Smethwick Galton Bridge railway station

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 manage the station and operate the majority of its services, with others provided by Chiltern Railways and London Northwestern Railway.

Smethwick Galton Bridge
National Rail
Smethwick Galton Bridge high-level.
General information
LocationSmethwick, Sandwell
England
Grid referenceSP014893
Managed byWest Midlands Railway
Transit authorityTransport for West Midlands
Platforms4
(2 high level, 2 low level)
Other information
Station codeSGB
Fare zone2
ClassificationDfT category E
Key dates
1995Opened
Passengers
2017/18Increase 0.708 million
2018/19Increase 0.807 million
 Interchange 0.587 million
2019/20Increase 0.869 million
 Interchange Increase 0.616 million
2020/21Decrease 0.234 million
 Interchange Decrease 0.129 million
2021/22Increase 0.500 million
 Interchange Increase 0.369 million
Location
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

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]

History

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]

Services

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.

High-level

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 offer morning peak services to London Marylebone on the Chiltern Mainline with return journeys 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]

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.

Low-level
The low-level platforms

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 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. Soutbound 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]

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Smethwick Rolfe Street   West Midlands Railway
Walsall / Birmingham - Wolverhampton		   Sandwell & Dudley
Birmingham New Street   West Midlands Railway
Birmingham - Wolverhampton - Shrewsbury 		  Wolverhampton
  London Northwestern Railway
Birmingham - Liverpool		  
The Hawthorns   West Midlands Railway
Stratford - Birmingham - Worcester via Kidderminster		   Langley Green
  West Midlands Railway
Leamington Spa - Birmingham - Worcester		  
  Chiltern Railways
London - Birmingham - Stourbridge		  

References
  1. "Station usage - : Office of Rail Regulation". Archived from the original on 12 June 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  2. "Three new stations in summer timetable". Modern Railways. No. 562. July 1999. p. 388.
  3. "Smetwick Galton Bridge, 1995 present". Rail around Birmingham & the West Midlands. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  4. "Train times | Snow Hill Lines - Worcester to Birmingham Snow Hill, Solihull and Stratford upon Avon | 21 May until 9 December 2023". West Midlands Railway. Archived from the original on 22 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  5. "Timetable - 21 May 2023 - December 2023: London to High Wycombe, Bicester, Oxford, Banbury, Leamington Spa, Stratford-upon-Avon and Birmingham". Chiltern Railways. Archived from the original on 22 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  6. "From Sunday 21 May 2023, we will introduce our new timetable". Chiltern Railways. 21 May 2023. Archived from the original on 13 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  7. "Passengers advised new train timetables imminent". BBC News. 5 May 2022. Archived from the original on 6 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  8. "Chiltern Railways customers in Oxfordshire urged to check their journey as all train times in Banbury and Bicester set to change". Oxfordshire Live. 3 May 2023. Archived from the original on 20 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  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. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  10. "Train times | 21 May until 9 December 2023 | Wolverhampton to Birmingham via Smethwick". West Midlands Railway. Archived from the original on 2 May 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  11. "Train times | 21 May until 9 December 2023 | Birmingham to Rugeley via Walsall". West Midlands Railway. Archived from the original on 3 May 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  12. "Train Timetables and Schedules | Smethwick Galton Bridge". West Midlands Railway. Archived from the original on 16 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  13. "December Timetable Change – what's happening?". Railsmartr. Archived from the original on 20 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.

Further reading
  • Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2007). Worcester to Birmingham. Middleton Press. figs. 96-98. ISBN 9781904474975. OCLC 263292710.
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