Duddeston railway station

Duddeston railway station serves the Duddeston area of Birmingham, England. It is sited on the Cross-City Line between Bromsgrove and Redditch in the south and Four Oaks and Lichfield Trent Valley in the north and the Chase Line between Birmingham International and Rugeley Trent Valley. Both lines run towards Birmingham New Street in the southbound direction.

Duddeston
National Rail
Duddeston station
General information
LocationDuddeston, Birmingham
England
Coordinates52°29′17″N 1°52′16″W / 52.488°N 1.871°W / 52.488; -1.871
Grid referenceSP088878
Managed byWest Midlands Railway
Transit authorityTransport for West Midlands
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeDUD
Fare zone2
ClassificationDfT category E
Key dates
1837Opened as Vauxhall station
1869Rebuilt and reopened
1889renamed Vauxhall and Duddeston
6 May 1974renamed Duddeston
Passengers
2019/20Increase 0.408 million
2020/21Decrease 0.116 million
2021/22Increase 0.242 million
2022/23Increase 0.385 million
2023/24Decrease 0.382 million
Location
Map
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

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Vauxhall station in 1837

Duddeston opened in 1837 as Vauxhall, the temporary Birmingham terminus of the Grand Junction Railway from Warrington.[1]: 12  When the permanent terminus at Curzon Street opened in 1839, Vauxhall became a goods-only station. An extract from an 1859 railway inspector's report into a minor collision reveals something of how the station was operated:[2]

There are sidings on both sides of the main line, and the station being on a curve, and the view interrupted by buildings, it is necessary to have a series of signalmen at short intervals for the protection of the switches and crossings connected with the main line


One of these signalmen (for the protection of the down line), when he had any shunting to do, had to warn a signalman on his right by turning on a disc signal; and he had also to work the arm of a semaphore signal on the Birmingham side of the station to stop all down trains on the main line.

The station was rebuilt and re-opened to passengers in 1869 under the LNWR and was renamed Vauxhall and Duddeston in 1889.

In 1941 it was hit by a bomb during a night raid and was destroyed. It was rebuilt in a temporary fashion, and in the mid-1950s it caught fire and was subsequently rebuilt.

The line through the station, to Walsall via Perry Barr, was electrified in 1966 as part of the London Midland Region's electrification programme.[3] The actual energization of the line from Coventry to Walsall through Perry Barr took place on 15 August 1966.[4]

The station was renamed Duddeston on 6 May 1974.[5]

The entrance and ticket hall are over the tracks, on the Duddeston Mill Road bridge. The former Midland Railway line to Derby is nearby.

Adjacent are railway sheds that were once used for industrial purposes. They are now disused and the entrance has been blocked to prevent trespassing. A shed on the opposite side of the station to the remaining sheds has been demolished and its site is wasteland. The station has two island platforms serving four tracks, but only one island platform and two tracks remain in use; the others have fallen into disrepair.

The remaining platform features artwork on black metal backgrounds.

Facilities

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The station has a ticket office located on the concourse, though it is open from 08:00 to 10:00 on Mondays to Fridays only.[6] There is also a ticket machine on the concourse.[7]

In 2011, London Midland proposed the closure of the ticket office.[8] The request was denied.[9]

Services

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Platform artwork and disused sheds
 
A London Midland Class 323 departs Duddeston with a service to Redditch in 2008

Duddeston is served by West Midlands Trains with services on both the Cross-City Line[10] and the Chase Line.[11][12] Cross-City services were operated using Class 323[13] until September 2024 and currently by Class 730 Electric multiple units (EMUs) while Chase Line services are operated using Class 350 and Class 730 EMUs.[14]

The typical service pattern is as follows:

Mondays to Saturdays

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  • 4 trains per hour (tph) northbound to Aston.

A limited number of trains continue past Walsall to Rugeley Trent Valley, usually 2 trains per day on weekdays.

Sundays

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  • 2 tph northbound to Lichfield Trent Valley, calling at all stations.
  • 2 tph southbound to Redditch, calling at all stations.
  • 1 tph to Walsall, calling at all stations.
  • 1 tph to Wolverhampton, calling at all stations.

The average journey time to Birmingham New Street is around 5 minutes.[15]

Preceding station   National Rail Following station
Aston   West Midlands Railway
Lichfield – Four Oaks – Birmingham – Bromsgrove/Redditch
Cross-City Line
  Birmingham New Street
  West Midlands Railway
Rugeley – Walsall – Birmingham – Wolverhampton
Chase Line
 

References

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  1. ^ Drake, James (1838). Drake's Road Book of the Grand Junction Railway (1838). Moorland Reprints. ISBN 0903485257.
  2. ^ Capt. George Ross (RE) (11 March 1859). Accident Returns: Extract for the Accident at Vauxhall on 26th January 1859. Board of Trade. p. 16.
  3. ^ Nock, O.S. (1966). Britain's New Railway. London: Ian Allan. pp. 147–159.
  4. ^ Gillham, J.C. (1988). The Age of the Electric Train - Electric trains in Britain since 1883. Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 169.
  5. ^ Slater, J.N., ed. (July 1974). "Notes and News: Stations renamed by LMR". Railway Magazine. 120 (879). London: IPC Transport Press Ltd: 363. ISSN 0033-8923.
  6. ^ "Duddeston Train Station". West Midlands Railway.
  7. ^ "Duddeston station map". National Rail. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  8. ^ "Proposed changes to ticket office opening hours". Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  9. ^ "Rail ticket office cuts overruled". BBC News. 17 September 2012.
  10. ^ "Train Times | The Cross City Line | 30 December 2023 until 1 June 2024". West Midlands Railway.
  11. ^ "Train times | 10 December until 1 June 2024 | Rugeley to Birmingham New Street via Walsall". West Midlands Railway.
  12. ^ "Train times | 10 December 2023 until 1 June 2024 | Wolverhampton to Birmingham via Smethwick". West Midlands Railway.
  13. ^ "Class 323 fleet". West Midlands Railway.
  14. ^ "Class 730 fleet". West Midlands Railway.
  15. ^ "Train Timetables and Schedules | Duddeston". West Midlands Railway.
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