Dudley Railway Tunnel
Encyclopedia
Dudley Railway Tunnel is a railway tunnel located near to the former Dudley railway station
in Dudley
, West Midlands
, England
. It was opened in 1850 to allow the Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line between Stourbridge and Wolverhampton to pass for several hundred yards beneath a hilly area of Dudley which would have been difficult if not impossible to have constructed a railway through. At Dudley the OWWR and South Staffordshire Line to Walsall met.
The tunnel was regularly used by passenger trains until 1964, when the town's station closed along with the remaining passenger stations on the line, although goods trains were still allowed to use the line. It finally closed to all trains on 19 March 1993, when the section of railway between Walsall
and Brierley Hill
was closed after 143 years in use. A cable laying train passed through the tunnel on 2 July 1993 - nearly four months after the line was officially closed.
As of early 2010, the tunnel is still closed and Steel gates have been placed at both ends. Network Rail
hopes to have goods trains passing through the tunnel again in the next decade, although the imminent Midland Metro
expansion will not make use of the tunnel. The re-opening of Dudley tunnel and the railway on which it runs would also make an ideal diversion route for passenger trains if the need arose, although the idea of re-introducing passenger trains on the route (as was proposed back in 1997) seems unlikely to proceed.
Dudley railway station
Dudley Railway Station was a passenger railway station located at Dudley, England, built where the Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line and the South Staffordshire Line diverged to Wolverhampton and Walsall and Lichfield respectively.-History:...
in Dudley
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
, West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
, 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 was opened in 1850 to allow the Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line between Stourbridge and Wolverhampton to pass for several hundred yards beneath a hilly area of Dudley which would have been difficult if not impossible to have constructed a railway through. At Dudley the OWWR and South Staffordshire Line to Walsall met.
The tunnel was regularly used by passenger trains until 1964, when the town's station closed along with the remaining passenger stations on the line, although goods trains were still allowed to use the line. It finally closed to all trains on 19 March 1993, when the section of railway between 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...
and Brierley Hill
Brierley Hill
Brierley Hill is a town and electoral ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, West Midlands, England. It is one of the larger Black Country towns with a population of 9,631 and is heavily industrialised, best known for glass and steel manufacturing, although the industry has declined...
was closed after 143 years in use. A cable laying train passed through the tunnel on 2 July 1993 - nearly four months after the line was officially closed.
As of early 2010, the tunnel is still closed and Steel gates have been placed at both ends. 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...
hopes to have goods trains passing through the tunnel again in the next decade, although the imminent Midland Metro
Midland Metro
The Midland Metro is a light-rail or tram line in the West Midlands of England between the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton via West Bromwich and Wednesbury. It is owned and promoted by Centro, and operated by West Midlands Travel Limited, a subsidiary of the National Express Group , under...
expansion will not make use of the tunnel. The re-opening of Dudley tunnel and the railway on which it runs would also make an ideal diversion route for passenger trains if the need arose, although the idea of re-introducing passenger trains on the route (as was proposed back in 1997) seems unlikely to proceed.
Coordinates
| Point | Coordinates Geographic coordinate system A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on the Earth to be specified by a set of numbers. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represent vertical position, and two or three of the numbers represent horizontal position... (links to map & photo sources) |
|---|---|
| Northern portal | 52.511631°N 2.075440°W |
| Mid-point | 52.508392°N 2.078701°W |
| Southern portal | 52.505303°N 2.082759°W |