| Darlaston James Bridge | |
| Status: | Disused |
| Borough: | Darlaston, Metropolitan Borough of Walsall |
| Country: | England |
| Coordinates: | 52.5751°N -2.0188°W |
| Grid Name: | Grid reference |
| Platforms: | 2 |
| Original: | Grand Junction Railway |
| Pregroup: | London and North Western Railway |
| Postgroup: | London, Midland and Scottish Railway |
| Years1: | 1837 |
| Events1: | Opened[1] |
| Years2: | 1965 |
| Events2: | Closed |
Darlaston James Bridge railway station was a station built on the Grand Junction Railway in 1837,[2] serving the James Bridge area east of the town centre of Darlaston, near the junction of Walsall Road and Bentley Mill Way.
Prior to September 1863 the station was, at various times, suffixed James' Bridge, James's Bridge and Green.
On 14 September 1863 a station was opened on the Darlaston Loop off the South Staffordshire line which was named Darlaston. The original station then became known as James Bridge.
On 1 November 1887 the 'new' Darlaston station closed and the original station changed its name to James Bridge for Darlaston.
In March 1889 the name changed to Darlaston and James Bridge.
The station closed in January 1965, and there is little evidence of the former station's existence at the site. The lines through the station are in use today as part of the Walsall–Wolverhampton line.
Andy Street pledged in his mayoral campaign in 2017 to reopen the station, however no opening timeline was given.[3]
In September 2017, the West Midlands Combined Authority proposed that the station along with would reopen by 2024 as part of a £4 billion transport plan.[4] [5]
Willenhall was awarded backing for a reopening of a railway station on the Walsall-Wolverhampton Line in March 2018.. In August 2018, Darlaston was also awarded a new station near Cemetery Road which proposed to be located north of Kendricks Road directly adjacent to the old station site.[6]
Despite press reports that planning applications for the two stations were formally submitted in March 2020, this did not in fact happen until July.[7] [8] Planning permission was granted in October 2020 and the stations were then planned to open in 2023.[9] In March 2021, it was stated that full construction would start in the autumn.[10] [11]
Construction paused in September 2023, before resuming in October with new contractors.[12] [13]
The stations are now expected to open in Winter 2025/2026.[14]
Trains from Darlaston railway station will makes journeys up to three times quicker. Journeys to Birmingham New Street are expected to take 22 minutes, saving 53 minutes. Journeys to Wolverhampton would be 11 minutes, saving 17 minutes, and journeys to Walsall would take 14 minutes, saving 9 minutes.[15]
The station is expected to receive two trains per hour.
These would include: