Situated many miles from the centre of Birmingham in the industrialised area of Smethwick, it's talking point is that two lines cross here, meaning there's a lot of stairs and a lot of platforms for such an obscure station. If you're travelling from say Worcester to Stourbridge, you will probably be routed via Smethwick Galton Bridge. Trains pass through here on their way to places such as London Marleybone and Dorridge to North Westerly locations such as Chester and Aberystwyth.
Though the multitude of platforms and stairs can be a pain, this station will probably much easier to use than one more central to Birmingham if you are based on this side of the city . There's also quite a few buses that stop there. I've passed through there at many odd hours of the day and night and never noticed anything intimidating, and the staff have always been helpful whenever I've had a problem there.
Just don't give in to the temptation to run across the tracks, however deserted they may seem and however much effort walking over the bridges can be. A friend of mine made this silly mistake a few years ago. A night in the cells swiftly followed...... read more