Aldridge Railway Station Plans Move Forward After Land Deal

Plans to give Aldridge its own railway station have moved forward after the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) agreed a £400,000 investment to buy the land needed to build it.Bosses at Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), which is part of the WMCA, want trains to serve Aldridge as part of a wider upgrade of rail services in the Black Country which is already set to get new stations at Darlaston and Willenhall.It is now hoped that two trains an hour could run from the new station to Birmingham New Street and Walsall, with an estimated 500,000 passengers using the service annually.But for the scheme to progress, a parcel of NHS-owned land next to the Anchor Meadow Health Centre off Westfield Drive is needed to make the project feasible. The £400,000 funding deal means the purchase of the site can now go ahead within weeks.The investment comes after West Midlands mayor Andy Street asked the West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE) to draw up a business case for the station in order to secure the funding needed to take the project to the next stage.Detailed designs are still being worked up but alongside the platforms, initial plans also include a 150-space car park.As well as drawing up the business case, rail bosses are looking to develop a robust timetable for Aldridge that will fit into the existing rail network.