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56-604: All generations of the Ecomat series are no longer in production. All generations of the Ecomat series are no longer in production. All generations of the Ecomat series are no longer in production. In addition to its use in road vehicles, the Ecomat transmission is also employed in the Class 172 lightweight diesel multiple unit (DMU) trains in service with various operators in Great Britain , in major refurbishments of ČD Class 842 in

112-560: A multi-storey car park stands over the main platform area, meaning artificial lighting is required on the platforms. Like its predecessor, the main entrance is on Colmore Row . Some parts of the original station are still visible (notably the now-sealed entrance, with GWR crest, in Livery Street). Initially only local stopping services to Leamington Spa and Stratford-upon-Avon used the new station. Services at Moor Street, where these services had previously terminated, were switched from

168-405: A 10 platform station. The line north from Snow Hill towards Hockley was quadrupled at the same time, however the cost of widening the twin track Snow Hill tunnel at the southern end was considered prohibitive. There was not enough capacity through the tunnel to accommodate all of the services, and so, as a solution, Birmingham Moor Street was built as an "overflow" station at the opposite end of

224-543: A 23 m (75 ft 6 in) body length, as opposed to the 20 m (65 ft 7 in) length used on previous Class 150 Sprinter DMUs, to increase capacity. West Midlands Trains operate a total of 39 two-car and three-car units, 27 of which had been ordered by predecessor London Midland ; it had originally planned for them to enter service by the end of 2010 on services to and from Birmingham Snow Hill , replacing Class 150s. The original West Midlands Trains sets have revised front ends with end gangways which make

280-476: A dedicated embankment for trams alongside the station and included a new through stop serving Snow Hill. The site of the station was formerly occupied by Oppenheim's Glassworks. This was demolished, but many parts of the building and machinery are believed to be buried underneath the station and car park, and during recent development work alongside the station the area was designated as a site of archaeological importance by Birmingham City Council . The station

336-466: A maximum speed of 100 mph (160 km/h). The 172/0 were built without any onboard toilets, in common with other London Overground stock. Toilets were retrofitted when transferred to WMT. The Class 172s feature BSI (Bergische Stahl Industrie - Autocoupler) couplers which allow them to work in multiple with Class 168 , Class 170 units and most other units with the same coupler. The Class 172 trains are lighter than other Turbostars, due to use of

392-407: A maximum speed of 100 mph (160 km/h). The Class 172/2s and 172/3s used by West Midlands Trains resemble the Class 375 , Class 377 , Class 379 and Class 387 Electrostars by having end gangways to allow access between units. These also resemble the Class 378 by having more of a ' Capitalstar ' style front design rather than the typical ' Electrostar ' front design. These trains have

448-438: A name: 172342: Roger Sumner - in honour of a driver at Worcester who retired in late 2022 after almost 60 years of service. He was the last employee at West Midlands Trains to have previously worked on steam locomotives for British Rail . [REDACTED] Media related to British Rail Class 172 at Wikimedia Commons Birmingham Snow Hill railway station Birmingham Snow Hill , also known as Snow Hill station ,

504-494: A new Snow Hill station, the present incarnation, was built; it reopened in 1987. Today, most of the trains using Snow Hill are local services on the Snow Hill Lines , operated by West Midlands Railway , serving Worcester Shrub Hill , Kidderminster , Stourbridge Junction , Stratford-upon-Avon and Solihull . The only long-distance service using Snow Hill is to and from London Marylebone , operated by Chiltern Railways via

560-422: A projected cost of £9.94 million, but due to Centro's failure to apply for planning permission, and severe technical difficulties, the cost rose to at least £17 million. Although construction and interior finishes' works were largely complete by December 2010, legal disputes between London Midland, Network Rail and Centro caused delay to the opening of the entrance by over a year. The former tram terminus platform

616-702: Is a railway station in Birmingham City Centre . It is one of the three main city-centre stations in Birmingham, along with Birmingham New Street and Birmingham Moor Street . Snow Hill was once the main station of the Great Western Railway in Birmingham and, at its height, it rivalled New Street station with competitive services to destinations including London Paddington , Wolverhampton Low Level , Birkenhead Woodside , Wales and South West England . The station has been rebuilt several times since

