The terminal is run by rail freight company DBS(I) The depot is located to the east of the city centre in a mainly industrial area.
Trains running to the terminal from the north would theoretically need to stop and reverse onto the spur, but in practice would almost certainly divert via Bescot and come back onto the line through a series of junctions near Birmingham.
The central point of the depot is the rail lines, which are embedded in the tarmac – similar to a tramway.
The yard benefits from a number of sidings and headshunts, including a number of tracks that run beneath an overbridge carrying the mainline to Chillington Wharf, an old interchange that allowed transfer between rail and barge back in the days of the industrial canal system in the Midlands.
The usage of the depot has decreased in recent years, following the more regular usage of Round Oak Steel Terminal, which is a favourable destination for steel trains because of the lack of need to route through the extremely congested Birmingham area.