Smethwick Rolfe Street railway station explained

Smethwick Rolfe Street
Symbol Location:gb
Symbol:rail
Borough:Smethwick, Sandwell
Country:England
Coordinates:52.496°N -1.971°W
Grid Name:Grid reference
Manager:West Midlands Railway
Platforms:2
Code:SMR
Zone:2
Classification:DfT category E
Transit Authority:Transport for West Midlands
Opened:1852
Original:Birmingham, Wolverhampton & Stour Valley Railway
Footnotes:Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road
Mapframe:yes
Mapframe-Zoom:13

Smethwick Rolfe Street is one of two railway stations serving the town of Smethwick, West Midlands, England. It is situated on the Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford line 3¼ miles (5 km) north west of Birmingham New Street. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by West Midlands Railway. The other station serving Smethwick is, which is the next stop up the line.

History

The station was opened in July 1852[1] by the Birmingham, Wolverhampton, & Stour Valley Railway Company (later absorbed by London and North Western Railway) as part of the Stour Valley Line from Birmingham to Wolverhampton. It was rebuilt in its present form in 1890 when two level crossings in the centre of Smethwick were abolished. Drawings of the rebuilt station can be found on the Smethwick Rolfe Street Station gallery page of the Network Rail Corporate Archive.

In 1985, pupils from Parkside Junior School created a mural for Platform 1 under the direction of artist Jeremy Waygood as part of the Birmingham to Wolverhampton Corridor Initiative.[2]

In June 2017, this mural was removed and replaced by one created by students from Sandwell College under the direction of artist Steve Field. In addition, an exhibition room was created by another set of students from the college to display the history of the station and of the murals.[3] In October 2017 this work was recognised in the ACoRP Community Rail Awards with a 1st place for Involving Diverse Groups and a 3rd place for Community Art Schemes - Permanent.[4]

Work began in January 2022 to install lifts to allow step-free access to the station. The project is expected to be completed by July.[5]

Services

The station is served by two trains per hour in each direction Mondays to Saturdays, by the local service between, and via .On Sundays, the service runs hourly.[6] [7] [8] These are operated by and EMUs.

Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, London Northwestern Railway and Transport for Wales Rail trains run through the station but do not stop. London Northwestern Railway does call at the nearby station of Smethwick Galton Bridge en route to Liverpool Lime Street.[9]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Clinker, C. Railways of the West Midlands a chronology 1808-1954. Stephenson Locomotive Society. 1958. London. 21, 46.
  2. News: Young artists improve view. 25 Jul 1985. Smethwick Telephone.
  3. Web site: Latest news. www.londonmidland.com. en-GB. 2017-07-28. 31 May 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170531045154/https://www.londonmidland.com/about-us/latest-news#/pressreleases/sandwell-college-students-celebrate-local-culture-at-smethwick-rolfe-street-station-2025519. live.
  4. Web site: Community Rail Awards 2017 ACoRP. acorp.uk.com. en-GB. 2017-10-15. 16 October 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171016065947/https://acorp.uk.com/eventsawards/cra17/. live.
  5. Web site: White. Chloe. 2022-01-04. West Midlands railway station to benefit from step-free access. live. 2022-01-07. RailAdvent. en-GB. 7 January 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220107224525/https://www.railadvent.co.uk/2022/01/west-midlands-railway-station-to-benefit-from-step-free-access.html.
  6. Web site: Train Timetables and Schedules Smethwick Rolfe Street. West Midlands Railway.
  7. Web site: Train times 10 December until 1 June 2024 Rugeley to Birmingham New Street via Walsall. West Midlands Railway.
  8. Web site: Train times 10 December 2023 until 1 June 2024 Wolverhampton to Birmingham via Smethwick. West Midlands Railway.
  9. Web site: Timetable Birmingham to Liverpool 21 May 2023 to 9 December 2023. London Northwestern Railway. 21 May 2023. 14 May 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230514192735/https://www.londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk/media/2450/download?inline. live.