West Coast Mainline in Brum (2/2): Proof House-Smethwick

Services from East Anglia, the East Midlands, Yorkshire, the north-east and Scotland will switch to the West Coast Mainline at Proof House Junction in order to reach New Street Station.

Landor Street (Top)

Heading west from Proof House Junction, the line runs through the Landor Street and Garrison Street trading estates.

It then rides on a viaduct above Landor Street, Lawley Middleway and Montague Street, travels past the Curzon Gate offices and apartments and the Sita recycling plant, and then arrives at Curzon Street Junction

Curzon Street Junction (Top)

Curzon Street Junction connects the West Coast Mainline and the Cross City Line. It is the busiest rail junction in Birmingham.

The junction is next to the monumental disused Curzon Street Station that was built as the original terminus of the Birmingham-Euston Line in 1837.

A derelict 8-acre site next to the junction is being redeveloped as City Park: a linear urban park that will be the centrepiece of the regenerated Eastside area of central Birmingham.

Proof House Canal Junction (Top)

At Curzon Street Junction, the line travels above the Digbeth Branch Canal and past the Proof House Canal Junction which connects the Digbeth Branch to the Typhoo Arm.

The Gun Barrels Proof House overlooks the canal junction.

Park Street Gardens (Top)

From the Proof House Canal Junction, the line runs on an embankment above New Canal Street and Fazeley Street, past a belt of workshops and warehouses, and then skirts Park Street Gardens and runs in a cutting beneath Park Street.

Bull Ring (Top)

From Park Street, the line enters a tunnel that carries it beneath the Bull Ring and Moor Street Station on the Leamington-Worcester Line.

Rotunda/New Street Station (Top)

The line then briefly emerges into daylight by the iconic Rotunda before travelling through another tunnel into New Street Station.

New Street Signals Box (Top)

Heading west from New Street Station, the line travels past the grade-two-listed New Street Signals Box (1964): an early example of concrete brutalist architecture.

Stour Valley Tunnel (Top)

From the signal box, the route runs under Navigation Street and Hill Street and then enters the 772-metre Stour Valley Tunnel (1847) which carries it beneath Suffolk Street Queensway, Alpha Tower, Broad Street, Centenary Square, the International Convention Centre, the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal and the National Indoor Arena.

The line emerges from the Stour Valley Tunnel beneath Vincent Street by St Marks Recreation Ground in Ladywood.

New Street Junction (Top)

The Stour Valley Tunnel contains New Street Junction which connects the West Coast Mainline to the Cross City Line.

Services for south Birmingham, the south-west, South Wales and the Welsh Borders will switch to the Cross City Line at New Street Junction.

Monument Lane (Top)

Heading westwards from the Stour Valley Tunnel, the line runs on a wooded embankment through a belt of inner city housing, roughly parallel to Lighthorne Avenue and St Marks Crescent.

It then passes beneath Ladywood Middleway and runs alongside the Birmingham and Wolverhampton Canal.

There was once a station on Monument Lane beneath Ladywood Middleway. The station, which closed in 1958, stood at the Harborne Branch Junction. The branch line, which closed in 1963, has been partially preserved as the Harborne Walkway.

Icknield Port Loop (Top)

From Ladywood Middleway, the line runs through the Icknield/Rotton Park trading estates which are centred on the Icknield Port Loop of the Birmingham and Wolverhampton Canal.

The route passes the eastern entrance to the loop at Sandy Turn and the western entrance at Rotton Park Junction.

Rotton Park Junction (Top)

Rotton Park Junction is a canal crossroads that connects the Birmingham and Wolverhampton Canal to the east entrance of the Soho Loop and the west entrance of the Icknield Port Loop.

The line travels on a viaduct above Rotton Park Junction and then continues alongside the Birmingham and Wolverhampton Canal.

Winson Green (Top)

Heading west from Rotton Park Junction, the line travels under Dudley Road, past City Hospital, the Heath Street Industrial Estate and a depot on Aberdeen Street; it then continues through a belt of inner city housing before passing under Winson Green Road on the Outer Circle.

Winson Green Railway Station, which closed in 1957, was located beneath Winson Green Road.

A man died after being hit by a train on the section of the line parallel to Aberdeen Street on Sunday 20th February 2011 (News Archive 22/02/11)

Winson Green Prison (Top)

From Winson Green Road, the line continues westwards past modern housing developments and pre-1919 terraces before running on a viaduct above Winson Green Canal Junction.

The canal junction, which connects the Birmingham and Wolverhampton Canal to the west entrance of the Soho Loop, is next to the Northside Business Park and Winson Green Prison.

Smethwick (Top)

Heading westwards from Winson Green Prison, the line crosses the municipal border and enters Smethwick.

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