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672-450: Is currently operated by West Midlands Railway . The Class 172 is part of the Turbostar range, similar to the Class 168 , Class 170 and Class 171 . There are four sub-classes, all with West Midlands Railway for use on the Snow Hill Lines and Leamington Spa - Nuneaton : The 172/0s and 172/1s resemble the existing Turbostar trains in not having end gangways. These trains have

728-448: Is intended to be returned for use for mainline trains as a fourth platform. However as of September 2020, little work has been conducted other than disconnecting and partial lifting of the former tram line. The fourth platform is now expected to be completed by 2026. In remembrance of a cat kept at the station before its closure, a memorial tile was installed during the works for the reopening. During later refurbishment works in 2014 care

784-614: The Chiltern Main Line . The present Snow Hill station has three platforms for National Rail trains. When it was originally reopened in 1987, it had four, but one was later converted in 1999 for use as a terminus for West Midlands Metro trams on the line from Wolverhampton . This tram terminus closed in October 2015, in order for the extension of the West Midlands Metro through Birmingham city centre to be connected; this included

840-668: The Czech Republic , CAF built C4K in Northern Ireland and the ABB Scandia built IC3 (DSB Class MF) DMUs in Denmark . British Rail Class 172 The British Rail Class 172 is a British diesel multiple unit (DMU) passenger train from the Turbostar family, built by Bombardier Transportation 's Derby Litchurch Lane Works for use on inner-suburban passenger services. The class

896-629: The Department for Transport to re-equip its Cardiff to Portsmouth via Bristol services with 11 new four-car DMUs which would potentially allow the existing Class 158 Express Sprinter trains to be transferred to other services. According to the West of England Partnership, these were likely to be "similar to Class 170s", suggesting that they might be Class 172 Turbostars . The Government announced in December 2008 that Bombardier, with its Turbostar design,

952-487: The Old Dalby Test Track . All units were subsequently delivered to Willesden Traction Maintenance Depot (TMD). All eight 172/0 units entered service for London Overground. These were originally restricted to a top speed of 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) as opposed to their intended design speed of 100 mph (160 km/h), as it was thought there was a fault with the exhaust system requiring modifications to

1008-452: The Snowhill development to carry the tram lines into the city centre. This allows platform 4 to be returned to main line use in the future. The new Snow Hill through stop was opened on 2 June 2016, two days after the full opening of the city-centre extension to New Street. However, the necessary works to allow passenger access to the stop from the street or adjacent railway station had not at

1064-411: The 1970s, a project which was completed in two phases. The first phase was completed on 5 October 1987, when the newly rebuilt Snow Hill station opened for services to the south, along with Snow Hill tunnel . The rebuilt station is on a smaller scale than its Edwardian predecessor, built with two island platforms , giving four platform faces. The station's architecture is functional rather than ornate,

1120-529: The Bombardier FLEXX-ECO bogies - a development of the B5000 bogies used on the Class 220 Voyager DEMU trains, rather than the previous 'Series 3' bogies. Another difference is that they have half-height airdams as opposed to the more standard full height airdams. They also differ from earlier Turbostars in having mechanical transmission rather than hydraulic - gear changes can be distinctly heard as

1176-525: The Class 377/378 Electrostar orders, with subsequent knock-on delays for building the Class 172 sets. Work began at the end of 2009 after the freeing-up of one of Bombardier's production lines following completion of the Class 377 order for First Capital Connect . Eight 172/0 units were built for London Overground. Testing of the first batch of new units, the 172/0 sets for London Overground, commenced in March 2010 on

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1232-527: The Gospel Oak to Barking Line meant that the two-car Class 172s eventually proved insufficient in terms of capacity. Initially, there were plans to replace them with 3- or 4-car DMUs. Later, the government announced plans to electrify the line, with the intention that TfL would procure a new fleet of 4-car EMUs ( Class 710 ) for use on both this route and the inner-suburban routes from Liverpool Street , taken over by London Overground from 2015. Electrification

