Blake Street railway station


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

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. The northern end was subsequently extended to Lichfield Trent Valley in 1988 and electrified on the 25 kV AC system in 1992. 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 timetable.

Facilities

The station has a manned ticket office on the southbound side at street level, staffed on a part-time basis. A self-service ticket machine 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.

Services

Trains operate at 10 or 20 minute intervals, with four trains per hour southbound; two to Brosmsgrove and two to Redditch. Northbound there are four trains per hour as well: two to Lichfield Trent Valley and two to Lichfield City. On Monday to Saturday evenings and on Sundays, trains run every 30 minutes between Lichfield Trent Valley and Redditch.
The typical journey time to Birmingham New Street is 29 minutes.