New railway stations open to the public

Three new railway stations have opened to the public in Birmingham as part of a £185m project to reinstate links to the city centre.

Camp Hill Line stations Moseley Village, Kings Heath and Pineapple Road opened on Tuesday, allowing locals access to neighbourhood services for the first time since World War Two.

Trains will run twice an hour along the route between the city centre and Kings Norton. Two others opened on a line to Wolverhampton last month.

Estimated journey times to New Street are expected to be about 12 minutes from Moseley Village, 15 minutes from Kings Heath and 17 minutes from Pineapple Road.

Tony Miles is a former resident of Mosley and Kings Heath, yet he travelled down from Acton Bridge to get a view of the new stations in his childhood area.

"It's very exciting having grown up there. I've been on buses to school that went over the line.

He joked about taking the long bus route from Kings Heath to Birmingham city centre, wishing there was a train as a boy.

"I'm fulfilling a lot of dreams all in one today.

"The camp hill line was a line I knew about before I could even speak [as] my Mum used to go to the old Camp Hill school and told me she would get told off for watching trains go pass instead of focusing in lessons," he added.

The Modern Railway Magazine contributor said the new line was long overdue but a valuable investment for the city.

"This is a good thing, restoring connectivity that gets people out of their cars and onto public transport.

"The areas in south of Birmingham have been sort of crying out for better rail services so finally their voices have been heard."

Mags and Penny have lived in Kings Heath for more than 30 years, they said a station connecting them to the city was long overdue.

"I'm very excited," Penny said.

"It's normally such a hassle to get anywhere from Kings Heath because of the traffic and the buses get caught in it, but alas we have a proper public transport route."

Mags added that she hoped that the new station would mark the beginning of "new exciting adventures."

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) authorised the stations on 2 April, clearing the way for passenger services to return to the line for the first time in more than 80 years.

The regulator's authorisation covers the stations' new features, including step-free access via new lifts and accessible connections between platforms.

The new stations followed the reopening of new stations for Willenhall and Darlaston on 19 March. The sites were last visited by trains in 1965.

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