Major rail disruption between Walsall and Birmingham following tree fall

Monday, 13 April 2020

Major disruption to train services between Walsall and Birmingham is expected on Easter Monday following damage to overhead power lines near Bescot Stadium.

No services are currently able to run on the route and road replacement transport will be in operation.

The line blockage is also affecting services between Walsall and Rugeley Trent Valley where only a very limited train service is able to run, supplemented by road transport.

A tree fell onto power lines at around 8.15pm on Easter Sunday, causing significant damage.

Network Rail engineers are working to fix the issue as quickly as possible but West Midlands Railway is advising customers that repairs are likely to take until at least Easter Monday afternoon and they should check their journeys before setting out.

Passengers are reminded that in line with government advice on containment of the coronavirus epidemic, only essential journeys are permitted. See www.wmr.uk/coronavirus for more.

To check live travel information visit www.wmr.uk/plan or follow @WestMidRailway for updates.

About West Midlands Trains

For further information on this release, call our press office on 03300 955150 or email [email protected]

West Midlands Trains operates both West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway services.

• London Northwestern Railway services operate between Liverpool and Birmingham, and on the West Coast mainline to and from London Euston.

• West Midlands Railway services operate to destinations across the West Midlands via Birmingham New Street.

For more information on these services visit westmidlandsrailway.co.uk or londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk

The West Midlands Trains franchise started on 10 December 2017 and will run until 2025/26.

West Midlands Trains operates 1,300 services a day, manages 150 stations and provides over 80 million passenger journeys a year. Over the course of the franchise, West Midlands Trains will be investing £1 billion into the rail network to deliver new trains, improved routes and station upgrades. This will include 400 new train carriages across the network and space for an extra 85,000 passengers into Birmingham and London at peak times.

The franchise is a joint venture between Abellio (70.1% share) and East Japan Railway Company / Mitsui & Co., Ltd (29.9% share in a 50:50 split). Abellio is the international passenger transport subsidiary of the Dutch national railway company, Nederlandse Spoorwegen. In the UK, Abelllio operates ScotRail and Greater Anglia train services, Merseyrail services in a joint venture with Serco and buses through Abellio London. For more information visit www.abellio.com

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