Cross-City Line
West Midlands RailwayClass 730 arriving atLongbridge in 2024
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Network Rail
Locale	West Midlands
Termini	Lichfield Trent Valley Redditch,Bromsgrove
Stations	25
Service
Type	Heavy rail,Suburban rail
System	National Rail
Operator(s)	West Midlands Railway
Depot(s)	Soho
Rolling stock	Class 730[1][2]
History
Opened	1978
Technical
Line length	32 mi (51 km)
Number of tracks	2 (Lichfield – Bromsgrove) 1 (Barnt Green – Redditch)
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge
Electrification	25 kV ACOHLE
Route map

v t e Cross-City Line
freight line toBurton-on-Trent Lichfield Trent Valley forWest Coast Main Line Lichfield City M6 Toll Anglesea Sidings freight terminal South Staffordshire line toWalsall Shenstone Limit ofTfWM area Blake Street Butlers Lane Four Oaks Sutton Park line Sutton Coldfield tunnel Sutton Coldfield Wylde Green Chester Road Erdington Gravelly Hill M6 'Spaghetti Junction' Chase Line toWalsall Aston toBirmingham International Windsor Street Goods Duddeston Cross Country Route and Birmingham–Peterborough line Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford line toBirmingham International Camp Hill line Curzon Street Birmingham New Street Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford line toWolverhampton Central Goods Granville Street Five Ways Church Road Church Road Tunnel Somerset Road University Selly Oak Bournville Camp Hill line Kings Norton Northfield Longbridge former line toHalesowen Cofton/Cofton Farm former station opened 17 September 1840 closed December 1843. Limit ofTfWM area Barnt Green M42 Alvechurch Redditch Gloucester loop line Blackwell Lickey Incline Bromsgrove Birmingham to Worcester via Bromsgrove line Cross Country Route
TfWM free car parking Other car parking

TheCross-City Line is asuburban rail line in theWest Midlandsregion ofEngland. It runs for 32 mi (51 km) fromRedditch andBromsgrove inWorcestershire, its two southern termini, toLichfield,Staffordshire, its northern terminus, viaBirmingham New Street, connecting the suburbs ofBirmingham in between. Services are operated byWest Midlands Railway.

Cross-City Line services began in 1978, as a project of theWest Midlands Passenger Transport Executive (WMPTE) to improve local rail services. It made use of pre-existing railways lines, which previously did not have any through services. Services were extended toRedditch in 1980, and toLichfield Trent Valley in 1988. The route waselectrified in 1993. In 2018 services were extended toBromsgrove, which was added as a second southern terminus.

What is now the Cross-City Line was not built as a single route; it is a combination of lines opened by different companies at different times between 1837 and 1885.^[3]

On the northern half of the route (Birmingham–Lichfield):

• The oldest section is betweenDuddeston (originally named Vauxhall) andAston, which was part of theGrand Junction Railway from Birmingham toEarlestown, opened in 1837.^{[4][page needed]} This was extended towards the centre of Birmingham, atCurzon Street, the following year, and into Birmingham New Street in 1854.^[5]
• The line from Aston toSutton Coldfield was opened by theLondon and North Western Railway in 1862,^[5] and extended toLichfield City in 1884, where it connected with theSouth Staffordshire line betweenWalsall andLichfield Trent Valley, which had opened in 1849.^[6]

On the southern half of the route (Birmingham–Redditch):

• TheBirmingham and Gloucester Railway had opened in 1840, following what is now the Cross-City Line betweenBromsgrove andKings Norton, although this line ran to Curzon Street (later New Street) via what is now theCamp Hill line.^[5][7]
• The single-track branch line from Barnt Green toRedditch followed in 1859, as part of theMidland Railway'sGloucester Loop Line, which was closed south of Redditch in 1964.^[8]
• TheBirmingham West Suburban Railway, taking the route of the Cross-City Line betweenKings Norton and central Birmingham viaBournville, opened to its original terminus atGranville Street in 1876, it was extended into Birmingham New Street in 1885, and the Granville Street terminus closed.^[5][9]

These lines from Birmingham to Barnt Green and Redditch were operated by theMidland Railway and the line to Lichfield was operated by theLondon and North Western Railway, so there were no through services. This continued despite theGrouping of the LNW and Midland Railways to form theLondon Midland and Scottish Railway in 1921, and subsequentnationalisation to formBritish Railways.

