Chase Line

Chase Line
Map of the Chase Line. Not to scale.
Overview
Type	Suburban rail, Heavy rail
System	National Rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Staffordshire West Midlands West Midlands (region)
Stations	15
Operation
Owner	Network Rail
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge

The Chase Line is a suburban railway line in the West Midlands region of England. It runs from its southern terminus, Birmingham New Street, to Walsall, and then Rugeley in Staffordshire, where it joins the Trent Valley Line. The name of the line refers to Cannock Chase which it runs through at its northern end.

Part of the line between Birmingham and Walsall has been electrified since the 1960s, work is currently underway to electrify the remaining 15 mile stretch of line between Walsall and Rugeley, which is scheduled for completion by December 2017, with electric trains running from May 2018.

The line from Birmingham to Walsall (sometimes referred to as the Walsall Line) has two alternative routes, both electrified at 25 kV AC overhead. One leaves New Street to the east, following the Cross-City Line as far as Aston, where it diverges to the west. The other leaves to the west, and travels via Soho. Beyond Walsall, the line is not electrified, and continues north to Hednesford and Rugeley. This section was freight-only, and reopened to passenger trains in stages between 1989 and 1998.

Places served on the route are listed below. For information on the stations, please refer to the list in the route map.

Chase Line (Walsall-Rugeley)

Walsall Line (Birmingham-Walsall)

Passenger trains are operated by London Midland on behalf of Transport for West Midlands.