West Midlands station sees major planning progress made

The West Midlands Mayor named Andy Street, the member of parliament for Aldridge and Brownhills named Wendy Morton, the rail director for TfWM named Tom Painter, along with the leader of Walsall Council named Cllr Mike Bird came together in front of a railway line and station site. // The photo credit goes to WMCA.

The Department for Transport has given the green light for the project to move forward with an initial plan. This project's main purpose is to create a new station along the Sutton Park line.

The green light has been given which implies that money is now obtainable to be utilized to take the project to the next level of thorough designing and development.

Transport for West Midlands, a department of the West Midlands Combined Authority and the West Midlands Rail Executive, is taking the lead in the project that aims to offer direct passenger services to Walsall.

The project's progress will be financed by the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement worth £1.3 billion.

The Beeching cuts in 1965 caused Aldridge Station to be shut down, resulting in the Sutton Park Line being the only train service that runs between Walsall and east Birmingham, but it only carries cargo.

The objective of this initiative is to bring back passenger services to Aldridge by building a new station with a solitary platform. It will be situated on the outskirts of the town center and will be accessible via an access road from Westfield Drive.

The Mayor of West Midlands, Andy Street, stated that adding Aldridge to the region would be a great addition since diggers are already on the ground building three stations on the Camp Hill line and two stations on the Walsall to Wolverhampton line (Darlaston and Willenhall).

We are making progress in our effort to reconstruct and reopen multiple railway stations that were shut down due to Beeching cuts in the past. Our objective is to enhance community connectivity and provide the people with a real substitute for driving, which is all part of our plan.

"We are determined to keep our promise of supporting public transportation, which is why we will continue our efforts in revitalizing additional stations and improving passenger services in the coming months and years."

The upcoming station boasts diesel shuttle services that will arrive in Walsall every half an hour and only take six minutes to complete the journey. Once in Walsall station, commuters can easily switch over to the cross-platform interchange that accommodates electric services going to and coming from Birmingham. This interchange will allow people coming from Aldridge to reach the city of Birmingham in around 38 minutes.

Aldridge might benefit from an electric service in the future, and the research is currently underway by Transport for West Midlands, West Midlands Rail Executive, Network Rail, and other associates.

According to Cllr Mike Bird, who is in charge of transport for WMCA and also leads Walsall Council, having a station specifically for Aldridge will be very helpful to the people living there. It will make it easier for them to get to work, have fun, and pursue education elsewhere.

Furthermore, it will enhance the convenience of reaching the Aldridge downtown area as well as the industrial parks for employees and guests, thereby offering beneficial assistance to the nearby companies.

Neil Gaskin, who leads the program for Network Rail's Central route, expressed his enthusiasm for partnering with Transport for West Midlands to restore Aldridge's connection to the passenger rail network. The restored access to rail transportation would provide significant benefits to the community, including social, economic, and environmental advantages that are sure to affect and improve the town and the surrounding area.