The station was opened in July 1852[1] by the Birmingham, Wolverhampton, & Stour Valley Railway Company (later absorbed by London and North Western Railway) as part of the Stour Valley Line from Birmingham to Wolverhampton. It was rebuilt in its present form in 1890[1] when two level crossings in the centre of Smethwick were abolished. Drawings of the rebuilt station can be found on the Smethwick Rolfe Street Station gallery page of the Network Rail Corporate Archive.
In 1985, pupils from Parkside Junior School created a mural for Platform 1 under the direction of artist Jeremy Waygood as part of the Birmingham to Wolverhampton Corridor Initiative.[2]
In June 2017, this mural was removed and replaced by one created by students from Sandwell College under the direction of artist Steve Field. In addition, an exhibition room was created by another set of students from the college to display the history of the station and of the murals.[3] In October 2017 this work was recognised in the ACoRP Community Rail Awards with a 1st place for Involving Diverse Groups and a 3rd place for Community Art Schemes - Permanent.[4]
Work began in January 2022 to install lifts to allow step-free access to the station. The project is expected to be completed by July.[5]
