Pineapple Road railway station
Hazelwell station buildings looking upline to Birmingham, viewed from below Cartland Road bridge c.1907 | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Stirchley, Birmingham England | ||||
| Coordinates | 52°25′48″N 1°54′29″W / 52.4299°N 1.9080°W | ||||
| Grid reference | SP063813 | ||||
| Line | Camp Hill line | ||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Status | Under construction | ||||
| Station code | PIR | ||||
| Website | Camp Hill line stations National Rail | ||||
| History | |||||
| Original company | Birmingham and Gloucester Railway | ||||
| Pre-grouping | Midland Railway | ||||
| Post-grouping | London, Midland and Scottish Railway | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 1 January 1903 | Opened as Hazelwell | ||||
| 27 January 1941 | Closed | ||||
| 7 April 2026 | Scheduled to reopen as Pineapple Road | ||||
| |||||
Pineapple Road railway station is a railway station under construction on the border of Kings Heath and Stirchley, Birmingham. It was first opened in 1903 and closed in 1941. It is set to reopen on 7 April 2026.[1]
History
Construction of the new station started in 1902 on the former B&GR mainline (now the Camp Hill line) on the border of Hazelwell, Stirchley, and Kings Heath, situated between the existing Kings Heath and Lifford stations. [2] The station cost £20,000 (equivalent to £2,012,200 in 2023)[3] to build and was opened on 1 January 1903 as Hazelwell station.[4] It was built to serve the Priory Estate which comprised 150 acres (61 ha).
Originally the station sat at a level crossing with a footbridge for pedestrians. In 1928, Herbert H. Humphries, Birmingham City Council City Engineer and Surveyor, invited tenders for the construction of the Cartland Road bridge over the railway at Hazelwell.[5]
The station closed on 27 January 1941,[6] when passenger services were withdrawn from the line due to "wartime economy measures", and was not reopened.[2] The line remained open for freight and some longer distance passenger services.
The station buildings were the home of Birmingham Model Railway Club from 1963 until 1980.
Reopening
In 2019, the project to re-open the stations at Moseley, Kings Heath, and Hazelwell received £15m in Government funding, with construction due to start in 2020 and aimed for completion in time for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.[7] In March 2021 it was announced that funding had been found for the project.[8] The reopening of the Camp Hill line has been hit by delays and the West Midlands Combined Authority was aiming to reopen the line for passenger use by the end of 2024.[9] Construction finished on the stations in December 2025, and it was handed to Transport for West Midlands (TfWM). There was then a period of driver training, testing and signalling work to ensure the stations are ready to open to passengers. All three stations are scheduled to open on 7 April 2026.[10][11]
After a public vote, it was announced that the reopened station would be called Pineapple Road.[12]
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Future services | ||||
| West Midlands Railway | ||||
| Disused railways | ||||
| Lifford | Midland Railway Camp Hill line |
Kings Heath | ||
References
- ^ "West Midlands rail revolution continues as Mayor announces opening dates for five new stations".
- ^ a b Doherty, Andrew. "Hazelwell Station". Rail Around Birmingham & the West Midlands. Retrieved 17 August 2009.
- ^ UK Consumer Price Index inflation figures from 1209–2024 based on data from "Inflation calculator". Bank of England. London: Bank of England. 18 February 2026. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
- ^ "West Midlands Miscellany". Worcestershire Chronicle. England. 3 January 1903. Retrieved 28 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "City of Birmingham. To Bridge Contractors". Birmingham Daily Gazette. England. 31 May 1928. Retrieved 28 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Five Birmingham Station to Close". Coventry Evening Telegraph. England. 22 January 1941. Retrieved 28 March 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Birmingham railway station project receives £15 million funding". BBC. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
- ^ "Full steam ahead for Camp Hill line to reopen as final budget approved". West Midlands Combined Authority. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
- ^ "Camp Hill: Further delays to south Birmingham railway line". BBC News. 27 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
- ^ "Work finishes on five new West Midlands railway stations". BBC News. 19 December 2025. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
- ^ "West Midlands' five new railway stations to open over next month". BBC News. 11 March 2026. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
- ^ "Pineapple Road to be one of Birmingham's new railway stations".