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Chester Road railway station

Coordinates: 52°32′06″N 1°49′55″W / 52.535°N 1.832°W / 52.535; -1.832
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Chester Road
National Rail
Chester Road station, looking towards Erdington
General information
LocationErdington, Birmingham
England
Coordinates52°32′06″N 1°49′55″W / 52.535°N 1.832°W / 52.535; -1.832
Grid referenceSP114931
Managed byWest Midlands Railway
Transit authorityTransport for West Midlands
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeCRD
Fare zone3
ClassificationDfT category E
History
Original companyLondon and North Western Railway
Pre-groupingLondon and North Western Railway
Post-groupingLondon Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1 December 1863 (1863-12-01)Station opened
Passengers
2018/19Increase 1.048 million
2019/20Increase 1.050 million
2020/21Decrease 0.152 million
2021/22Increase 0.390 million
2022/23Increase 0.489 million
Location
Map
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Chester Road railway station serves the areas of Pype Hayes, Erdington, Wylde Green and Boldmere in north-east Birmingham, in the West Midlands county of England. It is sited on the Cross-City Line between Bromsgrove/Redditch and Lichfield Trent Valley, via Birmingham New Street. Pedestrian access to the station is via Green Lanes, near to the junction with the Chester Road (A452). It is above road level, as the line here is on an embankment.

History

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The line from Aston to Sutton Coldfield was built by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) in 1862, although Chester Road station was not opened until 1 December 1863.[1][2] The LNWR became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway in 1921, as part of the Grouping, which was nationalised to become part of British Railways at the beginning of 1948. The station booking office and waiting room were rebuilt in 1991-1992 during the electrification of the line. The original LNWR station waiting room was dismantled, and moved to Market Bosworth, another former LNWR station, on the preserved Battlefield Line Railway.[3]

In 2019 as part of the West Midlands Railway branding of the railway stations they manage, Chester Road station was among the stations given orange lampposts and railings. This received a lukewarm response from many locals, the local MP Andrew Mitchell and the leader of Sutton Coldfield Town Council, Simon Ward.[4]

Facilities

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Chester Road is a park and ride station, and has a free car park which was expanded in May 2006.

There is a ticket office on platform 2, with a ticket machine opposite as well as a ticket machine before platform 1.

There is a shelter on both platforms with seating areas.

Chester Road's Platform 2 in 2023
Chester Road station's ticket machine and ticket office

Access for disabled passengers

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There are ramps providing step-free access to both platforms at Chester Road.

Chester Road has been classified as a step-free access category B1 station. This means that there is step-free access to all platforms, but that this may include long or steep ramps, as is the case here.[5]

Services

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A West Midlands Railway Class 323 at Chester Road in 2019

The station is served by West Midlands Trains with local Transport for West Midlands branded "Cross-City" services, operated by Class 323 and Class 730 Electric multiple units.[6][7]

The off-peak service pattern is as follows:

Mondays to Saturdays:

Sundays:

  • 2 tph northbound to Lichfield Trent Valley.
  • 2 tph southbound to Redditch.

Services on Sundays call at all stations between Lichfield T.V. and Redditch.

The average journey time to Birmingham New Street is around 16 minutes.[8][9]

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Wylde Green   West Midlands Railway
Lichfield – Four Oaks – Birmingham – Bromsgrove/Redditch
Cross-City Line
  Erdington

References

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  1. ^ Jowett, Alan (1993). Jowett's Atlas of Railway Centres: of Great Britain showing their development from the earliest times up to and including the 1990s - Volume 1 (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 141. ISBN 1-8526-0420-4. OCLC 30919645.
  2. ^ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 60. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  3. ^ "Market Bosworth station". Archived from the original on 13 July 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  4. ^ Horner, Nick (26 March 2019). "Garish orange makeover of Cross City line stations slammed as being visually illiterate". Birmingham Live.
  5. ^ "Chester Road Train Station". West Midlands Railway.
  6. ^ "Class 323 fleet". West Midlands Railway.
  7. ^ "Class 730 fleet". West Midlands Railway.
  8. ^ "Train Timetables and Schedules | Chester Road". West Midlands Railway.
  9. ^ "Cross City line: Lichfield Trent Valley/Four Oaks – Bromsgrove / Redditch Timetable from Sunday 2 June 2024". West Midlands Railway.
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