The £6.1m project will see work start on Monday the 10th of January and will bring improved accessibility for passengers using the Smethwick Rolfe Street station

The huge investment by Network Rail comes as part of the Governments ‘Access for All’ scheme and will put in place two new lifts bringing step-free access for platforms one and two for the West Midlands station.

The lifts will provide support for passengers with reduced mobility, families with buggies and small children and also those with heavy luggage.

The work will begin on the 10th of January, with the project expected to complete during July 2022.

Leanne Brooks, sponsor for Network Rail, said:

“We’re really excited to be starting this work to provide lifts to platforms at Smethwick Rolfe Street which will provide step-free access to trains for everyone in the local community for the first time.

“We are working closely with the station operator, West Midlands Railway and Sandwell Council to ensure our work brings as little disruption as possible to neighbours and passengers.”

Brenda Lawrence, head of stations for West Midlands Railway, said:

“Making sure the railway is accessible for everyone is a priority for us and these improvements will make a real difference to our customers.

“Train services will continue to run as usual throughout the work and we are already looking forward to unveiling these brand new facilities in 2022.”

The work will see no disruption to train services, however, the station will have hoarding surrounding the construction site and during the improvement work, a lane on Tollhouse Way will have to be closed during certain times, these are as follows:

• Monday the 10th to Wednesday the 12th of January – this closure is so that preparation work can be carried out safely
• Saturday the 30th of April, Saturday the 7th of May and Saturday the 14th of May 2022 – these closures will allow for a crane to lower the new lift shafts into place