Lichfield City railway station



Lichfield City is one of two railway stations serving the city of Lichfield, in Staffordshire, England. It is situated in the city-centre, and is towards the northern end of the Cross-City Line 17¼ miles (28 km) north east of Birmingham New Street. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by London Midland. The other station serving Lichfield is Lichfield Trent Valley on the city outskirts.

Early years
The station opened in 1849, on the South Staffordshire Railway's line from Lichfield Trent Valley to Walsall and Dudley. This later became part of the London and North Western Railway. The architect for the South Staffordshire Railway was Mr Edward Adams of London and the station building built in 1849 was a modest creation in a Tudor style, with tall gables and chimneys. Services to Birmingham began in 1884, when a branch to Sutton Coldfield opened, connecting with an earlier LNWR line. This original station was demolished in 1882 when the present one was built to accommodate these additional services. The original station stood further east than the present one. It was approached from the city by a path which ran across Levett's Field and up some brick steps in front of the station, these can still be seen near the present Fire Station.

Recent history
Passenger trains northwards via Trent Valley station to Burton upon Trent ceased in January 1965, along with trains to Walsall so Lichfield City became the northern terminus of the line from Birmingham. This later became part of the Cross-City Line. In 1988 under British Rail, the line was extended back to Trent Valley. Lichfield City has retained considerable character.

The line to Walsall subsequently closed to all traffic in March 1984, except for the portion as far as Anglesey sidings (near Hammerwich), which was retained to serve a Charringtons oil terminal. Traffic from there ceased in 2002 and the line has been disused since then (though the track remains intact).

In June 1990 the station was in the news after an off-duty soldier was shot and killed, and two others were wounded when two IRA gunmen opened fire. A plaque commemorating the incident is situated in the station.

The South Staffordshire Line
The South Staffordshire Line from Lichfield Trent Valley to Burton on Trent is often used for diversions (when the route via Tamworth is closed for engineering work), as well as for occasional freight trains and empty stock transfers.

Monday-Saturday
Southbound Northbound
 * 2 trains per hour (tph) to Redditch, of which:
 * One starts here calling at all stations except Shenstone and Duddeston
 * One from Lichfield Trent Valley calling at all stations except Duddeston
 * 2 tph to Longbridge, of which:
 * One starts here calling at all stations except Shenstone and Duddeston
 * One from Lichfield Trent Valley calling at all stations except Duddeston
 * 2 tph to Lichfield Trent Valley;
 * 2 tph terminate here to return south.

Sunday
Southbound Northbound
 * 2 tph to Redditch, calling at all stations
 * 2 tph to Lichfield Trent Valley