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Kings Norton  | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Kings Norton railway station in 2023, only the two outer platforms are in use. | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Kings Norton,Birmingham England | ||||
| Coordinates | 52°24′47″N1°56′02″W / 52.413°N 1.934°W /52.413; -1.934 | ||||
| Grid reference | SP046795 | ||||
| Managed by | West Midlands Railway | ||||
| Transit authority | Transport for West Midlands | ||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | KNN | ||||
| Fare zone | 3 | ||||
| Classification | DfT category D | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 1849 | Opened | ||||
| 1978 | Rebuilt | ||||
| 2006 | Original building demolished | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2019/20 |  1.512 million | ||||
| 2020/21 |  0.231 million | ||||
| 2021/22 | 0.537 million | ||||
| 2022/23 | 0.676 million | ||||
| 2023/24 | 0.835 million | ||||
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Kings Norton railway station serves theKings Norton andCotteridge areas ofBirmingham,England. It lies on theCross-City Line fromRedditch andBromsgrove throughBirmingham New Street toLichfield. The station's main entrance is located on Pershore Road South, theA441.
The current Kings Norton station is the second station to be built in the Kings Norton area. The originalLifford railway station (the first of three stations to bear the Lifford name) was the first.[1] The station opened in 1849 as part of theBirmingham and Gloucester mainline toBirmingham Camp Hill terminus (later toCurzon Street).
In 1852 the stationmaster, Thomas Clark, was fined 50s (equivalent to £343 in 2023)[2] for causing a collision. He allowed a goods-train on the line when an express train was due, and used defective signal lamps. The express train collided with the goods train and there was substantial damage, but no loss of life.[3]
On 19 March 1864 at 6:00 pm, a luggage train with several trucks of sheep suffered a failed axle and all of the trucks behind were thrown off the line. Two of the trucks containing sheep descended the embankment and overturned, killing many of the sheep instantly. A fast train from Bristol was halted before it reached the collision site.[4]
Upon the connection of theBirmingham West Suburban Railway (now part theCross City line) to Birmingham New Street in 1885, this route became preferable to the original mainline (now theCamp Hill line) forMidland express routes. The platforms were extended in length in 1892 with the growth of the BWSR, enabling the construction of a large coal and goods yard with sidings for the adjacentTriplex factory. In the mid 1920s, two additional lines and platforms were added, opening to traffic on 14 March 1926. Stations on the Camp Hill line were closed to Passenger Traffic from January 1941, although passenger trains continue to use the line and stop at Kings Norton Station.[5]
The station was rebuilt in 1978[6] byBritish Rail and the lines through the station wereelectrified in 1993.
From 1965 the position of station master was abolished.
With the development of both bus and tram services, the need for such a large facility reduced from the 1930s onwards. The result is that today although all four platforms remain in place, only the outer two are in passenger use, with the middle island platforms now derelict.
Refurbished as part of the Cross-City line in 1978, it retained some of its original features following refurbishment, unlike the other 'cross city line' stations. The original station building survived, leased out for commercial purposes, until it was demolished in February 2006 for safety reasons. An extension car park provides aPark and Ride facility.
Kings Norton is served byWest Midlands Trains services, usingClass 323electric multiple units. West Midlands Trains operate the Cross-City line on behalf ofTransport for West Midlands.
Kings Norton Station is equipped with real-time information departure boards which were installed in 2006 byCentral Trains.
There is step-free access to platform 1 (for trains towardsBirmingham New Street) from the ticket office entrance. Step-free access to platform 4 (for trains towardsLongbridge) is via the Pershore Road South road bridge and the car park.
The station is served byWest Midlands Trains with localTransport for West Midlands branded "Cross-City" services, operated usingClass 323Electric multiple units (EMUs)[14] until September 2024 and currently byClass 730 EMUs.[15]
The off-peak service pattern is as follows:
Mondays to Saturdays:
Sundays:
Services on Sundays call at all stations between Lichfield T.V. and Redditch and all stations between Bromsgrove and Birmingham New Street.[16][17]
| Preceding station |  National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Midlands Railway | ||||
| Future services | ||||
| Terminus | West Midlands Railway | |||
| Disused railways | ||||
| Terminus | Midland Railway Camp Hill line | Lifford | ||
Work on the reopening of the intermediate stations on theCamp Hill line began in autumn 2022, and the stations had been due to open by the December 2023 timetable change, with two services per hour along the line,[18] giving Kings Norton six trains an hour to Birmingham New Street once again, a practice that was paused because of reduced Cross-City Line services following the coronavirus pandemic.
The reopening of the Camp Hill line has been hit by delays and the West Midlands Combined Authority is now aiming to reopen the line for passenger use by the end of 2024.[19]
Discussions are currently underway to electrify and re-open platform 2 forCross City line services which would allow for six trains an hour to serve the Cross City line once again, as there is currently a track path clash between the Cross City and Camp Hill lines which prevents more than four local services an hour crossing the junction just before the station.[20]
Kings Norton Station has been used, along with many other areas of Birmingham, as a location in the BBC daily serialDoctors (for example in an episode first broadcast on 9 November 2011).