1288-651: The London Overground 172/0s moved to West Midlands Railway, operated by West Midlands Trains, to replace the remaining Class 150s for transfer to Arriva Rail North and Class 153s operating on the Coventry–Leamington line and the Coventry to Nuneaton line as well as providing extra capacity on the Snow Hill Lines . London Overground operated eight two-car Class 172s on the Gospel Oak to Barking line , replacing

1344-510: The West Country, Stourbridge and Shrewsbury were diverted to New Street, and the branch to Dudley was closed. All that was left was a shuttle service of four trains per day using Class 122 railcars to Langley Green , along with six daily stopping services to Wolverhampton Low Level . With this, as most passenger facilities in the station were withdrawn and virtually the entire site became disused save for one bay platform, Snow Hill then acquired

1400-542: The West Midlands Railway brand. There are four West Midlands Railway trains per hour (tph) serving Snow Hill in each direction, running as follows: Eastbound: Westbound: From 1999 until 2015, Snow Hill was the terminus of the Midland Metro Line 1 from Wolverhampton . Opening on 31 May 1999, it occupied the space previously used by platform 4 of the main line station. The stop had two platforms, and

1456-512: The decision was taken to end main line services through Snow Hill once electrification of the WCML was complete, and divert most of its remaining services through New Street. Long-distance services through Snow Hill ceased in March 1967. Snow Hill tunnel closed to all traffic the following year, with the last train running on 2 March 1968. Local trains towards Leamington Spa and Stratford upon Avon were then terminated at Moor Street. Services to London,

1512-706: The delivery of Class 196 Civity trains. It was later announced that the Class 172/1 fleet will not be returning to Chiltern once the Class 196s entered service with WMT. In late 2007 and early 2008, orders were placed with Bombardier by two rolling-stock leasing companies to purchase a number of Class 172 Turbostar trains. In December 2007, Porterbrook ordered 15 three-car and 12 two-car trains for London Midland for delivery in 2010. In January 2008, Angel Trains, on behalf of London Overground and Chiltern Railways, ordered 12 two-car trains for delivery, which would have been delivered during 2009. But difficulties over deliveries by Bombardier's suppliers led to delays in filling

1568-515: The extension was brought into service as far as Bull Street on 6 December 2015. As part of the extension, a new through Snow Hill stop at a different location opened outside the station and further west, on the existing viaduct near the Livery Street entrance. Funding for this was confirmed in the October 2010 Comprehensive Spending Review . A new viaduct was built alongside the station as part of

1624-485: The first station at Snow Hill, a temporary wooden structure, was opened in 1852; it was rebuilt as a permanent station in 1871 and then rebuilt again on a much grander scale during 1906–1912. The electrification of the main line from London to New Street in the 1960s saw New Street favoured over Snow Hill, most of whose services were withdrawn in the late 1960s. This led to the station's eventual closure in 1972 and its demolition five years later. After fifteen years of closure,

1680-411: The former terminal platforms, which then closed, on to two newly built through platforms, at the southern end of Snow Hill tunnel, making a through station adjacent to the tunnel mouth. In May 1993 Network SouthEast reintroduced limited-stop services to London, initially on a two-hourly frequency, routed to Marylebone instead of the pre-closure destination of Paddington. The service proved popular and

1736-521: The line between Smethwick West and Snow Hill, along with three new stations ( Smethwick Galton Bridge , The Hawthorns and Jewellery Quarter ). In 1999, the line to Wolverhampton was reopened as a light rail (tram) line, the Midland Metro . Work began on a new entrance on Livery Street to give commuters access to the lower Snow Hill and Jewellery Quarter part of the city centre in 2005, but it did not open for business until March 2011. The work had

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1792-476: The mid-1960s Snow Hill was still a major station handling millions of passengers annually; in 1964 Snow Hill handled 7.5 million passengers, compared to 10.2 million at New Street. However the electrification of the rival West Coast Main Line into New Street, meant that British Railways decided to concentrate all services into Birmingham into one station, and Snow Hill was seen as being an unnecessary duplication. In 1966

1848-584: The old Class 150 stock. The units were originally meant to be in service from February 2010, but due to production issues and then what were thought to be exhaust problems (which proved to be a false alarm), the trains entered service only in July 2010, and at reduced capacity due to staff training problems. By December 2010, the whole fleet was in service, allowing the Class 150s to be cascaded to First Great Western and other operators. The units were leased by Angel Trains. The success of London Overground's operation of

