£10m Black Country stations boost
PLANS to open two new railway stations in the Black Country have received a boost after £10 million in funding was awarded to the project.
The Department for Transport has handed the grant to the West Midlands Combined Authority to progress its proposals to build new stations in Darlaston and Willenhall on the Walsall to Wolverhampton line.
Further costs are being met from the region’s HS2 Connectivity Fund.
Original stations in Darlaston and Willenhall closed in 1965 and only through services have used on the line since then.
Now passenger services will resume, offering improved connections to Wolverhampton, Walsall and Birmingham New Street along with the chance to unlock land for housing, industrial and commercial development along the route. Both stations will have long-stay car parks, with 300 spaces at Darlaston and 150 spaces at Willenhall.
This latest grant award from the Department for Transport follows £15 million handed to the combined authority to support the development of three new stations south of Birmingham city centre on the Camp Hill line.
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street 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 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 brilliant news.”
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