Down the Cross City line from Sutton Coldfield, or up from Chester Road if you're heading that way…read more(actually, a trainspotter would say you were heading up from Sutton and down from Chester Road, but that's a different kettle of anoraks) is Wylde Green - a sleepy little station in a leafy little part of town. The station is effectively nothing more than a place to pick up and drop passengers off and has no facilities other than a ticket office and a whole heap of stairs to get up the platform (a right bugger if the train's just pulling in as you're buying your ticket!) and is a very modern metal and concrete construction with very long platforms. One upside to the place is that you can walk off the Sutton end of both platforms and walk along a path which leads you up onto Highbridge Road, which makes access pretty easy from all directions.

A ticket booth rather than office just about provides a roof for those in the queue, but that's…read moreabout all the shelter you'll find until you're on the platform themselves. It has two, one taking commuters towards Brum, the other towards Lichfield. From Station Road, you access the to-New Street trains by passing the ticket booth and navigating a wide but steep stairwell. For Lichfield, you access the platform by ramp. Those amount to exits too, but you can access and leave both platforms away from Station road and further into the residential streets towards Jockey Road. And that's the thing, despite the name of this station, this is still essentially a central Sutton stop, the best point by which to access Boldmere or Beeches Walk's restaurants and pub, perhaps even Empire cinema. If you want Wylde Green's commercial strip running alongside Birmingham Road, or even Penns Lane, Chester Road is the station to use. There is parking at Wylde Green railway station, and it has been expanded within the last couple of years, but there remain better park and ride options at stations along the Sutton stretch of the Cross-City Line, particularly Four Oaks. Don't expect a shop or vending machine either. This is simply about getting you from A to B.

This is an ideal station for people needing to park to get the train to Birmingham City. The…read morestation boasts two large car parks and offers wheelchair access throughout. This train line is one of the busiest in the West Midlands. It stretches as far as Lichfield (Staffordshire) and goes through to Longbridge and Redditch calling at several main town stations such as Sutton Coldfield, Erdington, Aston and of course Birmingham New Street. So if you are a shopper this is the station to get your train from. The office here is manned part-time and mainly covers the peak time slots. The staff are friendly and willing to help and they keep the car parks and surrounding areas clean and tidy. There are shelters on the platforms so if the heavens open up you can keep dry until your train arrives. This station is located on the outskirts of Four Oaks and has a large pub/restaurant next to it called the Blake Barn Inn. There is a small convenience store just a few minutes up from the station and a few minutes after that you are lead out onto the main Lichfield Road.

It's one of the quietest and relatively attractively-set stations on the Cross-City Line which…read morelinks Lichfield to Birmingham. A huge ticket office and car park boost the site and while there is a dingy underpass letting you switch platforms, it really is quite safe. Typical of the stations across the Sutton stretch of the line, the staff are particularly friendly. Despite the car park, it's not overly blessed as a viable park and ride option and over the years, residents have been increasingly complaining about commuters' ditched cars clogging up roads outside their homes. Do them a favour and drive to Four Oaks station (two stops along). That said, the location makes the activity tempting as it's just a short trip into Sutton Coldfield from here and, as the last stop within the northern end of the Birmingham boundary, also a short ride into Lichfield. If you've been using the station simply as a point to begin a rail journey, don't dismiss the idea of having a look around the estate on which it's based - the Blake Barn pub is nearby and scores not too badly with its outdoor seating and great meal deals.

In the not-ever-so green push to promote park-and-ride (ie, still use your car old bean, but not…read morequite as much as you normally would), this station is the best placed along the Cross-City Line to deliver on the concept. It is blessed with space, both in terms of parking bays but also the platforms themselves. In many ways, it's a bigger affair than Sutton Coldfield, just one stop along. There are three platforms, two of which take you to Birmingham (and Redditch beyond), the other to Lichfield. This and the Birmingham platforms are joined by a link bridge with steep stairs, although both sets can be accessed individually without using the bridge (there is street-level access to Birmingham trains via a ramp on Lichfield Road just a few feet along from bar, The Greenhouse (formerly the Halfway House; a name referring to the point between Lichfield and Birmingham, as befits the Cross-City Line). Otherwise access is from a main roundabout on Lichfield Road, near the landmark Methodist church. A small street then leads to the parking bays, entrance to the Lichfield platform and the link bridge. A set of steep, wooden steps also leads from Lichfield Road into the carpark; it's just a few feet away from the ramp referenced above. The ticket office isn't huge but should provide enough room for shelter in bad weather. Otherwise the platforms are exposed, but for a small shelter on the Lichfield side and a vaguely over-hanging roof from the ticket office on the Birmingham side. Be advised that the Mere Green shops are not as close as you'd think. But this is still the best bet to access its bars and shops by foot.

