Plans to reopen Tettenhall railway station to be scrutinised by experts
Plans for Tettenhall to have its own railway station once again are a step closer to becoming a reality after a new study was commissioned.
Experts from the West Midlands Rail Executive will now scrutinise the proposals to see whether the project is viable.
It comes after Aldridge Railway Station in Walsall, which had been closed for 50 years, was given the green light to reopen last month after a feasibility study was carried out.
Mayor Andy Street, who has led the campaign with fellow Conservative Stuart Anderson, the MP for Wolverhampton South West, said: “The Beeching cuts of the 1960s were devastating for rail in the West Midlands with many local stations that provided invaluable transport links for communities closed. I am determined to re-open as many of these as possible, particularly in the Black Country, and I am pleased that we are well on track to see stations built at Aldridge, Darlaston, and Willenhall as part of my plan to re-open the Walsall to Wolverhampton rail line to passengers.
“My next target for the Black Country now is Tettenhall. I know residents back the idea after responding positively to a local survey we carried out, and so I have commissioned the West Midlands Rail Executive to undertake a feasibility study into the plans, which is the next step towards getting this station re-opened.”
If the plans are deemed viable, a business case will be drawn up – with funding sought to make the project happen. The idea was initially floated by South Staffordshire MP Gavin Williamson and has been spearheaded by Andy Street and Stuart Anderson.
It has since received backing from Chancellor Sajid Javid who said the Government would back a railway station in the village “100 per cent”.
Mr Street added: “In the meantime I am delighted to see that the new MP for Wolverhampton South West, Stuart Anderson, has taken the case for a station at Tettenhall direct to Government and has received the backing of the Chancellor.
“The Government has been very supportive of plans to re-open stations across the West Midlands, including providing £10 million of funding to help build stations at both Darlaston and Willenhall.”
The station would be the first stop after trains leave Wolverhampton, before travelling on into Bilbrook, Codsall and into Shropshire. The village previously had a station on the Wombourne Branch Line, which opened in 1925 but closed seven years later due to low usage. It is now used as a tea room.
