Media centre

Friday 9 May 2014

Network Rail to rebuild bridge in Walsall town centre

Region & Route:

Network Rail will start work to rebuild a bridge in Walsall town centre later this year as part of plans to electrify 15 miles of railway in the West Midlands.

The bridge over the railway, which is under Park Street in Walsall, is over 100 years old and needs to be rebuilt to allow overhead electricity lines to run underneath it to power trains from December 2017.

A total of 15 miles of railway between Walsall, Hednesford and Rugeley Trent Valley will be electrified to provide a cleaner, greener and more regular service for passengers using the Chase Line. The Chase Line links Walsall with Birmingham to the south and Cannock and Rugeley to the north.

Network Rail has worked closely with Walsall Council to plan the work which will be completed in stages to minimise disruption to retailers, businesses, shoppers and visitors as much as possible.

Network Rail will submit a formal notice giving advanced notice to the local authority of the work involved. Preparatory work will get underway in autumn 2014 and finish by the end of November 2014.

The process of rebuilding the bridge will begin in January 2015 and will be completed in four stages to allow Park Street to remain open for business. The project will complete in July 2015 and rail services will not be affected during the work.

Liam Sumpter, area director for Network Rail, said: “Electrification provides a greener, faster and more reliable railway, providing a better service to passengers. Replacing this bridge is a significant piece of work and is essential as part of our plans to electrify the railway between Walsall and Rugeley Trent Valley.

“Its location makes the rebuilding even more of a challenge and we have worked closely with Walsall Council to carefully plan the programme so disruption is kept to a minimum.”

Simon Neilson, executive director for regeneration at Walsall Council, said: “Passengers will benefit greatly from the improvements to the service. Following the proposed opening of HS2 services between London and Birmingham in 2026 and the release of capacity on the existing rail network, there’s also the prospect of additional train services, with the re-routing of national trains through Walsall.

“We hope these changes will encourage more people to visit Walsall, thereby improving our local economy. We accept there will be some disruption but have requested Network Rail to stop by the end of November to allow businesses and shoppers to take advantage of the busy festive season.”

To find out more about the electrification visit www.networkrail.co.uk/electrification or call Network Rail’s national helpline on 08457 114 141.