Willenhall Bilston Street railway 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. It served the town of
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 ...
, and was located just to the south of the town centre. It was one of two railway stations in the town - the other being
Willenhall Stafford Street.
The station is planned to reopen in 2023.
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 ...
.
Potential reopening
There were proposals within the West Midlands Local Transport plan to reopen the station for passenger traffic, but these were shelved. In December 2016, as part of the New Station Fund 2 project, the West Midlands County Council put proposals in to reopen the station to passenger services.
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.
In March 2018, the station was awarded funding to reopen and would be the first time Willenhall has had a rail connection in over 40 years. The then Transport minister
Chris Grayling
Christopher Stephen Grayling (born 1 April 1962) is a British Conservative Party politician and author who served as Secretary of State for Transport from 2016 to 2019. He has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Epsom and Ewell since 2001. ...
confirmed it will reopen.
The new station will now be constructed on the Wolverhampton side of Bilston Street.
Planning applications for the two stations were formally submitted in March 2020 and were granted permission in October 2020. It is currently planned that the station will reopen to passengers in 2023.
References
External links
West Midlands Local Transport Plan for the corridor
Disused railway stations in Walsall
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1837
Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1965
1837 establishments in England
1965 disestablishments in England
Beeching closures in England
Former London and North Western Railway stations
Willenhall
{{WestMidlands-railstation-stub