Updates note

This page is no longer maintained on a regular basis. Timetable and train running information can be found on the Network West Midlands and London Midland websites (see links below).

Introduction

The CHASE LINE train service runs from Walsall through the Cannock Chase area to Stafford, and is married with Walsall Line services to provide direct links with Birmingham. It is supported by Centro (the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive), Staffordshire County Council and Cannock Chase District Council, with services operated by London Midland.

Trains run as far north as Stafford(*) until around 5pm Mondays to Saturdays, to Rugeley up until about 6pm Mon-Friday, 7pm Saturday and 10pm Sunday, and to Hednesford until 11pm Monday-Saturday.

Chase Line stations are as follows:

• Bloxwich
• Bloxwich North
• Landywood
• Cannock
• Hednesford
• Rugeley Town
• Rugeley Trent Valley (also has Trent Valley local services - infrequent at present, but due to become hourly from December 2008

(*) - Services will no longer run through to Stafford from December 2008. At the same time, Trent Valley local services calling at Rugeley Trent Valley will become hourly and run from Crew to London Euston. See news below.

News

• Chase Line services that currently run to Stafford will terminate at Rugeley Trent Valley from December 2008. As part of its franchise specification for London Midland (the current train operator in the West Midlands, who started services in November 2007), the Department for Transport decided that the Rugeley - Stafford section of the line was not value for money, carrying relatively few passengers, and caused capacity problems on the Trent Valley line due to the low top speed of the train units used for the service. At the same time, however, the currently infrequent Trent Valley local services will become hourly, and most will run between Crew and London Euston. In all likelihood, connections on to and from Stafford at Rugeley Trent Valley will not be appealing to travellers (if the connecting service is cancelled or missed because of a late incoming service, you are stuck at a deserted station with no facilities, far from the main town), and connections are not likely to be good. However, the possibility of travelling to London from Rugeley may well attract additional passengers.

• At the same time - December 2008 - the Wolverhampton to Walsall services will be withdrawn, unless the West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority (WMPTA) are able to draw up a funding package for it. Recent press reports have stated that the Department for Transport refused to fund the service, siting the low numbers of passengers using it, and also said that there would not be any spare rolling stock anyway. The WMPTA have responded, saying that usage has increased now that reliability problems have been sorted out, and that 60,000 passengers are now using it a year. The Cannock Rail Promotion Group has also spoken out in support, saying that lots of Chase Line passengers rely on it. On the other side of the argument, however, there are 17 services each way Mondays to Saturdays and 15 services each way on Sundays. This is more train services that Rugeley Town gets, for less passengers (Centro is said to have estimated passenger usage as over 100,000 at Rugeley Town in 2006/07). So the line gets 234 services each week. Allowing for engineering works removing services, if we multiply this by 49 weeks, we get 11466 services a year. 60,000 / 11466 equals an average number of 5.2 passengers per train. That kind of figure is probably okay for a station on a line with busier stations, but it is, to be honest, hard to justify an entire service on just those figures. As for the claim that lots of Chase Line passengers use it, the connection times don't seem to support this - indeed, connections between the Chase Line and the Walsall-Wolverhampton line have never been particularly good, which is a shame as there could well be a fair bit of demand for such a connection. The current timetable shows a southbound Chase Line train arrive at Walsall at xx18, and the next train to Wolverhampton is at xx44 - a reasonable connection (although it involves a 26 minute wait). On the way back, the Wolverhampton train arrives at Walsall at xx38, missing the Chase Line connection northbound by eight minutes and forcing a 52 minute wait for the next train.

  All is not lost, however, as Centro/WMPTA eventually plan to run a triangular service running from Birmingham to Walsall, then to Wolverhampton, then back to Birmingham. This kind of service might prove more useful, especially if a Willenhall station can be opened along the way.

