Two Black Country train stations set to reopen after £10m grant

The proposed design for Darlaston railway station.

Two train stations in the Black Country closed for half a century are set to re-open after the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) received a £10m government grant.

Darlaston and Willenhall railway stations, located on the Walsall to Wolverhampton line, will be reconstructed and brought back into service.

The two original stations closed in 1965 and, since then, the line has only been used by services passing through.

The project, led by the West Midlands Rail Executive (WMTE) and Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) which are part of the WMCA, aims to offer rail passengers improved connections to Wolverhampton, Walsall and Birmingham New Street.

The WMCA says the re-opening of the stations will also open up land for housing, industrial and commercial development in the region.

The project will be funded by the grant from the Department for Transport, with further costs being met by the region’s HS2 Connectivity Fund.

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: ‘I am delighted that our ambition to reopen the Walsall to Wolverhampton railway line to passengers has moved a significant step closer with this latest funding from government.

‘Not only will the money help us to build high-class stations at both Darlaston and Willenhall, but these new stations will help drive significant regeneration of the Walsall to Wolverhampton corridor.

‘By getting people out of their cars and onto this re-opened passenger line we are tackling both congestion and the climate change emergency at the same time. This announcement really is brilliant news.’

The project will see the WMCA working in close collaboration with the DfT, Network Rail and West Midlands Railway, as well as Walsall Council and the City of Wolverhampton Council.

The re-opening of the two stations will encourage growth in industry and jobs in the Black Country, while better linking to communities to opportunities elsewhere, the WMCA added.

Both stations will have long-stay car parks, with 300 spaces at Darlaston and 150 spaces at Willenhall.

The proposed designs of the two stations were put to a public consultation earlier this year, with 93% rating them as ‘good’ or ‘very good’.

Many people responding to the consultations asked for the area’s lock-making industrial heritage to be reflected in the stations’ artwork or architecture.

Planning applications for the two stations are due to be submitted to the councils involved later this year.

It is hoped that work will start on the two stations next year, while the line is expected to reopen to passengers by the end of 2021.

Photo Credit – West Midlands Combined Authority