1904-534: The original design and the already procured units. It was expected that units for London Midland and Chiltern would be delayed by a further 6–12 months. However, it transpired that the exhaust emission testing had been flawed and that there were no major problems with the units or the original design. Production therefore continued as planned with a slight delay. The four Chiltern Railways units entered service during summer 2011 and left for West Midlands Railway in spring 2021. In 2008, First Great Western applied to

1960-464: The platforms. In 1871 it was rebuilt, and replaced with a permanent structure. The 1871 station had two through platforms, and bay platforms at the Wolverhampton end, covered by an arched roof. Access to the station was from Livery Street from the side. Trains from the south arrived through Snow Hill Tunnel , built by the cut-and-cover method, and in a cutting from Temple Row to Snow Hill. The cutting

2016-404: The railway station, and the closer proximity of Bull Street stop. The stop is now advertised as an alternate interchange to the mainline station with Bull Street being the main interchange. In December 2018 it was announced that a new entrance would be constructed at Snow Hill station, by opening up an arch in the railway viaduct. This will allow direct interchange between St Chads tram stop and

2072-469: The railway was prevented from reaching its original intended terminus at Curzon Street ; London and North Western Railway's engineer Robert Stephenson and solicitor Samuel Carter argued in Parliament that there would be safety risks in rival companies sharing the congested connection into their station. The original station was a simple temporary wooden structure, consisting of a large wooden shed covering

2128-509: The same order as that of London Overground to supplement the Class 168 on its routes from London Marylebone , originally due to be delivered from late 2010. They did not have the tripcock safety system installed—unlike the rest of the Chiltern Railways fleet—as the design of the bogie being used (based on the B5005 found on Class 220 Voyager and Class 222 Meridian trains) meant there

2184-568: The station and platform 3 is used for trains going south. Occasional steam-hauled special trains use the station. Snow Hill is served by Chiltern Railway services to and from London Marylebone . Some Chiltern services continue beyond Birmingham to Stourbridge Junction . The typical Chiltern service pattern is as follows: Local services from Snow Hill, like most local services in the West Midlands, are supported by Transport for West Midlands . They are operated by West Midlands Trains using

2240-467: The time been completed, meaning passengers could only access the stop by a walkway alongside the tracks from the city centre. Stairs and a lift connecting the stop to the street below were completed in September 2017. In January 2017, the stop was renamed St Chads as the name Snow Hill was considered misleading for passengers using the mainline station due to the new stop's lack of direct interchange with

2296-401: The trains accelerate and decelerate. Class 172s have fewer seats than the Class 150s they replaced, but greater overall capacity due to the increased room for standing passengers as well as wider aisles intended to speed boarding and alighting and reduce waiting time in stations. The trains are air-conditioned and have no opening windows, unlike the Class 150s. The Class 172 is designed to

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2352-501: The trains look like the Electrostar family of units. From 1 September 2011, the units started operating on the Snow Hill Lines with some weekend work from Birmingham - Hereford. When first used in service, the units suffered a fault with engine vibration in the passenger cabin, which has since been rectified. The units were originally meant to replace all of the Class 150s, however three were retained. Between late 2018 and early 2019

2408-514: The tunnel to take terminating local trains towards Leamington Spa and Stratford-upon-Avon. The Great Western Hotel was closed at the same time (as guests complained of being kept awake by goods trains running underneath) and converted into railway offices, and a passenger entrance was provided on Colmore Row , which became the station's main entrance. At its height, many trains that now run into New Street station ran into Snow Hill, along with some that no longer run. Services included: As late as

2464-467: The unfortunate title of "the largest unstaffed railway halt in the country". In March 1972 these last services were withdrawn and the station closed entirely, along with the lines through to Smethwick and Wolverhampton, with the exception of a single line from Smethwick West for Coopers Scrap Metal Works in Handsworth (the works is still in operation to this day). Following closure, the derelict station

2520-399: Was approached by a short section of single track. The Snow Hill terminus was officially closed on 24 October 2015, and the approach line disconnected, in order to allow the new extension into Birmingham City Centre to be connected to the existing line. It is therefore the only Midland Metro stop so far to have been permanently closed. Trams terminated at St Paul's until the first part of

