West Midlands Trains also operate London-Birmingham regional trains over the route, all operating via Northampton. They also operate a Birmingham-Liverpool Lime Street service over the route, and local services between Northampton and Birmingham, they also operate local services between Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury.
Transport for Wales operate regional services between Birmingham International and various destinations in Wales via Shrewsbury.
CrossCountry use part of the route for their service from Manchester Piccadilly to destinations in the south of England. Many trains on this route run via Wolverhampton, Birmingham and Coventry, turning off towards Leamington Spa.
History
The line from Rugby to Birmingham was opened as part of the London and Birmingham Railway, in 1838, and originally ran into its terminus at Birmingham Curzon Street. The Grand Junction Railway opened its line into Curzon Street the following year, linking Birmingham to Wolverhampton, Stafford, and the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. However, this line ran via Aston to Wolverhampton (see map). The London and Birmingham, and Grand Junction railways merged in 1846 to form the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). Soon after, work started on building a new, more centrally located station in Birmingham, which became known as Birmingham New Street station. Finally, on 1 July 1852, the Stour Valley Line from Wolverhampton to Birmingham via Smethwick opened. It started at Bushbury, just north of Wolverhampton where it joined the Grand Junction Railway, to Birmingham New Street. It was promoted by the Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Stour Valley Railway, which was soon absorbed by the LNWR.[2][3]
In 1987, British Rail commissioned artist Kevin Atherton to produce a series of sculptures to be erected along the line between Birmingham New Street station and Wolverhampton. The finished piece was titled Iron Horse, and consists of twelve different horse silhouettes, fashioned from steel. The construction material was chosen for its historic associations with the Black Country.[4][5]
There were also three services a day to Walsall, until a timetable change in May 2019 saw it removed and replaced by two morning services per day to Shrewsbury.
Despite the heavy traffic carried by the line, it is only double track throughout, and heavily congested, especially between Coventry and Birmingham. In the 1930s, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) started work on quadrupling the line between Coventry and Birmingham, however only preparatory work was carried out before the scheme was cancelled due to the outbreak of World War II.[7] Periodic calls have been made since to quadruple the line between Coventry and Birmingham to ease congestion.[8]
^Tipton Civic Society – Brief History of Tipton Archived 2012-09-15 at archive.today
^"Rugby to Wolverhampton". Warwickshire Railways. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
^Public Sculpture of Birmingham including Sutton Coldfield, George T. Noszlopy, edited Jeremy Beach, 1998, ISBN0-85323-692-5
^"Where Black Country railway horse sculptures came from". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 13 March 1987. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
^"Smethwick Galton Bridge Station 1995 – Present". Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
^"Canley Halt". Warwickshire Railways. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
^"Centro: Work to solve Birmingham and Coventry rail bottleneck needed in addition to high speed rail". Global Rail News. 16 February 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
Jowetts Railways Centres Volume 1, Alan Jowett (PSL, 1993)
A Century of Railways Around Birmingham and the West Midlands, Volumes 1, 2 & 3, John Boynton (Mid England Books, 1997–1999)
Rail Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland, S K Baker (OPC, 2004)
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford Line.
