Four Oaks railway station serves the Four Oaks area of

Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, known locally as Sutton ( ), is a town and civil parish in the City of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles sou ...

, West Midlands,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It is situated on the

Cross-City Line The Cross-City Line is a commuter rail line in the West Midlands region of England. It runs for from Redditch and Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, its two southern termini, to Lichfield, Staffordshire, its northern terminus, via Birmingham New ...

. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by

West Midlands Railway West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trade names: West Midlands Railway (WMR) (within the ...

History

The station opened in 1884, when the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...

's line from

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

was extended to

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...

. More recently, in May 1978 Four Oaks became the northern terminus of the newly inaugurated Cross-City Line from via

Birmingham New Street Birmingham New Street is the largest and busiest of the three main railway stations in Birmingham city centre, England, and a central hub of the British railway system. It is a major destination for Avanti West Coast services from , and vi ...

, with trains running up to every 10 minutes in each direction. The line to the north towards

Lichfield City Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west of ...

had a less frequent service to begin with (Lichfield being outside the West Midlands PTE boundary), but the growing popularity of the route led to it gaining additional services by the mid-1980s. Eventually, the line was extended to Lichfield Trent Valley in November 1988. Electric operation at the station commenced in 1992 (as far as New Street), with the full line through to Redditch following suit in July 1993. Four Oaks remains a terminus for some services from the south, which mostly use the dead-end platform 3 on the eastern side of the station to turn back. Northbound trains continuing to Lichfield use platform 1 and southbound ones from there use platform 2 (though this can also be used for terminating trains from the south if required).

Facilities

The station has a staffed ticket office on the eastern island platform, which is open seven days per week (Monday - Friday 06:00 - 20:00, Saturday 07:00 - 20:00, Sunday 09:00 - 16:00). Ticket machines are available on platforms 1 and 2/3 for use outside these times and for collecting pre-paid tickets. Train running information is provided by customer help points, timetable posters, automated announcements and CIS displays. Step-free access is available to all three platforms.

Services

The standard Monday to Saturday pattern sees six trains per hour call at the station; two of these terminate at Four Oaks from the south, and four continue north to

, two of which continue to Lichfield Trent Valley. Southbound there are six trains per hour, running via and terminating alternately at either Bromsgrove or

Redditch Redditch is a town, and local government district, in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately south of Birmingham. The district has a population of 85,000 as of 2019. In the 19th century, it became the international centre for the ...

. A limited service operates between Four Oaks and calling at all stations en route.GB National Rail Timetable May 2017 Edition, Table 69 (Network Rail) On Sundays, trains run between Lichfield Trent Valley and Redditch (running the whole length of the line), calling all stations, every 30 minutes.

Notes

References

*''An Historical Survey Of Selected LMS Stations Vol. One'' Dr R Preston and R Powell Hendry. Oxford Pub. Co. (1982, Reprinted in 2001)

External links

Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Four Oaks station
{{West Midlands railway stations, open Sutton Coldfield Railway stations in Birmingham, West Midlands DfT Category E stations Former London and North Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1884 Railway stations served by West Midlands Trains