Wolverhampton's New £85m Railway Project: A Look At The Wolverhampton to Walsall Line

[@somenorthlondoner]

BTW sorry if my pronunciation of “Darlaston” sounds a bit flat. A lot of this was recorded in the aftermath of a cold 😅

[@nickchomyk8284]

Should be 3 syllables in Darlaston, not 2 (dar-las-ston)

[@mattpotter8725]

And Rugeley!!!

[@somenorthlondoner]

@@nickchomyk8284 👍

[@iandavis4419]

Sorry to be pedantic but it's pronounced "Rouge-lee". Apart from that, very interesting video but you are right on the lack of frequency. It would make far more sense as a metro - light rail with more stops.

[@ricktownend9144]

Great video - I really like your detail on local industries and bus routes.

[@somenorthlondoner]

Thank you very much!

[@jackmartinleith]

The maps too. With bus routes!

[@iantaf5559]

Very well researched and presented!!

[@somenorthlondoner]

Thanks so much!

[@SWRural-fk2ub]

Good video, thanks,. May I suggest you leave the maps on the screen for a few seconds longer when describing the routes and history, as, for non-locals, it was a 'now you see it, now you don't' experience! Edit: The last 5 minutes definitely needed maps on the screen when discussing possible routes and stations rather than just shots of buses and trains.

[@somenorthlondoner]

Of course. Thanks for your feedback!

[@Macc1]

Let's hope that "Rachel from Accounts" has already factored in the cost for this marvellous rail upgrade.

[@somenorthlondoner]

Am quite ticked off about projects like Portishead being shelved…so let’s hope the construction of this project persists.

[@OT-VG]

i live in Wolverhampton thanks for the news😁

[@Cheeseatingjunlista]

Nice vid, very good detail, look forward to seeing them open

[@somenorthlondoner]

Thanks ☺️

[@stevieinselby]

It's interesting when you look at the settings for Willenhall and Darlaston - Willenhall being very conveniently located for the town centre and surrounding residential areas - Darlaston being on the edge of an out-of-town retail and industrial zone but with a big car park that is likely to attract people from further afield. The main thing I would change would be that each service needs to be every 30 minutes, giving a ~15-minute frequency on the combined section to Wolverhampton - an hourly train on a local service in an urban area is just not good enough.

[@somenorthlondoner]

Could do but it's all dependent on terminating capacity at either end (Walsall and Wolverhampton). I think the Sutton Park Line and Bordseley Curves could present opportunities to increase the frequency of the line further but who knows!

[@cwt5654]

It's currently possible to get from Wolverhampton to Walsall in 30 minutes via the hourly train to Birmingham via Tame Bridge Parkway then back into Walsall (4 hourly). This option will still be available after the new direct service commences.

[@somenorthlondoner]

@@cwt5654 It is, but very indirect!

[@cwt5654]

​@@somenorthlondoner Only one change at Tame Bridge Parkway... 9.55 from Wolverhampton 10.20 TB Parkway into Walsall (arrive 10.25). Will be a big improvement when the new direct service begins though.. 😀

[@nickedwards2904]

@@cwt5654 and rhis all means that services to places like shifnal get worse and worse

[@DavidAitcheson]

The addition of Willenhall and Darlaston should make this reopening a success!

[@richardallsop5039]

Hello, great information on the Wolverhampton/Walsall Line, however there is another West Midland Authority railway project which has had its funding removed by the new WMA Mayor, the station at Aldridge had £30million funding in place supported by Andy Street, where has the money gone. Regards.

[@somenorthlondoner]

I may have mentioned this in another comment but the Sutton Park Line more generally is a line that I’m looking to review on this channel! Will include Aldridge of course. My next railway project video is another one from Birmingham too. But this isn’t the Sutton Park Line - for clarity.

