Birmingham Snow Hill railway station

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Birmingham Snow Hill station, often called Snow Hill, is in Birmingham city centre on Colmore Row. It is one of three central city stations, along with Birmingham New Street and Birmingham Moor Street. Snow Hill used to be the main station for the Great Western Railway in Birmingham and, at its peak, competed with New Street for services to London and other places.

Today, Snow Hill has three platforms for National Rail trains and is mainly used for local services. West Midlands Trains (under the West Midlands Railway brand) run trains to Worcester Shrub Hill, Kidderminster, Stourbridge Junction, Stratford-upon-Avon and Solihull. There is also a longer-distance service to London Marylebone run by Chiltern Railways. The station is managed by West Midlands Trains, with Chiltern Railways sharing some services.

The station has a long history. It opened in 1852 as part of the Great Western Railway and went through several changes of name and rebuilding, reaching a grand design by 1912. In the 1960s, after electrification of competing routes, Snow Hill saw fewer services and was closed in 1972. It reopened in 1987 in a smaller form. Since then, the focus has been on local cross-city trains and connections to other lines.

Trams once used part of the Snow Hill site. In 1999, a Midland Metro tram terminus was opened at Snow Hill, occupying the space of former platform 4. The tram line was extended into Birmingham city centre in 2016, with a new through stop near the station. The old tram terminus at Snow Hill was closed, and in 2017 the stop was renamed St Chads to avoid confusing it with the main railway station. There are plans to bring the fourth platform back into use for heavy rail trains by around 2026, as part of expanding city centre rail connectivity.

The main entrance is on Colmore Row, with another entrance on Livery Street. The site has a historic background, including remains believed to be connected to the area’s glassworks. Snow Hill remains an important part of Birmingham’s rail network, linking local routes with a single long-distance service to London and connecting with other line extensions and tram networks in the city.