Willenhall and Darlaston stations were closed in 1965. Since then, the local population has grown, and the area is being regenerated. Without a new rail service, the roads will remain congested and journey times long. The project is to build new stations at both Willenhall & Darlaston to improve passenger connectivity between Wolverhampton & Walsall, restoring the passenger rail link which hasn’t been in place for 60 years.
£85m
investment, making journeys 3x quicker
Reinstating
passenger rail link for first time in 60 years
Restored
hectare of brownfield land
New connections
The new Willenhall and Darlaston stations will each have 2 platforms suitable for 4-car trains, which will see 2 services call each hour, cutting journey times to places like Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Walsall. The stations will also feature pedestrian footbridges, stairs and lifts, ticket machines and information systems, passenger help points on each platform, a pick-up & drop off area, a car park, and a secure bike storage area.
"The Rail Stations at Willenhall and Darlaston are vital to improve connectivity across the West Midlands. By reinstating these stations, we’re creating faster, more efficient travel options for local residents, helping to ease road congestion and supporting the region’s regeneration. It’s exciting to see how this project will benefit the community, not just now but for years to come."
Victoria Kinally, Project Sponsor, West Midlands Rail Executive
Delivering for communities
Our project doesn’t just deliver for communities upon completion. From organising a litter pick with The Wombles of Willenhall - collecting bag-loads of rubbish from the streets, to hosting a sports day with the 3rd Willenhall Brownies and Guides unit or even visiting local schools to spread the message of Rail Safety Week, the project embraces the value of community in this rail scheme.
Innovative remediation
To deliver the project, more than a hectare of brownfield land was to be restored. Due to the presence of an historic nut & bolt factory, the land for the 300-space car park at Darlaston station was heavily contaminated from the release degreasing fluid & hydrocarbons which needed to be remediated prior to the main construction works commencing. With the contamination sitting above a clay layer at varying depths on site and a secondary aquifer below, it was crucial the aquifer would not be polluted with contaminants.
c.1,200 road wagon journeys saved by filtering on-site
The project came to an impasse whereby the stance was that the car park had to be fully remediated, including de-watering of the entire site, which would add time to the project and mean a significant number of wagons would be put on the road to remove and reinstate the materials. This formed the basis of an innovative approach to remediation developed by Kier with our remediation partner, Vertase FLI.
A targeted approach to remediation was adopted, whereby full remediation was implemented only where the design and tests required. Features such as the station platform foundations, flood attenuation and retaining walls would be fully remediated, cleaned and de-watered and an impermeable barrier installed to prevent contaminants encroaching into the ‘cleaned’ areas.
The site was divided into 4 zones and the scope of the remediation was set out in each zone. As part of the de-watering exercise, a water treatment plant was set up to filter and clean contaminated water, before discharging it to sewer when confirmed to be clean.
At the adjacent site at Willenhall, a large concrete apron was broken out in advance of car park construction works. This material was crushed on site to create 6F5 infill material, which will be transported to Darlaston to backfill the removed contaminated material.
The benefits of the solution include the removal of the requirement to store and remove contaminated material in containers, which demonstrates a saving of c.1,200 road wagon journeys. Equally, the use of locally sourced recycled infill material means there is less of a need for long distance road wagon journeys, minimising disruption to local communities and road users and providing an economic benefit to the Combined Authority too.