Chester Road railway station explained

Chester Road
Symbol Location:gb
Symbol:rail
Borough:Erdington, Birmingham
Country:England
Coordinates:52.535°N -1.832°W
Grid Name:Grid reference
Platforms:2
Code:CRD
Zone:3
Classification:DfT category E
Manager:West Midlands Railway
Transit Authority:Transport for West Midlands
Original:London and North Western Railway
Pregroup:London and North Western Railway
Postgroup:London Midland and Scottish Railway
Events:Station opened
Footnotes:Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road
Mapframe:yes
Mapframe-Zoom:13

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 / and, via . 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

The line from to was built by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) in 1862, although Chester Road station was not opened until 1 December 1863.[1] 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, another former LNWR station, on the preserved Battlefield Line Railway.[2]

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.[3]

Facilities

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.

Access for disabled passengers

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.[4]

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.[5] [6]

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 16 minutes.[7] [8]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Butt, R.V.J. . The Directory of Railway Stations . 1995 . Patrick Stephens Ltd . Yeovil . 1-85260-508-1 . R508 . 60 .
  2. Web site: Market Bosworth station . 6 October 2010 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20090713041237/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/candj_simmons/HMARKETBO.HTM . 13 July 2009 . dmy-all .
  3. Web site: Horner. Nick. Garish orange makeover of Cross City line stations slammed as being visually illiterate. Birmingham Live. 26 March 2019.
  4. Web site: Chester Road Train Station. West Midlands Railway.
  5. Web site: Class 323 fleet . West Midlands Railway.
  6. Web site: Class 730 fleet . West Midlands Railway.
  7. Web site: Train Timetables and Schedules Chester Road . West Midlands Railway.
  8. Web site: Cross City line: Lichfield Trent Valley/Four Oaks – Bromsgrove / Redditch Timetable from Sunday 2 June 2024 . West Midlands Railway.