[@sr6424]

Work began on this and the Camp Hill lines few years ago. Both are progressing extremely slowly. Since the West Midlands Mayor changed, it seems to be on hold. I don’t think there is any chance of trains going from Aldridge to Birmingham via Castle. Bromwich in the near future. The south east lines out of New Street are at capacity. The only way for it to work is to send the trains into Moor Street by a New Chord at Bordesley. There is a proposal for that.

[@somenorthlondoner]

Indeed they have - as evidenced by the construction in the video! I did discuss the proposal in my Camp Hill Line video re Bordesley Chords, and yes you could very well be right on a diversion to Moor Street rather than going into New St.

[@cwt5654]

Platform supports are now going in at Willenhall and Darlaston but will be very surprised if the stations open this year 🙄

[@sr6424]

@ that’s good news. I remember when the some of the Wolves Birmingham trains start going vi Tame Bridge. The work had started on the stations. That must have been 2022. Last year I went on the line again. Nothing appeared to have happened! As the service is running along the new line it should be easier to stop the trains at the new stations, than it would have been where it was a new service!

[@nickchomyk8284]

The station at Darlaston is too far outside of the town centre to be of use for Darlaston. It will be more of a park and ride, like Tamebridge Parkway. Depends if parking is free.

[@OT-VG]

7:16 ive been there to see Walsall Station

[@Ryan1992channel]

I live in Walsall & looking forward to using the new service as it could make going to places like Shrewsbury & Manchester easier then go to Rugeley via Stafford Crewe to Manchester & change at Tame Bridge for Shrewsbury. I would like to see a new station between Aldridge or Bloxwich & Walsall. Ether Ryecroft on Rutland Street or Forest Line on the existing chase line. The other site would be Mill Lane & the reintroduction of the South Staffordshire line to Lichfield. Having 2 platforms on the Sutton Park line & 2 for the South Staffordshire line. The areas of Rushall, Coalpool, Ryecroft & Harden would benefit from have a new station. Give new housing estates recently being built in these areas . having a new service from Aldridge to Wolverhampton via Mill Line, Walsall Darlaston & Willinhall more profitable & could serve 4 to 6 trains per hour at Mill line from Wolverhampton to Lichfield via Willenhall, Darlaston, Walsall, Mill Lane, Pelsall & Brownhills.

[@nathanw9770]

I've noticed that all recent station and line openings have bern given a frequency of only once an hour or 2 hours, and this will be the case for the next stage of the East West railway too. While it's great that these areas are now getting some kind of railway service, if they want to compete with buses they need to begin these services with competition and convenience in mind in the first place.

[@DavidAitcheson]

The direct Wolverhampton to Walsall line reopened on 24 May 1998. Even discounted fares did not prevent it from closing🤥 soon after!

[@somenorthlondoner]

It’s a real shame that it didn’t quite take off as planned, but I think there being no Willenhall nor Darlaston was a large factor at play in that.

[@DavidAitcheson]

@@somenorthlondoner The Single fare was 10p for the first week. When I travelled to Walsall and back, the train was almost empty that first week!

[@beeble2003]

Can't help thinking that one train an hour isn't enough. Especially if they're aiming at commuters and people in education, that means their market is people who need to arrive at a specific time. An hourly service means that, on average, people will have to arrive half an hour early and, on average, they'll have to wait half an hour for their train home. That's an hour a day sitting around waiting -- so is the train really saving you time? Add to that the fact that, unless you're going town-centre-to-town-centre, you're going to need to get to the station, too. And, since missing your train is going to make you really late for work or miss your class, you'd better aim to get to the station plenty of time before the train leaves. So, instead of being "a fifteen minute rail journey", it's fifteen minutes on the bus to get into Walsall, fifteen minutes sitting around at the railway station because you had to make sure you wouldn't miss the train, fifteen minutes on the train to Wolverhampton and half an hour sitting around in Wolverhampton because the train got you there too early. Wow, that 75-minute, 8-mile commute sounds so appealing!

