Dudley Port railway station
Dudley Port railway station serves the Dudley Port and Great Bridge areas of Tipton, West Midlands, England. Situated on both the Stour Valley Line and Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford line, the station is operated by West Midlands Railway.
Upper Level station
History
The station opened in 1852. Despite the name, and being located just north-east of the town centre of Dudley, Dudley Port station is not actually situated within the Borough of Dudley, but in the town of Tipton and the modern day borough of Sandwell. The name Dudley Port emerged during the 19th century, due to the many warehouses and wharves being built along the Birmingham Canal. The area initially became known as Dudley's Port, before the title Dudley Port was adopted.Dudley Port Station was previously known as Dudley Port High Level Station, as a Low Level Station was situated on the South Staffordshire line from Dudley to Walsall, which passes beneath.
High Level was dropped from the station's name when the Low Level station closed in 1964 as a result of the Beeching Axe which saw passenger services axed along the South Staffordshire Line.
The upper level was revamped in the mid-1980s and officially re-opened by West Midlands County councillor Gordon Morgan in 1989. The previous arrangement of one side platform, and one island platform was demolished and the station today consists of a singular island platform situated between the running lines.
The station's facilities have been criticised by local residents and local officials alike since seating arrangements are within a bus shelter on the platform, and the ticket office is actually situated within a shipping container.
Today's usage
Services
Dudley Port is served by West Midlands Railway services between and, under a franchise agreement with the Department for Transport.During Monday–Saturday daytime, there is a train every half hour, which calls at all stations between Wolverhampton and Walsall via Birmingham New Street. The first service of the day extends from Walsall to Rugeley Trent Valley, as well as one late evening service. On Sundays, there is typically one train per hour between Walsall and Wolverhampton, with some additional morning/evening peak services that start/terminate at Birmingham New Street.
Three main West Midlands Railway express services used to call at this station - the first a morning peak service from to New Street, the second an evening peak service from to and the third the final service from Birmingham New Street to.
Previously, Dudley Port was considered the main intermediate station between Birmingham and Wolverhampton due to being formed on two levels and being the junction to Dudley Town. This status was transferred to Sandwell and Dudley station as Dudley Port's junction status was removed with the closure of the low-level platforms and a large car park being built at Sandwell and Dudley.
Low Level station
History
The Low Level Station stood on the former South Staffordshire Line opened in 1850, which connected Dudley Port with Dudley railway station. The line had reasonable passenger usage until about the early 1880s, when it began to slump at several stations, leading to the line becoming a largely freight only operation in 1887. It remained open for goods traffic, which was considerable at this time, as the district had become highly industrialised in the Black Country's heyday. It closed in July 1964 as passenger services were phased out along the line due to the Beeching Axe and the blue brick station building was demolished three years later, although the railway remained open to goods trains until 1993.Just to the north of Dudley Port Low Level was the junction for the connecting line to the GWR Snow Hill Line via Great Bridge. To the south was the junction for the short connecting line to the Stour Valley Line.