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Overview | |
---|---|
Line | Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton |
Location | Dudley, West Midlands, England |
Coordinates | 52°30′30″N2°04′43″W / 52.508392°N 2.078701°W |
OS grid reference | SO 94755 90058 |
Status | Disused |
Start | Dudley railway station |
End | Blowers Green railway station |
No. of stations | 2 |
Operation | |
Opened | 1850 |
Closed | 19 March 1993 |
Technical | |
No. of tracks | 2 |
Dudley Railway Tunnel is a railway tunnel located near to the former Dudley railway station in Dudley, West Midlands, England. It was opened in 1850 to allow the Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line between Stourbridge and Wolverhampton to pass for several hundred yards beneath a hilly area of Dudley which would have been difficult if not impossible to have constructed a railway through. At Dudley the OWWR and South Staffordshire Line to Walsall met.
The tunnel was regularly used by passenger trains until 1964, when the town's station closed along with the remaining passenger stations on the line, [1] although goods trains were still allowed to use the line. It finally closed to all trains on 19 March 1993, when the section of railway between Walsall and Brierley Hill was closed after some 150 years in use. A cable laying train passed through the tunnel on 1 July 1993 - nearly four months after the line was officially closed.
The railway line through Dudley is scheduled to reopen from late 2024 as part of an extension to the West Midlands Metro, [2] although the Metro route would not include the railway tunnel. By 2022, however, it was being used be used for test purposes by the Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre. [3] The reutilised line will also be designed to carry freight trains for possible use in the future.
Point | Coordinates (links to map & photo sources) |
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Northern portal | 52°30′42″N2°04′32″W / 52.511631°N 2.075440°W |
Midpoint | 52°30′30″N2°04′43″W / 52.508392°N 2.078701°W |
Southern portal | 52°30′19″N2°04′58″W / 52.505303°N 2.082759°W |
Birmingham Snow Hill, also known as Snow Hill station, is a railway station in Birmingham City Centre. It is one of the three main city-centre stations in Birmingham, along with Birmingham New Street and Birmingham Moor Street.
The West Midlands Metro is a light-rail/tram system in the county of West Midlands, England. The network has 33 stops with a total of 14 miles (23 km) of track; it currently consists of a single route, Line 1, which operates between the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton via the towns of Bilston, West Bromwich and Wednesbury, on a mixture of former railway lines and urban on-street running. The system is owned by the public body Transport for West Midlands, and operated by Midland Metro Limited, a company wholly owned by the West Midlands Combined Authority.
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The Chase Line is a suburban railway line in the West Midlands region of England. It runs from its southern terminus, Birmingham New Street, to Walsall, and then Rugeley Trent Valley in Staffordshire, where it joins the Trent Valley line. The name of the line refers to Cannock Chase which it runs through at its northern end.
Aston railway station serves the districts of Aston and Nechells in Birmingham, England. The passenger entrance is on Lichfield Road. The station is on the Cross-City Line and the Chase Line. It is one of two local stations for Aston Villa Football Club and near to the Aston Expressway and to Gravelly Hill Interchange.
Walsall railway station is the principal railway station of Walsall, West Midlands, England and situated in the heart of the town. It is operated by West Midlands Trains, with services provided by West Midlands Railway. The main entrance is situated inside the Saddlers Shopping Centre.
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Dudley Port railway station serves the Dudley Port and Great Bridge areas of Tipton, West Midlands, England. Situated on both the Stour Valley Line and Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford line, the station is operated by West Midlands Railway.
Stourbridge Junction is one of two railway stations serving the town of Stourbridge, in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England. It lies on the Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster Line and is the junction for the Stourbridge Town Branch Line, said to be the shortest operational branch line in Europe. The other station serving Stourbridge is Stourbridge Town at the end of the branch line.
The South Staffordshire line is a partially mothballed and active former mainline that connects Burton-upon-Trent to Lichfield in Staffordshire and formerly then to the West Midlands towns of Walsall, Wednesbury, Dudley and Stourbridge. However, Dudley and Stourbridge were already joined to the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway's (OW&WR) line just north of Dudley Station. It in essence, continued to Stourbridge along with Wednesbury and Walsall.
Dudley railway station was a railway station in Dudley, Worcestershire, England, built where the Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line and the South Staffordshire Line diverged to Wolverhampton and Walsall and Lichfield respectively.
Brettell Lane railway station was a station on the Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line which served the town of Brierley Hill in England.
Brierley Hill railway station was a station on the Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line serving the town of Brierley Hill in England.
Round Oak railway station was a station on the Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line serving the town of Brierley Hill in England.
Blowers Green railway station was a station on the Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line in Dudley, West Midlands, England.
Wednesbury Town railway station was a station on the South Staffordshire Line.
The Walsall Canal is a narrow canal, seven miles (11 km) long, forming part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations, and passing around the western side of Walsall, West Midlands, England.
The West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive (WMPTE) was the public body responsible for public transport in the West Midlands metropolitan county in the United Kingdom from 1969 until 2016. The organisation operated under the name Centro from 1990, and was publicly branded as Network West Midlands from 2005.