University railway station (England)

For the other stations named University, see University station.

University
View of redeveloped station in 2023.
General information
Location	Edgbaston, Birmingham England
Coordinates	52.451°N 1.936°W / 52.451; -1.936
Grid reference	SP043837
Managed by	West Midlands Railway
Transit authority	Transport for West Midlands
Platforms	2
Construction
Architect	John Broome (original) 1978 and Associated Architects (rebuild) 2024
Other information
Station code	UNI
Fare zone	2
Classification	DfT category D
History
Original company	British Rail
Key dates
1978	Opened
2024	Rebuilt
Passengers
2019/20	3.975 million
2020/21	0.731 million
2021/22	1.961 million
2022/23	2.633 million
2023/24	3.051 million
Location
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

University railway station serves the University of Birmingham, Birmingham Women's Hospital, and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the West Midlands of England. It is on the Cross-City Line, which runs from Redditch and Bromsgrove to Lichfield via Birmingham New Street. Most services are operated by West Midlands Railway who manage the station, but some are operated by CrossCountry.

The station is the only main line railway station in Great Britain built specifically to serve a university.

History

Construction

Located on the former Birmingham West Suburban Railway, University station was built in 1977–8 to the designs of the architect John Broome as part of the upgrade of the Cross City line. The station was opened by William Rodgers, the Secretary of State for Transport, on 8 May 1978. It is a short distance away from the former Somerset Road station which closed in the 1930s. The station is partly built on the site of the ancient Metchley Roman Fort. The Cross-City Line was electrified in 1993 and the current Class 323 electric multiple units were introduced by British Rail on local services.

In 2017, it was announced that the station would receive up to £10 million as an improvement fund to enhance passenger experience and reduce overcrowding, as part of the Government's Midlands Engine Strategy.

Redevelopment

In July 2019, West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE) and Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) announced plans to redevelop the station in order to accommodate increasing passenger numbers generally and those arising from the 2022 Commonwealth Games, of which two events were held at venues on the University of Birmingham campus. The upgrades are intended to allow the station, originally designed for approximately 500,000 passengers a year, to handle more than 7 million passengers annually. It is one of the busiest railway stations in the West Midlands region; as of 2024, 3.5 million people use the station annually.

The plans included:

• construction of a new, larger station building at the north end of the platforms
• widening of the platforms to alleviate crowding during peak times
• a footbridge over the canal linking the new station to the university campus
• a new public space around the approach to the new building

On 22 July 2020, Minister of State for Transport Chris Heaton-Harris announced £12 million of government funding towards the expected £56 million cost of the project. The remaining £44 million was to be funded by a consortium comprising the University of Birmingham, Birmingham City Council, Network Rail, West Midlands Trains, and the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP.

Construction work took place from 2021 to 2024. The architects were Associated Architects and the contractor was VolkerFitzpatrick. The extended platforms were opened in time for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games in July 2022, and the new buildings were opened on 28 January 2024. Numerous other facilities within the station were improved, replaced, or expanded. The widths of the platforms were doubled and equipped with a canopy for sun and rain protection, and the landscaping was improved.

Facilities

Pedestrian access is via University Road West, close to the Medical School and bus interchange - around 330 yards (300 m) uphill from University Square. Owing to the station's campus location on a service road there is no car parking, although nearby Selly Oak station is a designated Park and Ride station. The station is alongside the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, a popular cycling and jogging route. Access is at street level as there is a fence between Platform 2 and the towpath.

On the concourse are two automated ticket machines and two windowed ticket booths, staffed all day Monday to Saturday and from 9:20 on Sundays. There is lift access down to both platforms from the entrance. Platform 2 has a covered waiting room. Fare control is enforced by a line of automatic ticket barriers installed in April 2009, at Five Ways station.

A Centro livery Class 323 arriving at the station in 2007

A West Midlands Railway Class 323 to Redditch departs University in 2021

Services

The station is served by West Midlands Trains with local Transport for West Midlands branded "Cross-City" services, operated using Class 323 Electric multiple units (EMUs) until September 2024 and currently by Class 730 EMUs.

West Midlands Railway's longer-distance services to Hereford are operated using Class 196 diesel multiple units (DMUs) and CrossCountry services to Cardiff and Nottingham are operated by Class 170 DMUs.

University station is the sixth busiest station in the Transport for West Midlands region in terms of passenger numbers, and the busiest without a direct link to London. Just under four million passenger journeys were made to and from the station in the periods 2018–19 and 2019–20.

The typical off-peak weekday service, in trains per hour (tph) is:

Platform 1 (Northbound)

All services from Platform 1 stop at Birmingham New Street with an average journey time of around 7 minutes.

Services from this platform include:

On Mondays to Saturdays:

West Midlands Railway:

• 5 trains per hour (tph) run northbound to Birmingham New Street
  • Of which:
    • 2 tph continue to Four Oaks via Sutton Coldfield, calling at all stations Duddeston to Four Oaks.
    • 2 tph continue to Lichfield Trent Valley, calling at all stations except Duddeston.
    • 1 tph runs to Birmingham New Street only.

CrossCountry:

• 1 tph to Nottingham via Derby.
• 1 train per day (tpd) to Stansted Airport via Nuneaton, Leicester, Peterborough and Cambridge.

On Sundays:

West Midlands Railway:

• 2 tph to Lichfield Trent Valley, calling at all stations
• 1 tph to Birmingham New Street, calling at Five Ways and Birmingham New Street only
• 1 tph to Birmingham New Street only.

CrossCountry:

• 1 tph to Nottingham

Platform 2 (Southbound)

Weekday services from this platform include:

West Midlands Railway:

• 4 trains per hour run to Longbridge via Selly Oak and Kings Norton
  • Of which:
    • 2 tph continue to Bromsgrove, 1tph does not call at Barnt Green.
    • 2 tph continue to Redditch via Alvechurch, calling at all stations.

• 1 tph runs to Hereford via Bromsgrove and Worcester Foregate Street. In the peak, there are some additional trains (1 tph) to Worcester Shrub Hill via Great Malvern.

CrossCountry:

• 1 tph to Cardiff Central via Cheltenham Spa, Gloucester and Newport.

On Sundays:

West Midlands Railway:

• 2 tph to Redditch, calling at all stations
• 1 tph to Bromsgrove, calling at all stations.
• 1 tph to Hereford.

CrossCountry:

• 1 tph to Cardiff Central
• 1 tpd to Leicester

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Five Ways		West Midlands Railway Lichfield – Four Oaks – Birmingham – Bromsgrove/Redditch Cross-City Line		Selly Oak
Birmingham New Street		West Midlands Railway Birmingham – Bromsgrove – Worcester – Hereford		Bromsgrove or Droitwich Spa or Barnt Green
Birmingham New Street		CrossCountry Cardiff – Nottingham		Worcestershire Parkway

Disabled access

There is level access from the street to the ticket office and footbridge. Lifts provide access to both platforms from the footbridge. The station has a wide ticket gate which wheelchair users can use unaided.

External links

• Train times and station information for University railway station (England) from National Rail

• Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: University railway station