Four Oaks railway station

Four Oaks
Four Oaks station, looking north
Location	Four Oaks, Birmingham England
Grid reference	SP117980
Transit authority	Transport for West Midlands
Platforms	3
Other information
Station code	FOK
Fare zone	5
Classification	DfT category E
History
Opened	1884
Passengers
2016/17	0.750 million
2017/18	0.750 million
2018/19	0.823 million
2019/20	0.805 million
2020/21	0.121 million
Location
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Four Oaks railway station serves the Four Oaks area of Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, England. It is situated on the Cross-City Line. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by West Midlands Railway.

History[]

The station opened in 1884, when the London and North Western Railway's line from Birmingham to Sutton Coldfield was extended to Lichfield. More recently, in May 1978 Four Oaks became the northern terminus of the newly inaugurated Cross-City Line from Longbridge via Birmingham New Street, with trains running up to every 10 minutes in each direction.

The line to the north towards Lichfield City had a less frequent service to begin with (Lichfield being outside the West Midlands PTE boundary), but the growing popularity of the route led to it gaining additional services by the mid-1980s. Eventually, the line was extended to Lichfield Trent Valley in November 1988. Electric operation at the station commenced in 1992 (as far as New Street), with the full line through to Redditch following suit in July 1993.

Four Oaks remains a terminus for some services from the south, which mostly use the dead-end platform 3 on the eastern side of the station to turn back.^[1] Northbound trains continuing to Lichfield use platform 1 and southbound ones from there use platform 2 (though this can also be used for terminating trains from the south if required).

Facilities[]

The station has a staffed ticket office on the eastern island platform, which is open seven days per week (Monday - Friday 06:00 - 20:00, Saturday 07:00 - 20:00, Sunday 09:00 - 16:00). Ticket machines are available on platforms 1 and 2/3 for use outside these times and for collecting pre-paid tickets. Train running information is provided by customer help points, timetable posters, automated announcements and CIS displays. Step-free access is available to all three platforms.^[2]

Services[]

The standard Monday to Saturday pattern sees six trains per hour call at the station; two of these terminate at Four Oaks from the south, and four continue north to Lichfield City, two of which continue to Lichfield Trent Valley. Southbound there are six trains per hour, running via Birmingham New Street and terminating alternately at either Bromsgrove or Redditch. A limited service operates between Four Oaks and Wolverhampton calling at all stations en route.^[3]

On Sundays, trains run between Lichfield Trent Valley and Redditch (running the whole length of the line), calling all stations, every 30 minutes.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Butlers Lane		West Midlands Railway Cross-City Line		Sutton Coldfield
Terminus

Notes[]

References[]

• An Historical Survey Of Selected LMS Stations Vol. One Dr R Preston and R Powell Hendry. Oxford Pub. Co. (1982, Reprinted in 2001) ISBN 0-86093-168-4

External links[]

• Train times and station information for Four Oaks railway station from National Rail
• Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Four Oaks station

Coordinates: 52°34′48″N 1°49′41″W / 52.58000°N 1.82806°W / 52.58000; -1.82806