The station opened in 1884, when the London and North Western Railway extended their Birmingham to Sutton Coldfield line northward to Lichfield. In May 1978, Blake Street became one of the stations on the Cross-City Line, launched by the West Midlands PTE to link the Lichfield branch with the infrequently served suburban line to Kings Norton and Redditch.[1] The northern end was subsequently extended to Lichfield Trent Valley in 1988 and electrified on the 25 kV AC system in 1992.[2] The signalling at the station is set up so that trains can terminate or start from here, but the facility is only rarely used in the current (May 2018) timetable (just one each way Monday-Saturday).
Facilities
The station has a staffed ticket office on the southbound side at street level, staffed on a part-time basis. A self-service ticket machine (located next to the booking office) is also available for use when the office is closed. At platform level, there is a waiting shelter on the northbound side and a waiting room on the southbound platform. CIS displays, timetable posters, customer help points and automated announcements provide train running information. Step-free access to both platforms is available via ramps from street level.[3]
