Darlaston James Bridge railway station
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 | Open | ||||
| Station code | DAS[1] | ||||
| History | |||||
| Original company | Grand Junction Railway | ||||
| Pre-grouping | London and North Western Railway | ||||
| Post-grouping | London, Midland and Scottish Railway | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 1837 | Opened[2] | ||||
| 1965 | Closed[2] | ||||
| 19 March 2026 | Reopened as Darlaston | ||||
| |||||
Darlaston James Bridge railway station was a station built on the Grand Junction Railway in 1837,[3] serving the James Bridge area east of the town centre of Darlaston, near the junction of Walsall Road and Bentley Mill Way.
Closed in January 1965, the station reopened on 19 March 2026.[4]
Early history
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.
Reopening
Andy Street pledged in his mayoral campaign in 2017 to reopen the station, however no opening timeline was given.[5]
In September 2017, the West Midlands Combined Authority proposed reopening the station by 2024 as part of the region's £4 billion transport plan, along with Willenhall Bilston Street.[6][7]
Plans for the new station were published in August 2018, with the station proposed to be located beyond Kendricks Road, north of the previous site.[8]
Despite press reports that the planning application for the station was formally submitted in March 2020, this did not in fact happen until July.[9][10] Planning permission was granted in October 2020 and the station was then planned to open in 2023.[11] In March 2021, it was stated that full construction would start in the autumn.[12][13] Construction paused in September 2023, before resuming in October with new contractors.[14][15] The station opened on 19 March 2026.[4]
Journeys from the reopened Darlaston station to Birmingham New Street take 22 minutes, saving 53 minutes. Journeys to Wolverhampton take 11 minutes, saving 17 minutes, and journeys to Walsall take 14 minutes, saving 9 minutes.[16]
The station currently receives one train per hour:
- 1tph to Shrewsbury via Wolverhampton
- 1tph to Birmingham New Street via Tame Bridge Parkway.
Proposed future services include:
- 1tph to Wolverhampton
- 1tph to Walsall
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Midlands Railway | ||||
| Future services | ||||
| West Midlands Railway | ||||
| Proposed services | ||||
| Wolverhampton | Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway | Walsall | ||
| Disused railways | ||||
| Willenhall Bilston Street | London and North Western Railway Walsall to Wolverhampton Line |
Pleck | ||
| Grand Junction Railway to Walsall Line |
Wood Green | |||
References
- ^ Real Time Trains https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:W06309/2026-03-27/detailed
- ^ a b "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.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) - ^ a b "Black Country towns' trains return after 60 years". BBC News. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
- ^ 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". Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. 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.
- ^ "Willenhall and Darlaston stations". wmre.org.uk. Retrieved 16 September 2022.