rugby, birmingham, stafford, line, also, known, birmingham, loop, railway, line, west, midlands, england, loop, west, coast, main, line, wcml, between, rugby, stafford, west, midlands, cities, coventry, birmingham, wolverhampton, direct, route, between, rugby,. The Rugby Birmingham Stafford line also known as the Birmingham loop 1 is a railway line in the West Midlands of England It is a loop off the West Coast Main Line WCML between Rugby and Stafford via the West Midlands cities of Coventry Birmingham and Wolverhampton The direct route between Rugby and Stafford is the Trent Valley Line Rugby Birmingham Stafford line Birmingham loop Trains of London Midland and Virgin Trains at Wolverhampton in 2012OverviewOwnerNetwork RailLocaleWest Midlands region WarwickshireWest MidlandsWolverhamptonStaffordshireTerminiRugbyStaffordStations21HistoryOpened1852 complete route TechnicalTrack gauge1 435 mm 4 ft 8 1 2 in standard gaugeRoute map Click to expand vteRugby Birmingham Stafford lineLegendWest Coast Main LineStafford and Uttoxeter RailwayStafford to Wellington lineStaffordWest Coast Main Line Trent Valley line PenkridgeLittleton CollieryGaileyFour AshesBushburyWolverhampton Shrewsbury lineWalsall Wolverhampton lineVictoria BasinWolverhampton High Level Wolverhampton Low LevelWolverhampton amp Walsall RlyWalsall Wolverhampton lineBirmingham Snow Hill toWolverhampton Low Level LineWolverhampton Steel TerminalChillington WharfMidland MetroMonmore GreenEttingshall RoadDeepfields and Coseley 1852 1902 CoseleyOxford Worcester andWolverhampton RailwayPrinces End branch lineTiptonSouth Staffordshire lineDudley PortAlbionSandwell amp DudleySpon LaneSmethwick Galton BridgeBirmingham to Worcestervia Kidderminster lineSmethwick Rolfe StreetSohoChase LineSoho EMU DepotWinson GreenHarborne branch lineMonument LaneCross Country Route Cross City LineBirmingham New StreetChiltern Main LineCurzon StreetCross City Line Chase LineCamp Hill LineBirmingham Peterborough lineand Cross Country RouteAdderley Parkto AstonStechfordLea HallMarston GreenBirmingham InternationalStonebridge RailwayHampton in ArdenBerkswellBerkswell LoopTile HillCanleyCoventry to Nuneaton lineCoventryCoventry Leamington lineCoventry Loop LineBrandon and WolstonWest Coast Main Line Trent Valley line Leamington Rugby lineMidland Counties RailwayRugbyRugby and Stamford RailwayGreat Central Main LineNorthampton loopWest Coast Main Line Contents 1 Places served 2 Services 3 History 3 1 Accidents 4 Infrastructure 5 References 6 External linksPlaces served EditvteRugby Birmingham Stafford lineLegendand other local routesto Crewe Stafford to Stoke on TrentPenkridge Colwich Junction Colwichto Shrewsbury Rugeley Trent ValleyWolverhampton WalsallCoseley Tipton ArmitageDudley Port Sandwell amp Dudley to Burton upon TrentSmethwick Galton Bridge Lichfield Trent ValleySmethwick Rolfe Street to Bromsgrove amp Redditch Birmingham New Street Aston Adderley Park Water Orton to Burton upon TrentStechford TamworthLea Hall PolesworthMarston Green AtherstoneBirmingham International Hampton in Arden NuneatonBerkswell Tile Hill to LeicesterCanley Bedworth BulkingtonCoventry Shilton Brinklowto Leamington Spa Rugby to Northamptonto London Euston Key West Coast Main Line Birmingham Loop Line freight and diversionary lines other linesThese cities towns and villages are served by the line Stafford Penkridge Wolverhampton Coseley Tipton Dudley Port High Level proposed interchange for the West Midlands Metro Sandwell Smethwick Birmingham Adderley Park serving Saltley Stechford Lea Hall Marston Green Birmingham International for National Exhibition Centre and Birmingham Airport Hampton in Arden Berkswell Tile Hill Canley Coventry RugbyServices EditA mixture of intercity regional cross country and local services operate over all or parts of the route Avanti West Coast CrossCountry Transport for Wales and West Midlands Trains all operate services Avanti West Coast uses the route as part of their intercity service between London Euston and Birmingham New Street some services are also extended to from Wolverhampton Holyhead or Scotland West Midlands Trains also operate London Birmingham regional trains over the route all operating via Northampton They also operate a Birmingham Liverpool Lime Street service over the route and local services between Northampton and Birmingham they also operate local services between Birmingham Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury Transport for Wales operate regional services between Birmingham International