[@somenorthlondoner]

Precisely. This is exactly the problem that urban planners need to contend with when looking to reopen stations along a railway - can it attract custom in the best way possible?

[@TheHoveHeretic]

A issue which keeps cropping up these days is a shortage of rolling stock required to improve service frequencies. Hopefully, if several proposals to rebuild suitable existing designs prove practical, thereby extending their economic lives by a decade or two, we could be on a road to recovery .... that is providing DfT doesn't see such programs as an 'instead of' rather than 'as well as'.

[@IDeltic]

Not 24 hours ago I was wondering why no trains used this line to connect two pretty major places, leaving the 1 hour 9 minute train via New Street as the only direct link. Funnily enough it is actually faster to go the other way and change at Stafford and come back down via Rugely. I wonder how often a journey is faster changing trains than taking a direct one... Anyway it's nice to see I'm not alone in thinking running passenger services along this line would be beneficial haha

[@cwt5654]

Quickest train route to Walsall from Wolverhampton is the hourly train to Birmingham via Tame Bridge Parkway then the next train in Walsall (4 hourly)... usually takes 30 minutes (38 return). Could be done in 20 minutes before a timetable change last year!

[@Midlandtransportation]

I will say fun fact the Walsall-Wolverhampton line is technically still in service as it sees a weekly service from Walsall to wolves via the old line. Also I have heard of some 196’s weirdly skipping out wolves and going on that exact line. Edit: darlaston is going for a Worcestershire pway type of thing

[@somenorthlondoner]

It is, Shrewsbury services have been using it ahead of the calls being made at Darlaston and Willenhall

[@TheHoveHeretic]

Most enjoyable and informative. Interesting that electrification was justified as it was considered a diversionary route, when the prevalent attitude during the Marples/Beeching era emphasised 'duplication'. How many vital lines did we lose to *that* dogmatic oversimplification?

[@somenorthlondoner]

Thanks ever so much! In the context of Walsall to Wolverhampton - we did lose Walsall to Lichfield, a line which I do hope to cover in another video.

[@MrSam4850]

First time watching your channel and I'm impressed, you've gained a subscriber. Just a word of advice on pronunciation, Wolverhampton is pronounced more like WUL-verhampton, with the 'O' sounding more like a 'U', and with Willenhall, the 'H' is silent, like the 'W' in Greenwich, so sounds more like WILLY-nall. Also Rugeley is pronounced like ROOSH-lee.

[@PeterPete]

Just like Cholmondeley (Chol-mon-de-lee) is pronounced by the locals as Chumley. Crazy!! If one calls it Chumley then spell it Chumley.

[@MrSam4850]

@PeterPete the word Cholmondeley is literally pronounced Cholmondeley though, not "Chol-mon-de-lee" like you mispronounce it.

[@PeterPete]

@@MrSam4850 no, the locals pronounce it as Chumley

[@MrSam4850]

@PeterPete they pronounce it Cholmondeley, you're just deliberately misspelling it for attempted comedic effect. It's spelled Cholmondeley and pronounced the same.

[@PeterPete]

@@MrSam4850 huh?? Cholmondeley (/ˈtʃʌmli/ CHUM-lee) is a civil parish in Cheshire, Google it!! It's pronounced CHUMLEE/CHUMLEY

[@agentzrodney2304]

Im wondering on improving frequency, would they not use Wolverhampton as the terminus and with the 2 direct trains an hour which go from Wolverhampton to Walsall via. Birmingham, have it so they loop back to Wolverhampton when they reach Walsall, so you have 2tph going Wolverhampton, Walsall, Birmingham Wolverhampton and then 2tph going Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Walsall, Wolverhampton

[@somenorthlondoner]

Not sure on how many available paths there are which could very well be a limiting factor - with my Sutton Park suggestion, there’s already 2tph planned between Walsall and Aldridge and given the line is unelectrified (and Shrewsbury originators use DMUs), could always use that as a means to reach either Moor Street (providing curves are constructed) or New Street (providing paths permit it!)

