Old sign returned as stations could be open this year
CONSTRUCTION of new railway stations on Birmingham’s Camp Hill Line are ‘on track’ to be completed this year as an update is issued on works in Kings Heath.
Three stations, Kings Heath, Pineapple Road, and Moseley Village, are currently under construction and getting ready for the long-awaited return of passenger rail services to that part of south Birmingham after several decades.
The stations closed in 1941 during the Second World War and since then, the Camp Hill Line has been used only by freight and non-stop through-services. The project to restore passenger services on the line was meant to be completed in 2023 but last year it was confirmed that it had been delayed by a year in a depressing update for commuters and residents hopeful for quick and easy connections to Birmingham city centre.
At the time, West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) blamed challenges including an unstable wall, a historic well and a protected species as well as supply chain and inflationary concerns.
However, despite that previous setback, those behind the project have said they are optimistic works will finish in 2024.
A spokesperson for WMCA said on Friday: “The Camp Hill Line stations are on track to complete construction by the end of this year.”
Last week saw a historic wooden sign from the original Kings Heath station being returned to the site ahead of its anticipated opening.
The original station provided over a century of service and was one of the oldest in the West Midlands, having opened as part of the Birmingham and Gloucester railway in 1840.
The station sign was located on the former signal box, which closed in September 1969, almost three decades after the station itself.
Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) says it acquired the original sign from the current owner and describes it as a “symbolic step” towards the return of passenger services on the line.
Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “The people of Moseley, Kings Heath and Stirchley have waited decades for the return of passenger services on the Camp Hill line but that long wait will soon be over.”