Smethwick Galton Bridge railway station
Smethwick Galton Bridge is a split-level railway station in Smethwick, West Midlands, England. It is at a point where two railways' lines cross on two levels. It has platforms on both lines, allowing interchange between them. The two low-level platforms serve the Birmingham New Street to Wolverhampton Line, while the two high-level platforms serve the Birmingham Snow Hill to Worcester Line. The high level line passes over the low level line at a right angle on a bridge. West Midlands Railway manage the station and operate the majority of its services, with  others provided by Chiltern Railways, London Northwestern Railway and Transport for Wales. Running parallel to the low-level line is the Birmingham New Main Line canal. The high-level platform extends over the canal, and the line Northbound quickly passes over a surviving section of the higher Old Main Line. It is an important interchange; 587,287 people changed trains at the station during 2018/19. History. The station was opened in September 1995 as part of the Jewellery Line scheme to reopen the line between Smethwick and Birmingham Snow Hill station. It was built as an interchange station between two lines , and the platforms on both lines opened at the same time. It is named after the adjacent Galton Bridge. Upon opening, the nearby Smethwick West station became redundant and was closed soon after. Services. There are 4 platforms at Smethwick Galton Bridge. Platforms 1 & 2 are on the Birmingham - Worcester line, whilst Platforms 3 & 4 are on the Birmingham - Wolverhampton line. High-level. West Midlands Railway provide most of the passenger services, on the high level platforms they offer 6 tph (trains per hour) between Birmingham Snow Hill and using their Turbostar DMUs, of these, 4tph continue past Stourbridge to  , and two of these continue to either and/or , with some services continuing to . In the opposite direction, 3tph extend beyond Snow Hill to and 3tph , with 1tph each from Dorridge and Whitlocks End extending to . Chiltern Railways also offer morning peak services to London Marylebone on the Chiltern Mainline with return journeys in the other direction in the evening, usually terminating at Kidderminster. On Sundays, the level of service drops to 1tph between Dorridge and Stourbridge Junction and another tph between Stratford-Upon-Avon (via Whitlock's End) and Worcester stations, providing 2tph for Smethwick Galton Bridge between Birmingham Snow  Hill and Stourbridge Junction. Low-level. West Midlands Railway also provide the majority of the services on the lower-level platforms. A half-hourly local stopping service between Birmingham New Street and operated by EMUs, calls at all stops between Birmingham and Wolverhampton, with most trains continuing to after Birmingham New Street. An hourly long-distance service to run by London Northwestern Railway also calls, originating at Birmingham New Street operated by Class 350 EMU. Transport for Wales operates an hourly semi-fast service to and then either / or and (alternate hours) using their Class 158 DMU units, and to  in the opposite direction, providing Smethwick Galton Bridge with a direct rail link to Birmingham International Airport. These services combined provide the station 4tph to Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton. On Sunday, the level of service drops to an hourly local service between Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton, stopping at all stations on the line, and an hourly long-distance service between Birmingham New Street and Liverpool Lime Street, providing Smethwick Galton Bridge with 2tph to both Wolverhampton and Birmingham New Street.