Bloxwich Railway Station, which will soon see electric trains.
Walsall is set to benefit from an electrification project set to improve and speed up services north of the town. As part of the government’s current plans to put £9 billion into improving the rail infrastructure, the Chase Line which is currently a diesel only line was part of the plan. The electrification will provide faster trains for passengers as well as serve locations where connections was the only way.
The Chase Line is a piece of track that runs from Walsall to Rugeley Trent Valley, and only diesel trains are permitted to use the line. Because of the nature of the track and signalling restrictions, Network Rail has been working on the line to increase the speed limit from 45 mph to 75 mph, with major re-signalling works thus improving travel on the line. The works will continue through to 2013. The difference will be overwhelming as it takes 7 minutes to get from Walsall to Bloxwich, that will be heavily reduced. Electrification was first discussed in the 1960's and took until 2012 for any plans to be discussed.
Map showing the route between Walsall and Rugeley Trent Valley Railway Stations.
The work for the electrification is set to be taken forward between 2014 and 2019 and the whole project is going to cost £30 million. The non-electrified section is 16 miles in length and the electrified section between Walsall and Birmingham holds both electric and diesel trains. The plan is to divert every other Birmingham to Liverpool train through Walsall, Bloxwich and Cannock amongst other stations as well as the current route through Wolverhampton. When the project finished, diesel passengers will be replace by using electric trains all the way between Rugeley and Birmingham. At present the only service from Walsall and stations north of Walsall is either Birmingham to Rugeley and no other locations are served by these stations. Once electrification has been completed, it is hoped that more locations will be served from these stations, which means that passengers do not have to change connections so much.
The current speed upgrade by Network Rail is costing £5.4 million which will increase passenger usage in the Walsall and Cannock Chase areas. The local economy will see a boost through increased passenger numbers once electrification is complete, and Stafford will be accessed again from Walsall, Bloxwich, Landywood, Cannock, Hednesford and Rugeley after a few years ago, the extension to Stafford from Rugeley was scrapped meaning passengers would have to change trains to Stafford.
At the moment, the Birmingham to Liverpool train runs every half hour through Wolverhampton. Under the plans to electrify the Chase Line, it means Wolverhampton will only see one train per hour to Liverpool and Walsall getting the other train to Liverpool. London Midland will be investing millions into extra trains to provide passengers with modern trains to accommodate the changes. As a result, London Midland (whos franchise is set to run out in 2015) should they choose to continue their franchise deal, would run four carriage trains. This means stations such as Bloxwich and Bloxwich North need to have their platforms extended to allow the trains. Journey times can be slashed by minutes because of the acceleration of the trains compared to current diesel trains that use the line.
Benefits Include:
- Should the line between Wolverhampton and Stafford is blocked due to signalling issues, electric trains can divert using the Chase Line to get to and from Birmingham New Street, without any delay to passengers from northeley locations.
- The local economy will be given a boost, with increased passenger traffic amongst several stations on the route
- A proposed 4th platform at Walsall could open in conjunction with the electrification north of the station.
- Locations reached from Walsall include Crewe, Stoke, John Lennon International Airport and Liverpool for the first time
- Journey times between stations along the Chase Line will be heavily slashed thanks to the trains that will be used on the line.
These projects will boost Walsall's profile as well connected location. With these two projects, the disused rail line South of Walsall will be re-opened, which will connect Walsall and Stourbridge once again.
This is a statement from Councilor Gordon Alcott, Cannock Chase Council Economic Development Leader:
"The Council has been campaigning for electrification of the Chase Line for years so we're delighted that the scheme has finally got the green light. Electrification will deliver faster and more frequent trains to Birmingham and boost Cannock Chase's economic growth. This is the result of a great deal of effort on the Council's behalf and I would like to pay tribute to the work of the Council's principal planning officer, John Morgan, who has worked tirelessly for the electrification cause for decades. (http://www.cannockchasedc.gov.uk/news/article/1407/funding_secured_for_chase_line_electrification)
