Camp Hill line
A non-stopCrossCountry passenger service powers along the Camp Hill line to bypass theUniversity branch
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Network Rail
Locale	Birmingham
Termini	Birmingham New Street Kings Norton
Stations	2
Service
Type	Heavy rail
System	National Rail
Operator(s)	CrossCountry West Midlands Trains
Rolling stock	Class 170 "Turbostar" Class 172 "Turbostar" Class 220 "Voyager" Class 221 "Super Voyager"
History
Opened	1840-41
Technical
Number of tracks	2
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge
Route map (Click to expand)

v t e Camp Hill line
Legend
Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford line (West Coast Main Line) New Street Junction Cross-City Line Birmingham New Street (Grand Central) New Street Tunnel Birmingham Curzon Street Proof House Junction Curzon Street Junction Digbeth Branch Canal River Rea Cross-City Line Grand Junction Birmingham–Peterborough line &Cross-Country Route St Andrews Junction Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford line (West Coast Main Line) Grand Union Canal Bordesley Junction Chiltern Main Line & Shakespeare Line Grand Union Canal Camp Hill Goods Camp Hill Brighton Road Moseley Village Moseley Tunnel Kings Heath Pineapple Road River Rea Worcester and Birmingham Canal Cross-City Line Lifford Lifford Curve Kings Norton Cross-City Line & Cross Country Route

TheCamp Hill line is a railway line inBirmingham betweenKings Norton andBirmingham New Street. Its officialELR designation is theSt Andrews Junction to Kings Norton line, as the line piggybacks the station approach of theRugby–Birmingham–Stafford line (accessed via St Andrews Junction and Grand Junction) to enter Birmingham New Street.

The line was once the terminal approach of theBirmingham and Gloucester Railway toCurzon Street before it was incorporated into theMidland Railway and subsequently rerouted to the new Birmingham New Street terminus. The expansion of theBirmingham West Suburban Railway (and the concurrent conversion of New Street into athrough station) resulted in its usurping of the line as the service's primary route. From this point the name ‘Camp Hill line’ was used, named after itsoriginal terminus.

Local passenger services on the line ended in the 1940s and the intermediate stations on the line were closed. Since then it has been used primarily by freight trains and some longer-distance passenger trains only.

It was hoped to resume local services on the route by the end of 2024 after a break of nearly 84 years; however, a July 2024 article inRail magazine suggested a further delay, and stated that the line would be reopening at the end of 2025.^[1] Expansion of these services via newchords connecting the line toBirmingham Moor Street were still in the early planning stage at the end of 2024.

It opened as the northernmost stretch of the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway (B&GR) in December 1840 and ran fromGloucester to a temporary terminus atCamp Hill. The line was extended intoCurzon Street – the main station in Birmingham at that time – in August the following year, with the originalCamp Hill terminus being split into a smaller passenger station and agoods station, the latter of which remained open until 1966. The B&GR itself was incorporated into theMidland Railway in 1845.^[2] The terminus then later switched from Curzon Street toBirmingham New Street station upon its opening in 1854.^[3]

In 1861 a junction was constructed at Bordesley, creating a north to south-east connection from the Camp Hill line to theGreat Western Railway's mainline toOxford andLondon (which remains in use as theChiltern Main Line), and allows trains from Oxford and beyond to run into Birmingham New Street via the Camp Hill line.^[4]

In 1864 a 'direct' line was opened between St Andrews and Landor Street Junctions at the north end of the Camp Hill line, connecting it to the Midland Railway's line toDerby. From this date Midland expresses from Derby toBristol by-passed New Street, and ran via this route toCamp Hill station, where portions of the train bound for Birmingham New Street would be detached or attached from the train. As both the Midland Railway lines from Derby and Bristol approached New Street from the east, this arrangement avoided the need for them to reverse at New Street and thus save time. This arrangement was unsatisfactory, but it persisted until 1885 when the Midland Railway extended theBirmingham West Suburban Railway (BWSR) into New Street from the west, allowing Derby to Bristol trains to run directly through New Street without reversing and rejoin the B&GR route atKings Norton railway station.^[5] With the BWSR in effect replacing the former B&GR mainline as the express route to Birmingham New Street, the route became known as theCamp Hill line.

In 1892, the Lifford Curve opened, creating a north-facing connection between the Camp Hill line and the Birmingham West Suburban Railway, allowing a circular service to operate from New Street via the Camp Hill line and returning via the BWSR (or vice versa). Local passenger services and all six passenger stations along the Camp Hill line were closed as a wartime rationalisation of the network in 1941 and were confirmed as permanently closed in 1946. All station buildings were subsequently demolished.