and various destinations in Wales via Shrewsbury CrossCountry use part of the route for their service from Manchester Piccadilly to destinations in the south of England Many trains on this route run via Wolverhampton Birmingham and Coventry turning off towards Leamington Spa History EditThe line from Rugby to Birmingham was opened as part of the London and Birmingham Railway in 1838 and originally ran into its terminus at Birmingham Curzon Street The Grand Junction Railway opened its line into Curzon Street the following year linking Birmingham to Wolverhampton Stafford and the Liverpool and Manchester Railway However this line ran via Aston to Wolverhampton see map The London and Birmingham and Grand Junction railways merged in 1846 to form the London and North Western Railway LNWR Soon after work started on building a new more centrally located station in Birmingham which became known as Birmingham New Street station Finally on 1 July 1852 the Stour Valley Line from Wolverhampton to Birmingham via Smethwick opened It started at Bushbury just north of Wolverhampton where it joined the Grand Junction Railway to Birmingham New Street It was promoted by the Birmingham Wolverhampton and Stour Valley Railway which was soon absorbed by the LNWR 2 3 The LNWR itself became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway LMS in 1923 and part of British Railways during Nationalisation in 1948 The line was electrified along with the rest of the WCML during the late 1960s in the wake of the BR 1955 Modernisation Plan In 1987 British Rail commissioned artist Kevin Atherton to produce a series of sculptures to be erected along the line between Birmingham New Street station and Wolverhampton The finished piece was titled Iron Horse and consists of twelve different horse silhouettes fashioned from steel The construction material was chosen for its historic associations with the Black Country 4 5 Many of the smaller stations on the line were closed in the 1950s and 60s especially between Birmingham and Wolverhampton However some new stations were opened in the late 20th century Birmingham International station was opened in 1976 to serve Birmingham Airport and the National Exhibition Centre and in 1995 another new station Smethwick Galton Bridge was opened serving as a two level interchange with trains on the Birmingham Snow Hill to Worcester Line 6 There were also three services a day to Walsall until a timetable change in May 2019 saw it removed and replaced by two morning services per day to Shrewsbury Accidents Edit 1967 Stechford rail crash 9 killed 16 injured Infrastructure EditDespite the heavy traffic carried by the line it is only double track throughout and heavily congested especially between Coventry and Birmingham In the 1930s the London Midland and Scottish Railway LMS started work on quadrupling the line between Coventry and Birmingham however only preparatory work was carried out before the scheme was cancelled due to the outbreak of World War II 7 Periodic calls have been made since to quadruple the line between Coventry and Birmingham to ease congestion 8 The line is electrified with overhead wires at 25 kV AC References Edit Network Rail Route 17 PDF Tipton Civic Society Brief History of Tipton Archived 2012 09 15 at archive today Rugby to Wolverhampton Warwickshire Railways Retrieved 1 October 2015 Public Sculpture of Birmingham including Sutton Coldfield George T Noszlopy edited Jeremy Beach 1998 ISBN 0 85323 692 5 Where Black Country railway horse sculptures came from bbc co uk BBC 13 March 1987 Retrieved 15 January 2015 Smethwick Galton Bridge Station 1995 Present Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands Retrieved 4 September 2015 Canley Halt Warwickshire Railways Retrieved 1 October 2015 Centro Work to solve Birmingham and Coventry rail bottleneck needed in addition to high speed rail Global Rail News 16 February 2011 Retrieved 1 October 2015 Jowetts Railways Centres Volume 1 Alan Jowett PSL 1993 A Century of Railways Around Birmingham and the West Midlands Volumes 1 2 amp 3 John Boynton Mid England Books 1997 1999 Rail Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland S K Baker OPC 2004 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rugby Birmingham Stafford Line Route map KML file edit help Template Attached KML Rugby Birmingham Stafford LineKML is from Wikidata Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rugby Birmingham Stafford line amp oldid 1082194222, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
