Selly Oak railway station

Selly Oak railway station is a railway station in Selly Oak in Birmingham, England, on the Cross-City Line between Redditch, Birmingham and Lichfield.

Selly Oak
LocationSelly Oak, Birmingham
England
Coordinates52.441°N 1.935°W / 52.441; -1.935
Grid referenceSP044826
Managed byWest Midlands Railway[1]
Transit authorityTransport for West Midlands
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeSLY
Fare zone2
ClassificationDfT category D
Key dates
3 April 1876Opened
1978Rebuilt
Passengers
2015/16 2.671 million
2016/17 2.805 million
2017/18 2.972 million
2018/19 3.296 million
2019/20 3.274 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

It opened on 3 April 1876[2] on the Midland Railway's Birmingham West Suburban Railway branch to serve the burgeoning suburbs of Selly Oak and Bournbrook.

On 20 August 1883,[3] a goods train from Granville Street to Lifford was passing over the bridge over the canal at Selly Oak station when at a speed of 15 miles per hour (24 km/h) it derailed and damaged much of the wooden railing of the bridge. The engine remained on the bridge, but two of the wagons broke through the wooden fencing and tumbled down the embankment.[4]

The station area has changed considerably since the Midland Railway days and lost virtually all its original features as the station was completely rebuilt by British Rail in 1978 to designs of the architect John Broome[5] along with the others on this line when the Cross-City route was commissioned. Prior to the rebuild, the station had only received a limited service (mainly at peak hours) for much of the 1960s and 1970s.

On 11 April 1993, a railway employee at the station was threatened with sticks and two masked men stole takings of hundreds of pounds.[6] The station received a £85,000 (equivalent to £174,400 in 2019)[7] facelift in 1994 with the number of car park spaces expanded from 50 to 86, new lighting, fencing and closed circuit TV[8]

Station masters
  • Nathaniel Dottoms 1876 - 1877
  • Mr. Viney 1877 - 1881
  • W.G. Stevenson 1881 - 1882
  • James Dingley 1882 - 1883
  • R. Harwood 1883 - 1885
  • J.H. Marston 1885 - 1886
  • J. Hull 1886 - 1891
  • Henry Lewis 1891[9] - 1902
  • J.H. Brayne 1902 - 1904
  • W.H. Baines 1904 - 1908 (afterwards station master at Willenhall)
  • C.W. West 1908 - ???? (afterwards station master at Heeley)
  • E. Meredith ca. 1914
  • Albert White ???? - 1948
  • H.J. Turner 1948 - 1954[10] (formerly station master at Camp Hill)
  • W. Close ???? - 1959 (afterwards station master at Portishead, Somerset)
  • W.H. Shepperson 1959[11] - ????

Services

The station is only served by Cross City Line trains operated by West Midlands Trains, which are currently Class 323 electrical multiple units. Pedestrian and vehicular access is via Heeley Road, off the B384 (the former A38) Bristol Road. The station and line are on an embankment.

The site has recently been expanded with the addition of a new car park with 93 free spaces, making Selly Oak station a new Park and Ride site.[12] Access between platforms is via a covered overhead bridge, with lifts available. The overhead bridge has views of Bournbrook, The University of Birmingham and the city centre itself.

Selly Oak Station is equipped with real-time information departure boards which were previously installed in 2006 by former Cross City Line franchise holder Central Trains. There are automated ticket machines and windowed ticket booths.

Trains call every 10 minutes each way during the day on Mondays to Saturdays (less frequently after 8pm) and every half hour on Sundays.[13]

References
  1. Station facilities for Selly Oak
  2. "Local and District News". Worcester Journal. British Newspaper Archive. 8 April 1876. Retrieved 23 July 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. "Accident at Selly Oak on 20 August 1883". Railways Archive. Railways Archive. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  4. "Alarming Railway Accident at Selly Oak". Birmingham Mail. England. 20 August 1883. Retrieved 24 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. Lawrence, David (2018). British Rail Architecture 1948-97. Crecy Publishing Ltd. p. 155. ISBN 9780860936855.
  6. "Rail Snatch". Sandwell Evening Mail. England. 12 April 1993. Retrieved 24 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  8. "Station unveils new look". Sandwell Evening Mail. England. 1 July 1994. Retrieved 24 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. "Midland Railway Staff Changes". Derby Daily Telegraph. England. 3 September 1891. Retrieved 24 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. "Mr. H.J. Turner". Birmingham Daily Post. England. 30 November 1954. Retrieved 24 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. "New Stationmaster for Selly Oak". Birmingham Daily Post. England. 2 September 1959. Retrieved 24 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. "Birmingham City Council - Railway Station Car Parks".
  13. Table 69 National Rail timetable, May 2016
Preceding station National Rail Following station
West Midlands Railway
Cross-City Line
  Historical railways  
Somerset Road
Line open, station closed		   Midland Railway
Birmingham West Suburban Railway		   Stirchley Street
Line and station (now Bournville) open
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