Darlaston James Bridge railway station
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Darlaston James Bridge | |
|---|---|
 Site of former station between Walsall Rd and Kendricks Rd | |
| General information | |
| Location | Darlaston, Metropolitan Borough of Walsall England |
| Coordinates | 52°34′30″N 2°01′08″W / 52.5751°N 2.0188°W |
| Grid reference | SO988974 |
| Platforms | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Status | Disused |
| History | |
| Original company | Grand Junction Railway |
| Pre-grouping | London and North Western Railway |
| Post-grouping | London, Midland and Scottish Railway |
| Key dates | |
| 1837 | Opened[1] |
| 1965 | Closed[1] |
Darlaston James Bridge railway station was a station built on the Grand Junction Railway in 1837,[2] serving the James Bridge area east of the town centre of Darlaston, near the junction of Walsall Road and Bentley Mill Way.
Prior to September 1863 the station was, at various times, suffixed James' Bridge, James's Bridge and Green.
On 14 September 1863 a station was opened on the Darlaston Loop off the South Staffordshire line which was named Darlaston. The original station then became known as James Bridge.
On 1 November 1887 the 'new' Darlaston station closed and the original station changed its name to James Bridge for Darlaston.
In March 1889 the name changed to Darlaston and James Bridge.
Closure[edit]
The station closed in January 1965,[1] and there is little evidence of the former station's existence at the site. The lines through the station are in use today as part of the Walsall–Wolverhampton line.
Reopening[edit]
Andy Street pledged in his mayoral campaign in 2017 to reopen the station, however no opening timeline was given.[3]
In September 2017, the West Midlands Combined Authority proposed that the station along with Willenhall Bilston Street would reopen by 2024 as part of a £4 billion transport plan.[4][5]
Willenhall was awarded backing for a reopening of a railway station on the Walsall-Wolverhampton Line in March 2018.[citation needed]. In August 2018, Darlaston was also awarded a new station near Cemetery Road which proposed to be located north of Kendricks Road directly adjacent to the old station site.[6]
Despite press reports that planning applications for the two stations were formally submitted in March 2020, this did not in fact happen until July.[7][8] Planning permission was granted in October 2020 and the stations were then planned to open in 2023.[9] In March 2021, it was stated that full construction would start in the autumn.[10][11]
Construction paused in September 2023, before resuming in October with new contractors.[12][13]
The stations are now expected to open in Winter 2025/2026.[14]
Trains from Darlaston railway station will makes journeys up to three times quicker. Journeys to Birmingham New Street are expected to take 22 minutes, saving 53 minutes. Journeys to Wolverhampton would be 11 minutes, saving 17 minutes, and journeys to Walsall would take 14 minutes, saving 9 minutes.[15]
The station is expected to receive two trains per hour.
These would include:
- 1tph to Shrewsbury via Wolverhampton
- 1tph to Wolverhampton
- 1tph to Walsall
- 1tph to Birmingham New Street via Tame Bridge Parkway.
| Preceding station |  National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Future services | ||||
| West Midlands Railway | ||||
| Proposed services | ||||
| Wolverhampton | Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway | Walsall | ||
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willenhall Bilston Street | London and North Western Railway Walsall to Wolverhampton Line | Pleck | ||
| Grand Junction Railway to Walsall Line | Wood Green |
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Darlaston (James Bridge) Station". Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
- ^ Drake, James (1838). Drake's Road Book of the Grand Junction Railway (1838). Moorland Reprints. ISBN 0903485257.
- ^ Elkes, Neil (12 February 2017). "Pledge to reinstate two Black Country rail lines". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ "£4 billion of transport infrastructure over coming decade". West Midlands Combined Authority. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
- ^ "West Midlands Strategic Transport Plan". Retrieved 11 September 2017.
- ^ "Trains could be running directly between Walsall and Wolverhampton by 2021". Express & Star. 28 February 2019.
- ^ "Web APAS".
- ^ "Reopening of Darlaston and Willenhall train stations moves closer". Express and Star. 2 March 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
- ^ "Two new Black Country railway stations receive planning approval". 16 October 2020.
- ^ "Work set to start on 2 new West Midlands railway stations". RailAdvent. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ Farrington, Dayna (21 March 2021). "Work set to start on Black Country railway stations after funding confirmed". www.expressandstar.com. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
- ^ White, Chloe (11 October 2023). "Kier Group takes over work on Willenhall and Darlaston railway station sites". Rail Advent.
- ^ "Walsall rail projects to resume after contractor collapse". BBC News. 10 October 2023.
- ^ Thandi, Gurdip (11 November 2023). "Costs to bring railway stations to Willenhall and Darlaston soar by £15m after delays". Express & Star. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ "Willenhall and Darlaston stations". wmre.org.uk. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
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