Since then the line has been used by freight trains and some longer distance passenger trains only.^[5]

The reinstatement of local rail services to the former Camp Hill line has been a long-term aspiration of the city,^[6] and during 2007,Birmingham City Council announced that they were looking into the possibility of reopening the line betweenKings Norton andBirmingham Moor Street via the construction of a railway viaduct from Sparkbrook toBordesley, where trains would be taken into Birmingham Moor Street station. In October 2007, a 1,500-namepetition was handed in to the council asking for the line to be re-opened.^[7] In 2013 the proposal was shelved indefinitely.^[8] The 2007 proposed station sites wereMoseley,Kings Heath, andHazelwell.

In 2016, the newly createdWest Midlands Combined Authority revived the plans to restore local passenger services to the line, and declared it one of their priority transport schemes to be delivered by 2025.^[9][10]

In 2017, the newly electedMayor of the West Midlands,Andy Street, pledged to get work started on restoring services to the line by 2020. Officials were said to be investigating the business case for a fourth station atBalsall Heath (previously calledBrighton Road).^[11] This would meanLifford andCamp Hill would be the only stations not to be reopened.

In August 2017,West Midlands Trains announced plans as part of their franchise deal that the line would reopen by December 2019 as part of a £1 billion investment in the West Midlands. This included a new station at Moseley.^[12]

In February 2018 Street said that the viaduct would not immediately be needed to open the line.Hereford to Birmingham New Street trains – currently routed viaUniversity Station – would be diverted along the Camp Hill line to serve the three new stations, meaning that extra capacity at Birmingham New Street would not be required.^[13] This would also facilitate through train operation towardShrewsbury.

In September 2018, the designs of the new stations –Kings Heath,Pineapple Road, andMoseley Village – were revealed and were planned for reopening by 2021 with a frequency of two trains per hour.^[14] In March 2021 it was announced that funding had been found for the project, with an opening date expected in 2023.^[15] In June 2022, West Midlands Rail Executive announced that following on from a public consultation, the three stations would be named Moseley Village, Kings Heath and Pineapple Road.^[16] An investigation into the business case for reopening Brighton Road as Balsall Heath railway station has since^[when?] been awarded funding.^{[citation needed]}

This line was identified byCampaign for Better Transport in 2019 as a priority 1 candidate for reopening.^[17]

The reopening has been hit by a series of delays: the West Midlands Combined Authority is now aiming to reopen the line for passenger use by the end of 2025, with incumbent West Midlands mayor,Richard Parker, labelling overpromising by his predecessor, Andy Street, as the reason for the delays.^[18][19][20]

Indicative drawings of the current Bordesley Junctions and proposed Bordesley Chords

In July 2018 the Midlands Rail Hub proposal was unveiled, which included the reopening of Moseley, Kings Heath, and Hazelwell stations, and the building of set ofchords (short connecting curves of track) on new viaducts nearBordesley station known as theBordesley Chords.

Although the new Camp Hill line services will initially run on existing track into New Street, the long-term aim is to divert them into Moor Street via the new chords. Currently the Camp Hill line – already extensively connected to theCross-City Line,Cross Country Route, andWCML – passes over theChiltern Main Line, and they are only connected by a junction to the east of the crossing. The new chords would be constructed to the north and west of the crossing, known as the 'East Chord' and 'West Chord' respectively, connecting Moor Street toKings Norton to the southwest andWater Orton to the northeast.^[21] The chords would also allow a number of services fromEast Midlands destinations, such asDerby andLeicester, to be diverted into Moor Street.

In conjunction with the construction of the chords, one of the currently derelict terminus platforms at Moor Street would be reopened (Platform 5) and a new through platform toSnow Hill constructed (Platform 0) in order to accommodate the new services.^{[citation needed]} There is also the potential for a new terminus platform (Platform 6) to be opened and another through platform (Platform −1) added depending on funding and engineering limitations.^{[citation needed]}

Furthermore, construction of the chords would necessitate the closure and demolition of the semi-operational Bordesley station.^[22] There is an option to relocate Bordesley station either east or west of its current location as part of the chords' construction.^[23] Rerouting of the up/downSnow Hill lines between Moor Street and the chords would also be required.

• Christiansen, Rex (1983).A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain, Volume 7 The West Midlands. David St John Thomas David & Charles.ISBN 0-946537-00-3.
• Boynton, John (1993).Rails Across The City, The Story of The Birmingham Cross City Line. Kidderminster: Mid England Books.ISBN 0-9522248-0-1.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toCamp Hill line.

• Birmingham City CouncilCamp Hill Railway Line Study Public Report, July 2007
• Birmingham City CouncilDetailed map of the proposed railway chord linking the Camp Hill line into Moor Street Station

• Rail transport in Birmingham, West Midlands
• Railway lines opened in 1840
• 1840 establishments in England
• Railway lines closed in 1941
• 1941 disestablishments in England
• 2025 in rail transport

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