Railway reopens after major warehouse fire

Rail services are back running in Wolverhampton after a key rail route was forced to close due to a major warehouse fire.

Network Rail engineers worked throughout the night to inspect overhead lines which power trains and assist in the demolition of an unstable wall at the neighbouring building which was gutted in the blaze.

It broke out at 9pm on Monday 5 December at Lower Horseley Fields and meant the Stour line between Birmingham and Wolverhampton had to be closed all day on Tuesday (6 December).

But thanks to the effort of railway staff working closely with West Midlands Fire Service passengers were back on the move between the two cities from start of service on Wednesday morning (7 December).

Martin Colmey, Network Rail’s Central route operations director, said: “I’d like to thank passengers for their patience while we had to close the railway for their safety during this major incident. With the blaze within metres of the railway we had no choice but to close the line.

“Where possible we tried to keep as many services running through diversions but I appreciate travel for people would have been very challenging yesterday. Thankfully the route is now reopen thanks to the hard work of railway staff and West Midlands Fire Service who fought the flames and protected our key infrastructure from any serious damage.”

Photo credit: Network Rail

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