Prior to the creation of the Cross-City Line, the northern half of the route from New Street to Sutton Coldfield and Lichfield had a well used regular suburban service, which had been switched from steam todiesel multiple unit (DMU) operation in 1956, leading to a large increase in usage.^[3] However, the southern half of the route from New Street to Redditch was a different matter: In 1964, the closure of all the stations between New Street and Redditch (along with the branch to Redditch) was proposed by theBeeching Axe. They were reprieved from closure in 1967, however the service was cut back to a handful of trains at peak times for commuters.^[10]

In the early-1970s theWest Midlands Passenger Transport Executive (WMPTE) gained responsibility for managing and planning the local railway network in the West Midlands, and they set about looking for ways it could be improved: The WMPTE Passenger Transport Plan of 1972 recognised the need for a cross-city rail service, and especially an improved service to the south of Birmingham with new stations to serve the growth areas in the south of the city.^[11]

The Cross City Line project was sanctioned by the WMPTE in May 1975 and launched on 8 May1978. Costing £7.4 million (equivalent to £78,410,000 in 2023),^[12] it involved joining the services into Birmingham from north and south into a single through service, along with the re-opening ofFive Ways station (the original had closed in 1944 as a wartime economy measure^[13]) and new stations to serve theUniversity of Birmingham andLongbridge (the former station at Longbridge was on the branch line to Halesowen and Old Hill). Most of the other stations on the southern half of the route were rebuilt at the same time, and improvements were made to signalling and junctions. Of the new stations, the only one to be officially opened wasUniversity, which the then Secretary of State for TransportBill Rodgers MP formally opened on 8 May 1978. There is a plaque on platform 2 marking this occasion.^[14][11]

Services initially ran on a 15-minute frequency between Longbridge and Four Oaks via Birmingham New Street, with an hourly extension to Lichfield City, using refurbishedClass 116Diesel multiple units. The new service was an instant success, and by the end of the first year was carrying 30,000 passengers daily.^[15][14]

Services were extended toRedditch in 1980, initially on an hourly frequency, increased to half-hourly in 1989. The service to Lichfield City was increased to half hourly in 1986, and on 28 November 1988, some services were extended to terminate at the re-opened high level platforms ofLichfield Trent Valley.^[15][14][16]

By the late-1980s, the elderly diesels operating the service were becoming increasingly unreliable, and theWMPTE (now reorganised asTransport for West Midlands, formerlyCentro) pressed forelectrification. The decision to electrify the line was made on 7 February 1990 by the then Transport MinisterCecil Parkinson during the campaign fora by-election in theMid Staffordshire constituency.^[17][14]

Work started on electrifying the route with the25 kV ACoverhead line system in May 1990, and it was completed on 6 June 1993. Redditch, Alvechurch, and Blake Street stations were rebuilt at this time, and several other stations including Barnt Green were extensively modified to accommodate the new longer electric trains. The signalling was also modernised at the same time as the electrification, as part of a parallel scheme. A new fleet ofClass 323Electric multiple units were introduced to work the electrified line, and replace the elderly diesels. Full service with the Class 323s did not begin until 1994, due to initial reliability problems with the new units. Some elderlyClass 304,Class 308 andClass 310 EMUs were drafted in to operate services in the interim, along with some of the original diesel units.^[17][14]

The cost of the electrification scheme was estimated at £64.5 million (equivalent to £165,950,000 in 2023),^[12] of which around 70% was funded by Centro, and the remainder by theRegional Railways sector ofBritish Rail.^[17]

AtSelly Oak, a new bridge was constructed in 2011 to carry the railway over a new section of the A38.

The single track between Barnt Green and Redditch restricted the number of trains that could run to Redditch to two per hour. In November 2013 a scheme was approved to construct a newpassing loop atAlvechurch to allow the service to be increased to three trains per hour.^[18][19] The line between Barnt Green and Redditch was closed for eight weeks for the works to be carried out, and was reopened on 1 September 2014. The improved service began in December 2014.^[20][21]

Electrification was also extended from Barnt Green toBromsgrove station, which was rebuilt in 2016 and was added as a second southern terminus once electrification was completed in August 2018.^[22] These changes allowed three trains per hour to run to both Redditch and Bromsgrove.^[23][19][24]

Three of the ten newClass 350 trains that London Midland introduced in 2014 displaced Class 323s on other routes in the West Midlands to enable an increase in capacity between Longbridge and Redditch, and the extension of all remaining Longbridge trains to Bromsgrove after electrification. Class 350s are not currently authorised to be used on the Cross City Line.^[25]

Post-pandemic the Cross-City Line weekday service has been reduced from 6 to 4 trains per hour in each direction usually operated by two sets ofClass 730s, forming 6 cars. 6 trains per hour are expected to be reintroduced as part of Midlands Rail Hub.^[26] TheClass 323 were finally withdrawn from the line after 30 years of service, on 27 September 2024. As part of the newWest Midlands Trains franchise, they were replaced byClass 730Aventras.^[27][1][2]

In the December 2024 timetable^[28] the off-peak weekday and Saturday service on the core section of the line betweenFour Oaks andLongbridge comprises fourWest Midlands Railway trains per hour in each direction. Two northbound trains per hour continue from Four Oaks toLichfield Trent Valley while two southbound trains per hour continue fromBarnt Green toRedditch, and the other two southbound trains per hour continue toBromsgrove.

