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The Sutton Park Line is a freight-only railway line running from Walsall

Walsall

Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...

 to Castle Bromwich

Castle Bromwich

Castle Bromwich is a suburb situated within the northern part of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the English county of West Midlands. It is bordered by the rest of the borough to the south east, North Warwickshire to the east and north east; also Shard End to the south west, Castle Vale,...

 and Water Orton

Water Orton

Water Orton is a village near the River Tame in the North Warwickshire borough of Warwickshire in England. It is located between Castle Bromwich and Coleshill, and borders the West Midlands metropolitan county boundary to the north, west and south. At the last census in 2001, the population was...

 in the West Midlands

West Midlands (region)

The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is an important and strategic route, as it enables most freight trains to avoid congestion at Birmingham New Street station

Birmingham New Street Station

Birmingham New Street is the main railway station serving Birmingham, England, located in the city centre. It is an important hub for the British railway system, being served by a number of important long-distance and cross-country lines, including the Birmingham loop of the West Coast Main Line,...

. It gets its name as it runs through Sutton Park

Sutton Park

Sutton Park, in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England, is one of the largest urban parks in Europe and the largest outside a capital city; it is larger than Richmond Park in London....

 at Sutton Coldfield

Sutton Coldfield

Sutton Coldfield is a suburb of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Sutton is located about from central Birmingham but has borders with Erdington and Kingstanding. Sutton is in the northeast of Birmingham, with a population of 105,000 recorded in the 2001 census...

, Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

.

Opened in 1879, the line carried passenger services until 1965.

Construction and opening

The line was constructed by the Wolverhampton, Walsall and Midland Junction Railway company, and was authorised on 6 August 1872. In 1874, the company merged with the Midland Railway

Midland Railway

The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....

.

The line was opened on 1 July 1879, and was served by trains between Wolverhampton High Level

Wolverhampton railway station

Wolverhampton railway station in Wolverhampton, West Midlands is on the West Coast Main Line. It is served by London Midland, CrossCountry, Virgin Trains and Arriva Trains Wales.-History:...

 and Birmingham New Street via Walsall

Walsall railway station

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 London Midland, who run all of its train services...

, although some services avoided Walsall via the direct link to the Wolverhampton and Walsall Railway

Wolverhampton and Walsall Railway

The Wolverhampton and Walsall Railway was incorporated in 1865 in order to connect the city of Wolverhampton, England with nearby towns such as Walsall, Willenhall and Wednesfield.-The route:...

.

Brownhills Branch

The Brownhills Branch was authorised in two stages. Stage One was from Aldridge to Walsall Wood in 1876, and from Walsall Wood to Norton Canes in 1880.

It was opened for goods traffic between Aldridge and Brownhills Watling Street in April 1882, and the entire route followed in November 1882. Passenger services on the line began in 1884, although services terminated at Brownhills.

The branch was constructed mostly for the purpose of carrying coal traffic from five local pits. This output was sufficient to ensure that the route was double-track throughout.

Passenger trains were withdrawn on the line in 1930, and the branch closed completely in 1962.

Closure

The line was closed for passenger services on 18 January 1965, although mail trains continued to call at Sutton Park

Sutton Park railway station

Sutton Park railway station was a railway station in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England, on the Midland Railway's Sutton Park Line. The station opened in 1879, and closed to passengers in 1965.-References:...

 after this date.

Re-opening

In February 2008 it was announced that Birmingham City Council

Birmingham City Council

The Birmingham City Council is the body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local authority in the United Kingdom with, following a reorganisation of boundaries in June 2004, 120 Birmingham...

, Network Rail

Network Rail

Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...

 and Centro

West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive

The West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive , sometimes known as Centro, is a local government organisation responsible for certain transport services in the West Midlands county in England....

were launching a feasibility study to assess the possibility of re-opening the line to passenger services; results are expected in November 2008.