Walsall to Wolverhampton Line

The Walsall to Wolverhampton Line is a railway line in the West Midlands, England. It connects the town of Walsall to the city of Wolverhampton. For most of its length, it follows the part of the route of the original Grand Junction Railway.

Services and history
Passenger services, which are funded by Centro and operated by London Midland, operate hourly. These were reintroduced to the line in the late 1990s, having previously ceased as part of the Beeching Axe in 1965. However, the Strategic Rail Authority's West Coast Main Line Route Utilisation Strategy proposed the withdrawal of the service in December 2006. Centro opposed this, and the service continued. There were also proposals to reopen the stations at Willenhall Bilston Street and Portobello to increase passenger numbers and the viability of the service. During the early - mid 2000s, the line was used as part of an hourly service between Walsall and Wellington. But these services were withdrawn in 2006 and the service was reduced to an hourly service between Walsall and Wolverhampton, with only one or two trains per day in each direction extending to Wellington in the early morning and late at night.

There are only two stations:
 * Walsall railway station
 * Wolverhampton railway station

Axed
It was announced in July 2008 that the government is withdrawing funding for this service, and as a result the route is proposed to be closed to passengers as of December 2008 - all services will be axed. However the line will be kept open for use to freight trains, and will also be used as a diversionary route when the West Coast Mainline is closed for engineering works. Between 2008–2011 the line was also used by the now defunct Wrexham & Shropshire passenger services to London.

The full service was withdrawn on 13 December 2008, although there is still a 'Parliamentary train' – initially, one train per day ran directly from Walsall to Wolverhampton on weekdays, leaving Walsall at 19:36, but this was replaced in the 19 May 2013 timetable by a Saturdays-only train in the opposite direction that leaves Wolverhampton at 06:38.

A service calling at all stations via Birmingham New street now operates, taking over 1 hour, compared with 12 minutes for the direct service, and London Midland advise passengers to use the 529 bus service instead.