Darlaston James Bridge railway station (also known as James's Bridge station) was a station built on the

Grand Junction Railway The Grand Junction Railway (GJR) was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846 when it was amalgamated with other railways to form the London and North Western Railway. The line built by the company w ...

in 1837, serving the James Bridge area in the east of the town centre of

Darlaston Darlaston is an industrial town in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall in the West Midlands of England. It is located near Wednesbury and Willenhall. Topography Darlaston is situated between Wednesbury and Walsall in the valley of the Riv ...

, near the junction of Walsall Road and Bentley Mill Way.

Darlaston Loop Line

The station was also known simply as Darlaston, which can be confused with the LNWR station located in the town centre on the Darlaston Loop off the South Staffordshire Line. Trains from the station ran to the now disused

Wednesbury Town railway station Wednesbury Town railway station was a station on the South Staffordshire Line. History The station was opened in 1850. The station was built and served by the South Staffordshire Railway, which later became London, Midland and Scottish Rail ...

via the former Wood Green railway station. The station closed in the late 1800s to passengers and the line in the late 1960s to freight traffic and diverted services.

Closure

The station closed in 1965, and there is little evidence of the existence at the site. The lines through the station are in use today as part of the

Walsall to Wolverhampton Line Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is the ...

Reopening

Andy Street Andrew John Street (born 11 June 1963) is a British businessman and Conservative Party politician who was the managing director of John Lewis from 2007 to 2016, when he resigned to run for Mayor of the West Midlands. Street won the May 2017 ma ...

pledged in his mayoral campaign in 2017 to reopen the station, however no opening timeline was given. In September 2017, the

West Midlands Combined Authority The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) is a combined authority for the West Midlands metropolitan county in the United Kingdom. It was established by statutory instrument under the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Ac ...

proposed that the station along with would reopen by 2027 as part of a £4 billion transport plan.

Willenhall Willenhall is a market town situated in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands, England, with a population taken at the 2011 census of 28,480. It is situated between Wolverhampton and Walsall, historically in the county of ...

was awarded backing for a reopening of a railway station on the Walsall-Wolverhampton Line in March 2018.. In August 2018, Darlaston was also awarded a new station near Cemetery Road which proposed to be located north of Kendricks Road directly adjacent to the old station site. Despite press reports that planning applications for the two stations were formally submitted in March 2020, this did not in fact happen until July. Planning permission was granted in October 2020 and the stations are planned to open in 2023. In March 2021, it was stated that full construction would start in the autumn. Trains from Darlaston railway station will makes journeys up to three times quicker. To Birmingham New Street in 22 minutes, saving 53 minutes. To Wolverhampton in 11 minutes, saving 17 minutes. To Walsall in 14 minutes, saving 9 minutes.

References

Disused railway stations in Walsall Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1837 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1965 Beeching closures in England Former London and North Western Railway stations {{WestMidlands-railstation-stub