Darlaston and Willenhall station plans unveiled
The latest plans for two new stations on the freight-only Wolverhampton-Walsall line at Darlaston and Willenhall have been unveiled by the West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE).
A consultation on the designs started on March 4, allowing residents to comment on the plans, while further drop-in sessions are due to be held.
Darlaston station will be built on derelict land next to the Kendricks Road bridge, while Willenhall will be sited next to the Bilston Street railway bridge near the town centre.
Both stations will include two six-coach platforms, pedestrian footbridge, stairs and lifts, ticket machines, customer information systems and help points, pick-up and drop off areas, secure cycle storage, and a 300-space car park at Darlaston with 150 spaces at Willenhall.
It is hoped that trains could run by 2022. An hourly service will operate between Wolverhampton and Walsall, and between Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton.
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said: “The publication of these plans is the next major step towards bringing passenger rail services back to the Wolverhampton to Walsall line. “The opening of these stations is just one part of our plans to regenerate and revitalise this part of the Black Country. They will help unlock swathes of land for industrial, commercial and housing development between Wolverhampton and Walsall.”
Formal planning applications for the stations will be submitted in the summer.
Both closed in 1965, and although passenger services were restored on the route in 1998, they ceased a decade later.