Willenhall Bilston Street railway station

Willenhall Bilston Street
Willenhall Bilston Street
	Site of former station
General information
Location	Willenhall, Metropolitan Borough of Walsall; England
Coordinates	52°34′56″N 2°03′12″W / 52.5822°N 2.0534°W
Grid reference	SO964982
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
1965	Closed

Willenhall Bilston Street railway station was a station built on the Grand Junction Railway in 1837.^[2]^: 22 It served the town of Willenhall, and was located just to the south of the town centre. It was one of two railway stations in the town - the other being Willenhall Stafford Street.

The station is expected to reopen in 2025.

Closure

The station closed in 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.

Potential reopening

There were proposals within the West Midlands Local Transport plan to reopen the station for passenger traffic, but these were shelved. In December 2016, as part of the New Station Fund 2 project, the West Midlands Combined Authority put in proposals to reopen the station to passenger services.^[3]^[4]^[5]

In September 2017, the West Midlands Combined Authority proposed that the station along with Darlaston James Bridge would reopen by 2024 as part of a £4 billion transport plan.^[6]^[7]

In March 2018, the station was awarded funding to reopen and would be the first time Willenhall has had a rail connection in over 40 years. The then Transport minister Chris Grayling confirmed that it will reopen.^[8]

The new station will now be constructed on the Wolverhampton side of Bilston Street.

Planning applications for the two stations on the line were formally submitted in March 2020 and were granted permission in October 2020.^[9]^[10] The station was planned to reopen to passengers in 2024.^[11]^[12] now expected in 2025.

Preceding station	National Rail		Following station
	Future services
Wolverhampton		West Midlands Railway Wolverhampton – Walsall	Darlaston James Bridge
	Disused railways
Portobello		Walsall to Wolverhampton Line earlier Grand Junction Railway	Darlaston James Bridge

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Willenhall Bilston Street 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.
^ "New Stations Fund (second round)". Proposed Railway Schemes. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
^ "NSF bid submitted for Willenhall". Proposed Railway Schemes. 7 December 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
^ "New railway station for Willenhall in Walsall?". Walsall Advertiser. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2017. ^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ "£4 billion of transport infrastructure over coming decade". West Midlands Combined Authority. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
^ "West Midlands Strategic Transport Plan". Retrieved 11 September 2017.
^ Preece, Ashley. "Green light for new train station between Walsall and Wolverhampton". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
^ "Reopening of Darlaston and Willenhall train stations moves closer". Express and Star. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
^ "Two new Black Country railway stations receive planning approval".
^ "Willenhall and Darlaston stations". West Midlands Rail Executive. Archived from the original on 23 December 2022.
^ Parkes, Thomas (8 April 2023). "Ground conditions still a 'significant risk' to new £55m rail stations - bosses". Express and Star. Archived from the original on 21 May 2023.

External links

West Midlands Local Transport Plan for the corridor ^{[permanent dead link‍]}

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This article on a railway station in the West Midlands region is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[RABWM-1] "Willenhall Bilston Street Station". Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands. Retrieved 30 March 2017.

[2] Drake, James (1838). Drake's Road Book of the Grand Junction Railway (1838). Moorland Reprints. ISBN 0903485257.

[3] "New Stations Fund (second round)". Proposed Railway Schemes. Retrieved 30 March 2017.

[4] "NSF bid submitted for Willenhall". Proposed Railway Schemes. 7 December 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2017.

[5] "New railway station for Willenhall in Walsall?". Walsall Advertiser. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2017. ^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[6] "£4 billion of transport infrastructure over coming decade". West Midlands Combined Authority. Retrieved 23 July 2016.

[7] "West Midlands Strategic Transport Plan". Retrieved 11 September 2017.

[8] Preece, Ashley. "Green light for new train station between Walsall and Wolverhampton". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 10 March 2018.

[9] "Reopening of Darlaston and Willenhall train stations moves closer". Express and Star. Retrieved 11 March 2020.

[10] "Two new Black Country railway stations receive planning approval".

[11] "Willenhall and Darlaston stations". West Midlands Rail Executive. Archived from the original on 23 December 2022.

[12] Parkes, Thomas (8 April 2023). "Ground conditions still a 'significant risk' to new £55m rail stations - bosses". Express and Star. Archived from the original on 21 May 2023.

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