oaks and Lichfield Trent Valley via Birmingham New Street and southbound towards Bromsgrove and Redditch, operated by Class 323 electrical multiple units. Four trains operate in each direction Monday-Saturday and three in each direction on Sundays. On Mondays-Saturdays two services each typically operate Lichfield Trent Valley-Bromsgrove and Four Oaks-Redditch. On Sundays two terminate northbound at Lichfield Trent Valley and southbound at Redditch and one southbound at Bromsgrove and northbound at Birmingham New Street.[6][7]

Connections

The station is an interchange for trams at Five Ways tram stop on the West Midlands Metro, which is approximately 0.4 miles (0.64 km) away, roughly an eight minute walk.[8]

References
  1. Station facilities for Five Ways
  2. "Five Ways Station". Warwickshire Railways. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  3. Passengers No More by G.Daniels and L.Dench
  4. "Five Ways Station". Rail Around Birmingham & the West Midlands. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  5. Lawrence, David (2018). British Rail Architecture 1948-97. Crecy Publishing Ltd. p. 155. ISBN 9780860936855.
  6. "Train Timetables and Schedules | Five Ways". West Midlands Railway.
  7. "Train Times | The Cross City Line | 21 May until 9 December 2023". West Midlands Railway.
  8. "Route planner". wego here. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Five Ways railway station.
Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Birmingham New Street   West Midlands Railway
Lichfield - Four Oaks - Birmingham - Bromsgrove/Redditch
Cross-City Line		   University
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