Kings Heath railway station

Kings Heath railway station is a railway station under construction in Kings Heath, Birmingham. It was originally opened in 1840 before being closed to passengers in 1941.

Kings Heath
National Rail
Kings Heath station buildings in 1956, looking upline to Birmingham
General information
LocationKings Heath, Birmingham
England
Coordinates52°26′21″N 1°53′35″W / 52.4392°N 1.8930°W / 52.4392; -1.8930
Grid referenceSP073823
Managed byWest Midlands Railway
Transit authorityTransport for West Midlands
Platforms2
Other information
StatusUnder construction
Station codeKIH
History
Original companyBirmingham and Gloucester Railway
Pre-groupingMidland Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1840Opened as Moseley
1 November 1867Renamed Kings Heath
27 January 1941Closed to passengers
by 1970Closed (goods station)
2024Scheduled to reopen
Location
Map

History

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The station was built on the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway's mainline (now the Camp Hill line) on the border of Kings Heath and Moseley, adjacent to Highbury Park. Upon opening it was called Moseley station, however in 1867 the opening of a new upline station of the same name closer to the centre of Moseley caused the station to be renamed 'Kings Heath'.[1]

The station finally closed to passengers on 27 January 1941[2] due to the Second World War,[3] although it was used as a goods station and coal yard into the late 1960s.[4] It was demolished at some point thereafter.[5] The site of the goods facilities is now a small industrial estate and retail park.

Station masters

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  • G. Potter 1860—1872
  • W. Sibley 1872—1874
  • A. Nowell 1874—1875
  • H. Wells 1875—1877
  • George Stroud 1877—1904
  • John H. Brayne 1904—1914
    (formerly station master at Selly Oak)
  • J.W. Varty 1930—1936[6]
  • Harry Snary 1937—1941[7]
    (also station master at Hazelwell from 1937)

Reopening

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Since the late 2000s, proposals have been made to re-open the station, along with others on the Camp Hill line, for passenger use.[8][9]

In 2019, the project to re-open the stations at Moseley, Kings Heath, and Hazelwell received £15 million in Government funding, with construction due to start in 2020 and aimed for completion in time for the 2022 Commonwealth Games,[10] though this was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. In March 2021 it was announced that funding had been found for the project, with an opening date expected in 2023.[11]

Construction work on the three new stations started in late 2022.[12] The reopening of the 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.[13]

It was announced in the 'Birmingham Mail' that the station would receive the running-in board that was removed from the old station's signal box when the goods facilities were closed and the box switched out.

Preceding station   National Rail Following station
  Future services  
West Midlands Railway
Disused railways
Longbridge   Birmingham and
Gloucester Railway
  Camp Hill
Hazelwell   Midland Railway
Camp Hill line
  Moseley

References

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  1. ^ "Midland Railway. Opening of the new station at Moseley". Birmingham Daily Gazette. England. 30 October 1867. Retrieved 28 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. ^ "Five Birmingham Station to Close". Coventry Evening Telegraph. England. 22 January 1941. Retrieved 28 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ "Kings Heath Station". Rail Around Birmingham. 2004. Retrieved 8 November 2008.
  4. ^ "Kings Heath Station". www.railaroundbirmingham.co.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  5. ^ "Kings Heath Station". Rail Around Birmingham & the West Midlands.
  6. ^ "Stationmaster's Death". Birmingham Daily Gazette. England. 4 August 1936. Retrieved 27 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "Stationmasters' Appointments". Market Harborough Advertiser and Midland Mail. England. 1 January 1937. Retrieved 27 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "Rail Development Strategy" (PDF). West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2008.
  9. ^ "Rail passenger lines considered". BBC News. 19 August 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  10. ^ "Birmingham railway station project receives £15m funding". BBC. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  11. ^ "Full steam ahead for Camp Hill line to reopen as final budget approved". West Midlands Combined Authority. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  12. ^ "| West Midlands Network testing". www.tfwm.org.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  13. ^ "Camp Hill: Further delays to south Birmingham railway line". BBC News. 27 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.