To be brutally honest, Northfield isn't exactly the most picturesque part of Birmingham, and its train station is emblematic of the place. Providing trains both into the city centre (it takes about fifteen minutes to reach New Street station in the heart of town) and out towards Longbridge, there's no denying the convenience of the station for those that don't drive or don't want to pay the extortionate parking charges in the centre. However, the station really isn't a particularly nice place to visit on a commute. The few times that I've had the misfortune of having to use the stop, the underpass beneath the tracks has always smelt extremely suspect, and a mosaic of the year 1896 could either indicated the year in which the station was presumably built or the last time the place was cleaned. It's a pretty miserable place to wait for a connecting train, all things considered, and is put to shame by other local stations such as Hall Green. read more