Skip to content

Railway to reopen after severe wildfire damage

Bridie Adams,West Midlandsand
Mark Rhodes,BBC Radio WM
Network Rail Flames tower above a large hedgerow on the right side of a railway line. A huge plume of smoke completely blocks the view up the line.Network Rail
The railway line through Stourbridge suffered significant damage during last week's wildfire

The railway in Stourbridge is expected to reopen on Saturday after being badly damaged by last week's devastating wildfire.

A two-mile stretch between Stourbridge Junction and Hagley has been closed since a large fire, which ripped through fields and destroyed 19 houses, spread onto railway embankments on Thursday 13 August.

Dozens of people had been evacuated from their houses after the blaze, which started near Stourbridge Golf Club, quickly grew out of control.

More than 200 people have been working around the clock to repair the railway, said Network Rail engineering director Adam Checkley.

Checkley described the damage as "otherworldly" with some of the signalling cables completely destroyed and flames shooting from the drainage system.

"You see quite a lot in the rail industry and you think you've seen it all, and then something like this happens and you get to site and realise just the scale of devastation," he said. "We literally had to start again for a two-mile section."

A man wearing an orange hi-vis jacket reading "Network Rail" and a white hard hat, stood in front of a bridge and trees
Adam Checkley, pictured at a previous repair operation, said he was "confident" the line would reopen as planned

More than 3,000 metres of cables, 1,000 metres of drainage channels, and 1,500 metres of fencing and boundary protection have been replaced, as well as more than 70 signalling components.

Arborists have also inspected trees and removed those damaged by the fire.

Network Rail A train fallen across a railway line, which has scorced land on either side of the tracks, as workers wearing orange hi-vis walk on the tracks, with a yellow digger seen behind.Network Rail
Trees along the two-mile stretch have been assessed by arborists and engineers

Checkley said safety checks on electrical equipment and the track had been carried out and he was "very confident" the railway would be ready for Saturday morning. Passengers have been advised to check before travelling as some services may take time to return fully to normal.

West Midlands Railway introduced an emergency timetable to keep passengers moving while the line was closed, with replacement buses between Stourbridge and Kidderminster. Some surrounding roads remain closed because of the fires, meaning the buses have also had to divert.

Stourbridge MP Cat Eccles visited the site on Thursday to see the recovery operation. She said it was "incredible how the entire community has come together" after the fires.

Checkley also praised the community, saying locals had been "absolutely superb" during the recovery operation.

"We've had cups of tea offered to teams on the ground," he said. "It's been a real, real community spirit."

Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.