Blake Street railway station explained

Blake Street
Symbol Location:gb
Symbol:rail
Borough:Hill Hook, Birmingham
Country:England
Grid Name:Grid reference
Manager:West Midlands Railway
Platforms:2
Code:BKT
Zone:5
Classification:DfT category E
Transit Authority:Transport for West Midlands
Opened:1884
Footnotes:Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road
Mapframe:yes
Mapframe-Zoom:13

Blake Street railway station serves the Hill Hook area of Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England. It is sited on the Cross-City Line between / and, via . The station located on the county boundary between the West Midlands and Staffordshire. It is managed by West Midlands Trains, who operate all trains serving the station.

History

The station opened in 1884, when the London and North Western Railway extended their Birmingham to Sutton Coldfield line northward to Lichfield. In May 1978, Blake Street became one of the stations on the Cross-City Line, launched by the West Midlands PTE to link the Lichfield branch with the infrequently served suburban line to and Redditch.[1] The northern end was subsequently extended to Lichfield Trent Valley in 1988 and electrified on the 25 kV AC system in 1992.[2] The signalling at the station is set up so that trains can terminate or start from here, but the facility is only rarely used in the current (May 2018) timetable (just one each way Monday-Saturday).

Facilities

The station has a staffed ticket office on the southbound side at street level, staffed on a part-time basis. A self-service ticket machine (located next to the booking office) is also available for use when the office is closed. At platform level, there is a waiting shelter on the northbound side and a waiting room on the southbound platform. CIS displays, timetable posters, customer help points and automated announcements provide train running information. Step-free access to both platforms is available via ramps from street level.[3]

Services

The station is served by West Midlands Trains with local Transport for West Midlands branded "Cross-City" services, operated by and Electric multiple units.[4] [5]

The off-peak service pattern is as follows:

Mondays to Saturdays:

Sundays:

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

The average journey time to Birmingham New Street is around 29 minutes.[6] [7]

External links

52.605°N -1.845°W

Notes and References

  1. https://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Cross-City-Line---Birmingham "Cross City Line - Birmingham"
  2. http://www.redditch-mrc.com/Redditch%20Railways%20-%20Cross%20City%20Line.htm "History of The Cross City Line"
  3. http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/bkt/details.html Blake Street station facilities
  4. Web site: Class 323 fleet . West Midlands Railway.
  5. Web site: Class 730 fleet . West Midlands Railway.
  6. Web site: Train Timetables and Schedules Blake Street. West Midlands Railway .
  7. Web site: Train Times The Cross City Line 30 December 2023 until 1 June 2024 . West Midlands Railway.