Smethwick Galton Bridge railway station

Smethwick Galton Bridge
Smethwick Galton Bridge high-level.
General information
Location	Smethwick, Sandwell England
Grid reference	SP014893
Managed by	West Midlands Railway
Transit authority	Transport for West Midlands
Platforms	4 (2 high level, 2 low level)
Other information
Station code	SGB
Fare zone	2
Classification	DfT category E
Key dates
1995	Opened
Passengers
2016/17	0.664 million
2017/18	0.708 million
2018/19	0.807 million
Interchange	0.587 million
2019/20	0.869 million
Interchange	0.616 million
2020/21	0.234 million
Interchange	0.129 million
Location
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

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, London Northwestern Railway and Transport for Wales.

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; 587,287 people changed trains at the station during 2018/19.

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. It was built as an interchange station with the Birmingham New Street-Wolverhampton line, 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. An opening ceremony took place on 24 May 1995 to mark the completion of the new station.

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

"Moontrap" by Mark Renn sits outside the station, marking the public transport interchange

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. 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 Kidderminster.

On Sundays, the level of service drops to 1tph between Dorridge and Stourbridge Junction and another tph between Stratford-Upon-Avon (via Whitlock's End) and Worcester stations, providing 2tph for Smethwick Galton Bridge between Birmingham Snow Hill and Stourbridge Junction.

Low-level

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 Liverpool Lime Street run by London Northwestern Railway also calls, originating at Birmingham New Street operated by Class 350 EMUs. Transport for Wales operates an hourly semi-fast service to Shrewsbury and then either Chester/Holyhead or Aberystwyth and Pwllheli (alternate hours) using their Class 158 DMUs, and to Birmingham International in the opposite direction, providing Smethwick Galton Bridge with a direct rail link to Birmingham International Airport. These services combined provide the station 4tph to Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton.

The low-level platforms

On Sunday, the level of service drops to an hourly local service between Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton, stopping at all stations on the line, Transport for Wales operates their hourly services into from Birmingham International to Aberystwyth and Pwlheli & Chester/Holyhead and an hourly long-distance service between Birmingham New Street and Liverpool Lime Street, providing Smethwick Galton Bridge with 3tph to both Wolverhampton and Birmingham New Street.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Birmingham New Street		Transport for Wales Birmingham - Chester		Wolverhampton
		Transport for Wales Birmingham - Aberystwyth / Pwllheli
Smethwick Rolfe Street		West Midlands Railway Walsall / Birmingham - Wolverhampton		Sandwell and Dudley
Birmingham New Street		London Northwestern Railway Birmingham - Liverpool		Wolverhampton
The Hawthorns		West Midlands Railway Leamington Spa - Worcester		Langley Green
		Chiltern Railways London - Kidderminster

Further reading

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

External links

• Train times and station information for Smethwick Galton Bridge railway station from National Rail
• Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Smethwick Galton Bridge station