Brierley Hill railway station

Brierley Hill
The station in 1962
General information
Location	Brierley Hill, Dudley Metropolitan Borough England
Coordinates	52°29′03″N2°07′38″W / 52.4841°N 2.1273°W / 52.4841; -2.1273
Grid reference	SO914873
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Western Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
Key dates
1858	Opened
30 July 1962	Closed
Location

Brierley Hill railway station served the town of Brierley Hill, in the West Midlands (historically Staffordshire), England. It was a stop on the Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line

History

The station was opened in 1858. ^[1] Two railways served the station: originally the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway and the South Staffordshire Railway, which later became the Great Western Railway and London, Midland and Scottish Railway (through amalgamation of the London and North Western Railway) respectively.^{[ citation needed ]}

British Rail closed the station in 1962. ^[1]

Preceding station	Disused railways			Following station
Round Oak		Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway Later Great Western Railway, then British Rail Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton (1852-1962)		Brettell Lane
Round Oak		South Staffordshire Railway Later LNWR, then LMS, finally BR South Staffs Line Dudley-Stourbridge Junction section (1852-1962)		Brettell Lane

The site today

The station's pedestrian entrance from Station Road is still in situ, though it has long been blocked off by a fence.^{[ citation needed ]}

Goods trains still use the track where the station once stood, on their way to the nearby Round Oak Steel Terminal.^{[ citation needed ]}

Midland Metro development

v t e West Midlands Metro Wednesbury to Brierley Hill extension
Legend
Line One at Wednesbury Tame Valley Canal Golds Hill Walsall Canal Great Bridge Horseley Road Dudley Port Birmingham New Main Line canal (under aqueduct) Sedgley Road East Birmingham Old Main Line canal Birmingham New Road Tipton Road Dudley Castle Dudley Town Centre Flood Street New Road Cinder Bank Parkhead Viaduct over Dudley Canal Pedmore Road Canal Street Waterfront Merry Hill Brierley Hill

In March 2011, a plan was submitted by Dudley Council to Network Rail to reopen the South Staffordshire Line, with passenger and freight trains between Stourbridge and Walsall. ^[2]

Developments in 2017 raised hopes that passenger rail services would be restored over the entire line from Stourbridge Junction to Wednesbury, albeit in two sections. Between Brierley Hill and Wednesbury, work started to clear vegetation to prepare the route for a Metro line to be constructed, subject to a grant from the Government. ^[3]

In March 2019, the West Midlands Combined Authority gave the final go-ahead for the cash to finance the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill rail link. ^[4]

As at March 2025, the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill extension is expected to be delivered in two phases. The first phase to Dudley town centre is expected to open for passenger services in autumn 2025. Construction for the second phase to Merry Hill, in Brierley Hill, is expected to ramp-up concurrently, with finishing works for phase one in 2025. ^[5]

References

1. Butt, R.V.J., (1995) The Directory of Railway Stations, Yeovil: Patrick Stephens
2. "Stourbridge to Walsall train-tram plan is on the right lines". Stourbridge News. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
3. "Walsall line". Stourbridge Line User Group. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
4. "Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Midland Metro extension". Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
5. "Wednesbury To Brierley Hill Metro Extension". Midland Metro Alliance. Retrieved 22 March 2025.

Further reading

• Boynton, John (1997). A Century of Railways around Birmingham and the West Midlands Volume 1. ISBN   0-9522248-4-4.
• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2007). Stourbridge to Wolverhampton. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 16-19. ISBN   9781906008161. OCLC   261924375.

External links

• Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Brierley Hill railway station