Historic image shows scale of Walsall railway revamp
This image from the 1930s shows the scale of work currently being carried out as part of a £76 million railway electrification scheme in Walsall town centre.
The photograph reveals the tracks at Park Street, hidden underground for years and now being improved for modern day commuters to boost services between Walsall and Rugeley.
Network Rail is carrying out the work in the town centre, opposite Marks & Spencer and New Look, which is the cause of a gaping hole outside the shops at present.
The old photograph shows how far below the surface the tracks lie, proving workers have no choice but to dig deep when it comes to carrying out the improvements, which should also make the route more environmentally friendly. Following years of planning the first phase of the work took place before Christmas with the demolition and replacement of half of the bridge on the station side over seven weeks.
The second phase started over the weekend on the opposite side of the High Street with pedestrians still able to access the bridge and shops.
Matt Brown, scheme project manager for Network Rail, said: "Technically this is relatively straightforward, but logistically it's the most complicated bridge I've ever had to deal with because it's right in the middle of the town centre.
"We have made sure the key stakeholders are on-board with the scheme.
"We have had a close relationship with the local authority and the traders to educate people as to what we are doing and why we're doing it.
"When we start work over the railway on Sunday morning we will be installing protection underneath the bridge to shield the track and signalling infrastructure from any falling debris.
"We will use two 30-tonne machines which will start to split the beam from New Look to the centre into the middle. One by one, the beams will be lifted out and taken off-site and recycled.
"The new bridge is a traditional concrete deck and the beams will be craned in over about 10 hours next weekend and we're expecting to finish by Easter.
"It's been eye-opening. A lot of people don't even know there's a railway underneath because of the nature of the High Street."