2576-543: Was completed in February 2018 (later than the original target of June 2017) and as of June 2018 the Class 172 units were set to be replaced by Class 710 EMUs from November 2018, although this did not happen as planned. They were temporarily replaced by Class 378s redeployed from other parts of the London Overground network and moved to West Midlands Trains in March 2019. By May 2019, Class 710s started to be introduced into service. Chiltern Railways obtained four two-car trains in

2632-413: Was covered by a large glass and steel overall roof. It consisted of two large Island platforms , containing four through platforms, and four bay platforms for terminating trains at the northern end. The through platforms were long enough to accommodate two trains at a time, and scissors crossings allowed trains to pull in front, or out from behind of other trains stood in a platform, effectively creating

2688-553: Was increased to an hourly frequency the following year. Chiltern Railways took over the service after privatisation. The second phase of the Snow Hill reopening project was completed on 24 September 1995, when the Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster Line was reopened to Snow Hill. This allowed the resumption of services to Worcester Shrub Hill via Stourbridge Junction and Kidderminster. The "Jewellery Line" project involved reopening

2744-465: Was no place for the brackets to be mounted. Thus, they were not able to operate on the Aylesbury via Amersham line whilst the current signalling system was in place unless running in multiple with other units on both the front and rear ends, which were fitted with a tripcock. In 2021, all of Chiltern Railways Class 172s were leased to West Midlands Trains for use with their existing Class 172 fleet pending

2800-779: Was one of the pre-qualified bidders for the first 200 DMU vehicles of its planned 1300 new carriages. These new trains were intended for services operated by First Great Western , First TransPennine Express and Northern Rail . However, with the announcement of the electrification schemes in the North West and on the Great Western Main Line , the DMU order was cancelled, with the needs of the train operating companies planned to be met by transfers of existing stock. Arriva Rail North and TransPennine Express (First Group) did subsequently obtain new DMU and bi-mode rolling stock, although this

2856-474: Was opened in 1852 on the Great Western Railway (GWR) main line from London Paddington to Wolverhampton Low Level and Birkenhead Woodside . Originally called Birmingham Station, its name was changed to Great Charles Street station, and then Livery Street Station. It was finally renamed Snow Hill in 1858, and the Great Western Hotel was added in 1863. It was never intended to be the main station, but

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2912-447: Was produced by CAF and Hitachi and also in higher quantities - 58 CAF DMUs were allocated to Arriva Rail North alone, whereas the 61 cancelled 172s (42x 3-car and 19x 4-car) would have been split up into allocations for three operators. Bombardier offered the Class 172 Turbostar to NI Railways for its "New Trains Two" specification, eventually losing out to CAF and a variation of NIR's existing Class 3000 . One unit has received

2968-508: Was revealed. The ironwork of the station roof was badly corroded in several places, and the unstable ground and foundations on which the station had been built were causing it to slide downhill. A few items, including the original gates and booking hall sign, were saved and later used in the Moor Street restoration. The West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority had adopted a policy to restore cross-city rail services through Snow Hill since

3024-481: Was roofed over in 1872 and the Great Western Arcade built on top. To cope with expanding traffic. Snow Hill station was rebuilt again on a much larger scale between 1906 and 1912. The new station building was intended to compete with New Street. The rebuilt station contained lavish facilities, such as a large booking hall with an arched glass roof, and lavish waiting rooms with oak bars. The main platform area

3080-481: Was taken that the tile would stay in situ. The station is managed by West Midlands Trains and services are provided by West Midlands Trains and Chiltern Railways. There is a small set of sidings at the Hockley end of the station, which can be reached from Platform 1 only. All platforms can be used in either direction; generally platforms 1 or 2 are used for trains heading north, platform 2 is used for trains terminating at

3136-403: Was used for several years as a car park. It enjoyed a brief moment of fame in 1976 when it was the setting for a fight scene in the locally set BBC TV drama series Gangsters . However, despite a public outcry, the Snow Hill building was not preserved. The Colmore Row façade was demolished in 1969, and the rest of the station largely demolished in 1977, when the dangerous state of the building

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