The service consists of:

• 2tph fromLichfield Trent Valley toBromsgrove
• 2tph fromFour Oaks toRedditch

BetweenBirmingham New Street andBarnt Green, the Cross-City Line is contiguous with theCross Country Route. Some longer distance services stop atUniversity, includingCrossCountry trains toCardiff andWest Midlands Railway trains toHereford.

Tracks are also shared with theChase Line betweenBirmingham New Street andAston.

There are long-standing proposals for the re-introduction of local trains on theCamp Hill line^[29] (effectively a loop between Birmingham New Street and Kings Norton).

In October 2018, as part of a 30-year strategy of Transport in the West Midlands several proposals were put forward. By 2034, there would be longer trains, electrification of the line fromLichfield Trent Valley toBurton-on-Trent allowing 2 services per hour to be extended toBurton-on-Trent via a newly reopenedAlrewas. Beyond 2034, it was proposed that new semi-fast service could serve more larger stations.^[30]

There is also a single tracked mothballed line to the formerAnglesey Sidings which was in use until 2001. The line remains in situ but rusty beyond repair. There is a possibility that the line which connected to Walsall from Lichfield viaBrownhills andPelsall could reopen as Mayor of the West MidlandsAndy Street promised to look and make the reopening of the line feasible.West Midlands Combined Authority also released a plan for the line as part of a 10-year transport plan called the 2026 Delivery for Transport.^[31]

In 2021–22, the Cross-City Line's 24 stations (excluding New Street) had combined passenger numbers of 12.4 million,^[32] The busiest station on the route besides Birmingham New Street isUniversity, with 3.05 million passenger entries and exits, and the least busy station isAlvechurch with 151,042 passenger entries and exits in 2023/24.

Therailway stations andcities,towns andvillages served by the line are listed below.

• Lichfield Trent Valley – on the outskirts ofLichfield, with connections toLondon Northwestern Railway services along theTrent Valley line betweenLondon Euston andCrewe
• Lichfield City railway station – in centralLichfield
• Shenstone railway station inShenstone, Staffordshire
• Blake Street railway station inHill Hook, Sutton Coldfield
• Butlers Lane railway station inFour Oaks
• Four Oaks railway station inFour Oaks, Sutton Coldfield
• Sutton Coldfield railway station inSutton Coldfield
• Wylde Green railway station servingWylde Green andBoldmere
• Chester Road railway stationPype Hayes,Erdington andWylde Green
• Erdington railway station inErdington
• Gravelly Hill railway station inGravelly Hill
• Aston railway station inAston – theWalsall Line diverges here
• Duddeston railway station inDuddeston
• Birmingham New Street railway station inBirmingham City Centre
• Five Ways railway station inFive Ways, Birmingham
• University railway station serving theUniversity of Birmingham andQueen Elizabeth Hospital
• Selly Oak railway station inSelly Oak
• Bournville railway station inBournville
• Kings Norton railway station inKings Norton andCotteridge
• Northfield railway station inNorthfield, Birmingham
• Longbridge railway station inLongbridge
• Barnt Green railway station inBarnt Green – branches off the main line toCheltenham here.
• Alvechurch railway station inAlvechurch
• Redditch railway station inRedditch
• Bromsgrove railway station inBromsgrove

A large stretch of the northern part of the line closely follows theA5127 road.

• In 1990, Railscene produced a driver's eye view of the then-diesel line, featuring the elderly rolling stock still in operation. Many features of the line have since been changed, for example, the rebuilding of Alvechurch and Redditch stations, the abolition of Lichfield City's goods sidings and closure of the Brownhills Line and the removal of the fourth platform of Lichfield Trent Valley.
• There was a highly publicised opening ceremony to celebrate theelectrification and service enhancement at Redditch in 1993.
• In 1995, Video 125 released a video of a driver's eye view of the recently electrified line, narrated by Kay Alexander. On the video near Lichfield an elderlyClass 304 unit is used on the opposite direction service – this was due to not all 323 units being in traffic in time for the new services starting.
• A full replica of the Cross-City line was released for theTrain Simulator franchise in March 2021 and onTrain Sim World 3 in November 2022 by Dovetail Games, both featuring theClass 323.^{[citation needed]}
• There is a highly detailed reproduction of the part between Redditch and Birmingham New Street for the free train simulatorsBVE and OpenBVE.^[33]

• Transport in Birmingham
• Camp Hill line

• Boynton, John (1993).Rails Across The City, The Story of The Birmingham Cross City Line. Kidderminster: Mid England Books.ISBN 0-9522248-0-1.

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• Railway lines opened in 1978

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