Willenhall and Darlaston stations

We’re investing £85 million in 2 new stations at Willenhall and Darlaston. This is part of the West Midlands Rail Programme (WMRP).

The stations will cut journey times to places like Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Walsall. Journeys will be up to 3 times quicker.

The new stations will also open up rail travel to the local community. This will have a wide range of benefits, including:

making it easier to travel for work, education or leisure
reduced congestion on the roads
encouraging greener alternatives to the car
improved station access for everyone

The service frequency on the line when it's open will be:

1 train an hour in each direction between Walsall and Wolverhampton
1 train an hour in each direction between Wolverhampton and Birmingham

The project will create more than 120 jobs during construction. It will also restore more than a hectare of brownfield land. Brownfield land is land that was used for industrial or commercial purposes in the past.

The challenge - why we're doing this

The 2 stations at Willenhall and Darlaston were closed in 1965. After this, the line was only used for freight. Now, the population in the area has grown. The area is also being regenerated. Without a rail service, the roads are congested and journey times are long.

The solution - what the project will do

There will be 2 new stations at Willenhall and Darlaston. They’ll each have 2 platforms suitable for 4-car trains. The stations will also have:

pedestrian footbridges, stairs and lifts
ticket machines and information systems
passenger help points on each platform
secure bike parking
car parks
a pick-up and drop-off area

Shorter journey times

The estimated journey times to Birmingham New Street are:

25 minutes from Willenhall
22 minutes from Darlaston

The estimated journey times to Wolverhampton are:

8 minutes from Willenhall
11 minutes from Darlaston

The estimated journey times to Walsall are:

8 minutes from Willenhall
5 minutes from Darlaston

As well as cutting journey times, the project will also make sure the region benefits from HS2. It will make it easier for people to get to the new HS2 station at Curzon Street.

Our partners

We’re working on this project with:

Transport for West Midlands
West Midlands Trains (operators of West Midlands Railway)
Network Rail
Department for Transport
Walsall Council
Kier Group, principal contractors
SLC-AECOM Joint Venture

Latest news

Willenhall and Darlaston stations construction underway

Demolition paves the way for new Willenhall railway station

From abandoned industrial land to 2 new train stations

Work starts on Black Country railway station

Work set to start on Black Country railway stations after funding confirmed

Artist impressions

Willenhall station (view larger image)

Darlaston station (view larger image)