Aldridge railway station explained

Aldridge
Status:Disused
Borough:Aldridge, Walsall
Country:England
Coordinates:52.602°N -1.9212°W
Grid Name:Grid reference
Platforms:2
Pregroup:Midland Railway
Years1:1 July 1879
Events1:Station Opened
Years3:18 January 1965
Events3:Station Closed

Aldridge railway station is a disused station on the Midland Railway in England. It was opened in 1879 and closed in 1965, although the track through the station is still in use for freight.

History

Opened by the Midland Railway in 1879, Aldridge railway station became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923. The line then passed on to the London Midland Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. The station was closed by the British Railways Board in 1965 as part of the Beeching cuts[1] and subsequently demolished.

Freight trains still pass the site on the Sutton Park Line.

Reopening

In 2009, the Association of Train Operating Companies included the station in a list of proposed station re-openings.[2]

In February 2021 it was announced that land had been purchased in Aldridge near the site of its former railway station as part of plans led by Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street and Aldridge-Brownhills MP Wendy Morton to reopen at least part of the Sutton Park line.[3] In June 2022 it was announced that Transport for West Midlands had received £150,000 from the government's Restoring Your Railway program which will fund a business case into reopening the station and electrifying the line. At this time, it was stated that the single platform station could open in 2027.[4]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Huge step for new Aldridge railway station plans. Flash. Oprah. 2019-12-27. birminghammail. 2020-01-09.
  2. News: BBC NEWS - England - Operators call for new rail lines. 2009-06-15. BBC News. 2009-06-15.
  3. https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/black-country/huge-boost-new-aldridge-train-19799280 Birmingham Mail, Huge boost for new Aldridge train station plans after £400k land investment, published 9 February 2021
  4. Web site: Plans approved for a new station at Aldridge in the West Midlands . 2022-06-21 . RailAdvent . en-GB.