Of the four disused Sutton stations on the Sutton Park line (Sutton Town, Sutton Park, Penns and…read moreStreetly), the last two are the ones which have been most completely obliterated from the landscape. Whereas Sutton Town still has both buildings standing and Sutton Park has the ruins of its two platforms. Anyone looking for a hint of past railway activities in Walmley will be sorely disappointed. Up until recently, vague traces of where the station (which shut in the mid 1960s) had been visible from the railway bridge at the Walmley Village end of Penns Lane. Some work done on the line not so long ago means that nowadays even these feint outlines no longer exist either. If you're interested in local history, it's worth maybe a look over the bridge if you happen to be walking past but unless you've got a VERY good imagination, stick to seeing what old pictures you can find.

As Hannah noted before me this is a weird railway station. I would add the word desolate! Weird…read morebecause it is on multiple levels making it very customer unfriendly if (like me today) you are laden with a heavy suitcase from airline travel to London. No staff to guide you so I could have made a connection but no idea if it was the right train. And it was I discovered just too late - oh well next one in 25 minutes.

On the train as I make this, it's fairly quite and seems to be quick, train wait isn't too long.read more

Tame Bridge Parkway is a useful little station on the main Walsall to Birmingham line. It lies on…read morea convenient commuter route half way between West Bromwich and Walsall and well connected by the legendary 404 bus route. Parking is free. Places can be at a premium after about 8.15am in the morning and overspill often takes in the road to the car park itself. There is an automatic machine to buy tickets and a ticket office to duck out of the rain from or if you just want to grab today's copy of the Metro. There are no toilet facilities or snack machines though. Due to the location of Tame Bridge Parkway, if trains are cancelled, you would be forced to take the 404 to West Bromwich and get the metro or the 74/75 (the former taking 15 mins, the latter taking as long as it needs to to clear Handsworth).

A convenient train station with trains pulling into Birmingham New Street 20 minutes later…read more There is a free car park which gets full during the week days with commuters, but I have been known to arrive here at 11am or later and there has been the odd space despite the cars parking on the road. There is one self serve ticket machine outside, and a ticket counter inside the waiting area which is always manned. There is no toilet here which would be a nice addition as would a little coffee hatch. All in all a good station that is always kept clean and tidy.

Marston Green Railway station is located on the West Coast Mainline, and is run by London Midland,…read morewhich also operates services to Birmingham New Street, Coventry, Northampton, and London Euston stations. There are 2 to 3 services to Birmingham New Street every hour and around 2 to 3 services to Birmingham International every hour, with less frequent services further down the West Coast Mainline. Marston Green station is located on the end of Birmingham International airports runway, which offers great views of arriving and departing aircraft, and there are several bus connections to places surrounding the Marston green area. As the station is located on the west coast mainline, many services pass through at high speed.

Centrally located train station in the heart of Walsall underneath the Saddlers Centre. Trains go…read moredirect to Birmingham New Street (4 per hour) and Wolverhampton (2 per hour). Station facilities are very basic but the nearby shops in the Saddlers Centre provide ample provisions ... until that is they close. After 6pm, there isn't a whole lot of facilities but I have a soft spot for Walsall (being my home town) despite this problem.

This station is so small. Only 3 platforms. To be perfectly honest it is probably the best place in…read moreWalsall-the way out. Clean enough, not too busy and attached to the shopping centre. Didn't have much time waiting around or shopping as was obviously in a rush to get back to Birmingham City center!