[@alanharrison]

Not sure where the 70,000 population figure comes from. Walsall borough has over 250,000. My doubt about this is that the 15 minute station-to-station, especially with so limited a service, is largely irrelevant for most people in Walsall or Wolverhampton, who face a bus ride to the station and a median wait of half an hour.

[@somenorthlondoner]

~70k population of the town itself, not the wider borough which is, as you say, closer to 250k

[@alanharrison]

Makes me wonder how they define the "town". For instance, the ecclesiastical parishes of Bloxwich and Blakenall Heath, always part of Walsall, must have a combined population getting on for 40k. Even knocking out the former urban districts absorbed about 50 years ago, I can't see where your source gets 70k.

[@DadgeCity]

​@alanharrison I've noticed that Bloxwich seems to be counted separately now.

[@somenorthlondoner]

@@alanharrison www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/westmidlands/west_midlands/E63002734__walsall/

[@kevinrayner5812]

Something wrong here surely. Either £85m is a vast under estimation or that £100m bat tunnel on HS2 was a scam.

[@somenorthlondoner]

Construction of the two stations according to the West Midlands Rail Executive costs £85m

[@kevinrayner5812]

@@somenorthlondoner I know stations aren't cheap but what the hell is in a bat tunnel to make it £100m God only knows

[@nathanw9770]

The bat tunnel was a scam

[@joshua.910]

Notice how many of the bus number signs aren't working properly 😂🤦‍♂️

[@somenorthlondoner]

Which ones? The ones on buses?

[@joshua.910]

@somenorthlondoner yeah they're all flickering 😂

[@somenorthlondoner]

@@joshua.910Yeah, difference in frequencies I think (camera was recording in 60fps IIRC)

[@joshua.910]

@somenorthlondoner Nope, dw I'm from Birmingham. They all do that 😂

[@jackmartinleith]

@@somenorthlondoner It was a joke, I think.

[@barrybuttigieg2695]

A half an hour frequency would complete against thr buses where as hourly might not. Yes please keep the maps on screen a few seconds longer

[@simontay4851]

25:02 The congestion in city's is caused by pointless stupid traffic lights in left turn lanes. Those cars waiting to turn left shouldn't have to wait. There is nothing coming. People know how to give way. They manage perfectly well at roundabouts. All you need is a give way sign.

[@Macc1]

Every bus and rail station could generate their own Green Hydrogen. (Check out JCB for further details).

[@officialmcdeath]

Rouge-ly not Roogly \m/

[@somenorthlondoner]

My bad! 😂 I’ve been editing this across the span of about 2/3 weeks here and there, so must not have picked up on it during the edit or when I was making this video in the first place. Thanks for informing me of this 😅

[@officialmcdeath]

@somenorthlondoner no great issue, certainly doesn't take away from the obviously solid research - well done \m/

[@mattpotter8725]

I picked up on this too, but I guess it isn't easy for non locals to work it out if just looking at the word. Still a great, very in depth video.

[@petersmedley459]

@@officialmcdeathGood job it didn’t involve Caldmore or Whitmore Reans…. 😉

[@craigw71]

Also it’s DarlAston not Darlston.

[@PeterPete]

The new train line won't be able to beat the bus by cost, 2x£3 on the bus, how much by train?

[@wogjf51e]

No EV Charging points then or Medical Centres with huge car parking but building more and more retail which is not a requirement as retail buying is mostly done online.

[@EdgyNumber1]

Oh this is going to take forever to complete... Btw New Street capacity has been stretched. Unable to improve frequency.

[@philclennell]

Most people know what has led to the downfall of Walsall but are not allowed to voice their opinions.

[@beeble2003]

Racist dogwhistle detected.

[@DadgeCity]

No-one's stopping you.

[@nickedwards2904]

It is not a reopening as the line is there and used . It is about bringing back passenger services

[@somenorthlondoner]

Yep