A proposal for the new stations to be built is part of a wider investment strategy to improve local services.
(meta data) TITLE: At last! New Willenhall Railway Station plan backed after years of campaigning | Express & Star (meta data) AUTHOR: Pete Madeley (meta data) PUBLISHED DATETIME: 2018-03-07T06:00:45.045Z Jobs Classifieds Offers Login More # Express & Star Menu Home News Sport Entertainment Services ## News All News # At last! New Willenhall Railway Station plan backed after years of campaigning By Pete Madeley | Willenhall | Transport | Published: Mar 7, 2018 Willenhall is finally in line to get a new railway station as part of a £4 billion transport plan. The West Midlands Combined Authority wants to bring rail routes back into public use The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) is set to unveil proposals for a station at the site of the town's old station on Bilston Street. It will operate as part of the Walsall to Wolverhampton line, and forms part of West Midlands Mayor Andy Street's plans to bring defunct rail routes back into public use. The move brings to an end years of wrangling over a new station for the town, which has been proposed on numerous occasions since the original one closed in 1965. It has been welcomed by Walsall North's Conservative MP Eddie Hughes, who said: "This is great news for so many reasons. "We might not necessarily have the jobs or be creating jobs in Walsall, but providing they have got good transport and housing then they can live in Walsall and get to where those jobs are. "We also have HS2 on the horizon. Anything that improves communication and transport in the region to allow people from Walsall to get to work is a very good thing." In 2012, a proposal was unveiled for a £4m station with two platforms and car park on Bilston Street, but the plans fell through. Last year Walsall Council and Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), the WMCA's transport arm, submitted a bid for Government funding for a new station. However, the bid was turned down by the Department for Transport (DfT). Councillor Roger Lawrence, the leader of Wolverhampton council and the WMCA's lead member for transport, said: "We are trying to emphasise the importance of the Wolverhampton to Walsall corridor link." Currently, the Walsall to Wolverhampton line does not have regular scheduled passenger services, meaning train users between both places must travel in and out of Birmingham New Street. Mr Street has also pledged to get the Stourbridge to Walsall line back up and running as part of wide ranging congestion-busting plans. They also include a Midland Metro tram line between Brierley Hill and Wednesbury, and the reopening of the Darlaston James Bridge railway station. Around £4bn of transport infrastructure is planned for the region over the coming decade. Transport News Willenhall Walsall Local Hubs By Pete Madeley @P_Madeley_Star Political Editor for the Express & Star. 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Walsall
Transport.

 Walsall Aerodrome operated from the 1930s until 1956. The nearest airport to Walsall is Birmingham Airport, which is located within 30 minutes drive. 
 The Midland Metro have currently got services that run from Wolverhampton St George's tram stop to Grand Central tram stop and soon the metro will run and operate a tram extension from north of the former Wednesbury Town railway station across Potter Lane to a stop near Brierley Hill which will see the metro line use the corridor from Wednesbury Town to Dudley before running street level and back onto the track at Canal Street before branching off to Merry Hill and a tram stop at Brierley Hill. 
 The corridor section from Walsall to Wednesbury Town has been preserved for freight traffic to use to Round Oak Steel Terminal in the near future. It is possible that the metro extension will look to run an extension to Walsall via Bescot but will utilize the line with either people carriers or tram-trains. 
 Walsall was also to be part of the former '5' Ws scheme which would have connected it to Wolverhampton, Wednesfield, Willenhall and Wednesbury. Walsall Council decided to pull Walsall and Willenhall out of the scheme in favour of reopening the line to Wolverhampton to passengers via Darlaston and Willenhall.