Walsall-Wolverhampton Line

The Walsall to Wolverhampton Line is a railway line in the West Midlands, England. It connects the town of Walsall to the city of Wolverhampton. For most of its length, it follows the part of the route of the original Grand Junction Railway.

ervices and history

Passenger services, which are funded by Centro and operated by London Midland, operate hourly. These were reintroduced to the line in the late 1990s, having previously ceased as part of the Beeching Axe of the 1960s. However, the Strategic Rail Authority's West Coast Main Line Route Utilisation Strategy proposed the withdrawal of the service in December 2006. Centro opposed this, and the service continued. There were also proposals to reopen the station at stnlnk|Willenhall Bilston Street to increase passenger numbers and the viability of the service. During the early - mid 2000's, the line was used as part of an horly service between Walsall and Wellington. But these services were wilthdrawn in 2006 and the service was reduced to an hourly service between Walsall and Wolverhampton, with only one or two trains per day in each direction extending to Wellington in the early morning and late at night.

There are only two stations:

*Walsall railway station
*Wolverhampton railway station

Axed

It was announced in July 2008 that the government is withdrawing funding for this service, and as a result the route is proposed to be closed to passengers as of December 2008 - all services will be axed. However the line will be kept open for use to freight trains, Wrexham and Shropshire passenger services and will also be used as a diversionary route when the west coast line is closed for engineering works. [Cite web|title=Fight to save under threat rail service|url=http://icwalsall.icnetwork.co.uk/news/localnews/tm_headline=fight-to-save-under-threat-rail-service%26method=full%26objectid=21326888%26siteid=60240-name_page.html|date=2008-07-11|accessdate=2008-07-16|publisher=Walsall Observer]

References

External links

* [http://www.walsall.gov.uk/transport.pdf Walsall Transport strategy]
* [http://www.londonmidland.co.uk London Midland website]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/blackcountry/content/articles/2005/08/03/walsall_wolverhampton_train_feature.shtml BBC Black Country: Have your say on the rail line closure]
* [http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/walsallrail/ Petition to save Walsall-Wolverhampton service]