History
The Trent Valley Railway (TVR), which connected the London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) at Rugby with the Grand Junction Railway (GJR) at Stafford, was formed on 21 July 1845 and opened on 15 September 1847, and included a station at Lichfield; in the meantime, the L&BR, GJR and Manchester and Birmingham Railway had amalgamated in July 1846 as the London and North Western Railway (LNWR), which itself absorbed the TVR later in 1846. This first station at Lichfield was built in 1847. This station was situated north of Burton Road approximately 0.5 miles north of the current crossing point. The architect, John Livock, built the station in a Tudor Gothic style.
The South Staffordshire Railway (SSR), which connected Dudley with Burton-on-Trent, was formed on 6 October 1846 by amalgamation of two smaller railways, both of which had been formed on 3 August 1846. The line north of Walsall opened on 9 April 1849, but the station named Lichfield Trent Valley Junction was not opened until August 1849. Lichfield Trent Valley Junction was built south of Burton Road close to Streethay just past the present signal box. From it a spur line descended to the other station north of the crossing point to allow passengers to transfer to the LNWR main line below. The SSR was leased to the LNWR in February 1861, and was absorbed by that company on 15 July 1867.
On 3 July 1871, both of these stations were closed by the LNWR, which replaced them with a single station; Lichfield Trent Valley was built in its present location with high and low-level platforms adjoining each other. The Low Level platforms, serving the Rugby-Stafford line, were situated approximately 400 m (440 yd) south of the original TVR station. The High Level platforms closed on 18 January 1965 with the withdrawal of passenger services between Lichfield City and Burton-on-Trent. On 28 November 1988, the service between Birmingham and Lichfield City was extended, and initially both of the High Level platforms at Lichfield Trent Valley were reopened as a terminus, with steps leading up to boths sides from the low level platforms.. At that time the service was hourly, and the diesel units were shunted as empty coaching stock North from the Down Walsall platform to just past the high level signalbox. There they would be crossed over to the Up Walsall line and proceed into the up platform. These workings remained in place until the now current trailing crossover just south of the high level platform was opened during the electrification and upgrading of the line in 1992. Once the new trailing crossing had been commissioned the Up Walsall platform was closed and the electric trains terminated in the Down Walsall plaform without requiring a shunt move to reverse.
Read more about this topic: Lichfield Trent Valley Railway Station
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