BIRMINGHAM SNOW HILL STATION

'Birmingham Snow Hill' is a railway station located in the centre of Birmingham, England, on the site of a much larger station, built by the former Great Western Railway (GWR). Though only a shadow of its former self, it is still the second most important railway station in Birmingham after the former LMS New Street Station. It is also the current terminus of the Midland Metro light rail line from Wolverhampton (via Wednesbury and West Bromwich), pending the line's extension.
The reopened Snow Hill station has three platforms used for National Rail trains. It used to have four, however one was converted to be used by Midland Metro trams. However, the planned extension of the Midland Metro through Birmingham City Centre includes a dedicated embankment for trams alongside the station, which will allow the fourth platform to be returned to main line use.

Contents

Services

History

Closure

Rebirth

See also

Bibliography

External links

Services

Snow Hill is the principal destination of the Chiltern Main Line which links Birmingham with London (Marylebone). Express services from London are operated by Chiltern Railways, with some Chiltern services continue onwards to Kidderminster.
Snow Hill serves as the hub for a number of local train services which are operated by Central Trains, including:

★ local services to Dorridge, via Solihull (with some peak time services going on to Warwick and Leamington Spa)

★ local services to Stratford-upon-Avon via Shirley;

★ local services to Worcester via Smethwick Galton Bridge, Stourbridge Junction, Kidderminster and Droitwich Spa.
Most of these services operate as through services, for example from Dorridge or Shirley to Stourbridge Junction.

History

The site of the station was originally occupied by Oppenheims Glassworks, however this was demolished. Many parts of the building and machinery are believed to be underneath the station and car park therefore, during the development alongside the station, the area was designated the title of site of archaeological importance by Birmingham City Council. The station was opened in 1852 on the Great Western Railway (GWR) line from London (Paddington) to Wolverhampton Low Level Station. It originally bore the name Livery Street Station and was merely a simple large wooden shed. It was renamed Snow Hill in 1858; and the Great Western Hotel added in 1863. By 1859 it was possible to travel from Snow Hill to London in just under three hours.
Snow Hill station was rebuilt in 1871 to accommodate longer trains. The new station consisted of a huge iron arch with a glass roof, with a simple wooden overhead bridge linking the two platforms. It was never intended to be the main station but political gaming between the railway companies prevented the railway reaching its original intended end at Birmingham Curzon Street.
Trains arriving from the south first passed through Snow Hill Tunnel, built by the cut-and-cover method, and then a cutting from Temple Row to Snow Hill. The cutting was roofed over in 1872 and the Great Western Arcade built on top.
In 1906 reconstruction of Snow Hill commenced and this was not completed until 1912. The new station building was intended to compete with New Street, which at the time was a much grander building than it is today. The rebuilt station consisted of a large booking hall with a glass roof arch. It contained lavish waiting rooms with oak bars. The bottom end of the station contained fish platforms (Birmingham was and still is a major participant in the seafood industry) and cargo storage. The station was twice as long as the one that stands today.

Closure

As part of the Beeching axe closure programme in the 1960s, it was decided that Snow Hill station was unnecessary. Snow Hill was recommended for closure, and all the services were switched to New Street station. Express services were diverted via New Street from 1967. Local services north from Snow Hill to Wolverhampton, and a largely unpublicised four trains per day service to Langley Green, via Smethwick West railway station (using Class 122 units nicknamed ''bubble cars''), were the last to run and ended in March 1972.
Despite a huge public outcry the building was not preserved. The Great Western Hotel was demolished in 1969 and the station was largely demolished in 1977, when the dangerous state of the building was revealed. The ironwork of the station roof was badly corroded in several places and the station had begun to literally slide down the hill due to unstable ground and foundations.
A few items including the original gates and booking hall sign were saved and later used in the Birmingham Moor Street railway station restoration. The site was for many years used as a car park.

Rebirth

In the mid 1980s British Rail decided to re-open Snow Hill station as part of the cross-city transport plan for Birmingham.
In 1987 the newly rebuilt Snow Hill station opened for services to the south only, with some of the remaining parts of the original station lost (e.g. the old parcels office; plus platforms and the mosaic floor from former waiting rooms) and others incorporated (notably the now-sealed entrance, with GWR crest, in Livery Street). Services to London Marylebone were restarted, along with many local services. Moor Street, at the southern end of Snow Hill tunnel was relocated from its former terminus location, which then closed, to become a through station adjacent to the tunnel mouth.
The new Snow Hill station, with a multi-storey car park above, has been widely criticised as draughty, unwelcoming and architecturally unimaginative.
On 24 September 1995, services north to Smethwick and onwards to Worcester were resumed. The first day also saw steam-hauled special trains, to Stourbridge Junction.
In 1999 the line to Wolverhampton was re-opened as a light-rail (tram) line, the Midland Metro.
In 2007 a new entrance on Livery Street was due to open giving commuters access to the lower Snow Hill part of the City Centre. The entrance had a projected cost of £9.94 million and was due to open in January 2007. However due to Central Trains failing to apply for planning permission, the cost has risen to £12.8 million and is now expected to open in early 2008.
By 2012, the station will cease being a terminus for the Midland Metro light-rail (tram). The Midland Metro will continue through the Streets of Birmingham and will terminate at Hagley Road, Edgbaston. The Metro will stop at St Chads Tram Stop and Bull Street on the Line Extension for commuters who want to transfer to trains.

See also

★ Transport in Birmingham

Bibliography

★ Boynton, John (2001). ''Main Line to Metro: Train and Tram on the Great Western Route: Birmingham Snow Hill - Wolverhampton''. Kidderminster: Mid England Books.

★ Harrison, Derek (1978). ''Salute to Snow Hill: The Rise and Fall of Birmingham's Snow Hill Railway Station 1852 - 1977''. Birmingham: Barbryn Press.

External links

★ Image of old station

★ 1890 Ordnance Survey map of the station

★ Article on this station from Rail Around Birmingham & the West Midlands

★ Article on the Metro station from Rail Around Birmingham & the West Midlands



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