• There is a possibility that Chase Line trains may become half-hourly from December 2008, and also that most evening trains will run to Rugeley (currently they stop running between 6-7pm northbound and 7-8pm southbound, with later trains terminating at Hednesford). London Midland has applied to the Office of the Rail Regulator for rights to run these services, as part of the general West Coast Mainline timetable change taking place. In the train operator's franchise specification, DfT required them to provide costings for a half-hourly service, but they didn't commit themselves to pay for this service, so it looks as if a combination of Centro, Cannock Chase District Council and Staffordshire County Council will need to pay the extra costs. Centro and Cannock Council are thought to have agreed to the funding, but it is not yet known if Staffordshire council will support it. The scheme is also said to require an additional signal between Bloxwich North and Hednesford to reduce the headway between trains from 15 minutes to 10 minutes, in order that a half hourly service doesn't prevent freight from using the line. It is not known if Network Rail are planning this. A line speed increase appears to be on the cards, though, to take most of the line from 45mph to 65mph.
• It appears that Bloxwich and Bloxwich North will be gaining real-time train running information screens and automatic public address systems in the coming year. WMPTA bid for the cash from the DfT as part of a Small Schemes initiative, and have won the money. It will be interesting to see how long the screens last without being stolen or smashed, as the two stations are particularly prone to vandalism (to the extend that the train operator withdrew the 'help point' units and telephone boxes from the stations).
• Meanwhile, the 'Cannock Line Showcase' scheme, to upgrade all stations with extra facilities - new booking offices for Hednesford and Cannock, CCTV for all stations, extensions to car parks, extensions to platforms (although this may be handled separately by Network Rail) and better disabled access - appears to have stalled to some extent. There has been no publicly-released news since about March, when a document from the West Midlands Regional Assembly suggested that public consultation was due to start shortly. The scheme was relying on being voted as a priority at a meeting at the start of the year, but as there is precious little detail available of what happened at the meeting (apart from some high-level summaries) that it is not know whether this happened or not. There is a danger that the local authorities will refuse to bid for money for the Chase Line stations (from things like the 'small schemes' or 'access for all' funds) because the stations might be upgraded by this Showcase scheme that might never happen.
• Engineering works make travelling on the Chase Line something of an interesting challenge this Summer, with different types of closures and bus replacements on different weeks up until September (2008), when the timetable stabilises again. Here is a summary of the current position (could change):
  • Monday-Saturday:
    • Until 23 August - trains will run for the entire length from Stafford to Bham, with possible last-minute alterations. One known exception at the moment is the 2320 Bham - Hednesford service on 2 August which will be replaced by a bus and take 1 hour 47 minutes to travel end to end! Avoid if possible.
    • From Mon 25 August - Saturday 6 September, buses will replace trains between Stafford and Hednesford, with a regular train service running from Hednesford - Bham. Note that on Mondays to Saturdays, Walsall-Bham trains are reduced during this period from 4ph to 3ph.
    • Regular services are due to commence on 8 September, BUT on Saturdays buses replace trains between Stafford and Rugeley Trent Valley.
  • Sundays:
    • 13 July - 17 August - buses replace trains EXCEPT on 27 July when engineering work is cancelled and the regular train service will replace the advertised bus service.
    • On 24 August and 7 September, buses will replace trains only between Rugeley Trent Valley and Hednesford, with the regular train service running from Hednesford to Bham.
    • On 31 August buses replace trains between Rugeley Trent Valley and Walsall, with trains from there to Bham.
    • From 14 September onwards the regular train service will run (subject to last-minute alterations - check the London Midland engineering works section for any updates).

Links

Local transport sites (Midlands):

• Centro (The West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive) (rarely updated any more)
• Staffordshire County Council (updated occasionally), including:
  • Outline details of the County's Local Transport Plan
  • Minutes of Development Services Committees (including the Highways and Transportation Sub-committee minutes)
• London Midland (updated regularly), including:
  • News
  • Fare details
  • Current train running (very up to date)
  • Engineering works
• Network West Midlands, including:
  • Up-to-date train timetables
  • Up-to-date travel pass information (can be purchased on-line)

National transport sites:

• Network RailWebsite of the infrastructure owner.
• National Rail (disruptions, travel timetable, fare info).

These pages were last updated 27 July 2008