Editing Chase Line (section)

==History==
*The line from Birmingham via Aston, Perry Barr and Bescot was opened in 1837 as part of one of the earliest railway main lines; the [[Grand Junction Railway]] (GJR). This line did not serve Walsall directly, but continued from Bescot to [[Wolverhampton]] (this is now part of the [[Walsall–Wolverhampton line]]). A station on the GJR called ''Walsall'' was opened on the outskirts of the town, this was later renamed {{rws|Wood Green|Wednesbury}}, and is now closed. The GJR became part of the [[London and North Western Railway]] (LNWR) in 1846.<ref name="BoyntonRAW">{{cite book|last1=Boynton|first1=John|title=Rails Around Walsall|date=1996|publisher=Mid England Books|isbn=0-9522248-3-6}}</ref>
*The section through Walsall, including the present Walsall station was opened in 1849 by the [[South Staffordshire Railway]], as part of their (now closed) [[South Staffordshire line]] from {{rws|Dudley}} to Wychnor Junction, north of [[Lichfield]], a connection was opened from Walsall to the GJR at Bescot, allowing direct Walsall-Birmingham trains.<ref name="BoyntonRAW"/>
*The section between Walsall and Rugeley Trent Valley was constructed by the South Staffordshire Railway, and the [[Cannock Mineral Railway]] (CMR): The South Staffordshire Railway built the line from Walsall to Cannock, opening in 1858, and the CMR built the line from Cannock to Rugeley, opening in 1859. The South Staffordshire Railway was absorbed by the LNWR in 1867, as was the CMR two years later.<ref name="BoyntonRAW"/>
*The last part of what is now the Chase Line, the ''Soho Loop Line''; a link running from ''Perry Barr Junction'' on the original GJR to ''Soho Junction'' on the [[Stour Valley Line]], allowing an alternative route into Birmingham from the west which bypassed Aston, was opened by the LNWR in 1889. Two stations were opened on this line; {{rws|Soho Road}} and {{rws|Handsworth Wood}}, both were closed in 1941.<ref name="BoyntonRAW"/>

===Walsall – Rugeley: closure and reopening===
Passenger services on the line between Walsall and Rugeley Trent Valley were withdrawn in 1965, and the intermediate stations closed as part of the [[Beeching Axe]], the line however remained open to freight, although until the 1980s it was not unknown for diverted Inter-City passenger services from Birmingham to Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, etc. to use the line in the event of the Wolverhampton-Stafford route being shut for Sunday or late evening engineering work.<ref>{{cite book| first=J.| last=Glover| title=West Midlands Rails in the 1980s| publisher=Ian Allan| year=1984}}</ref><ref name="Boynton">{{cite book|last1=Boynton|first1=John|title=A Century of Railways around Birmingham and the West Midlands, Volume Three 1973–1999|date=October 1999|publisher=Mid England Books|isbn=0-9522248-6-0}}</ref>

Passenger services were restored to the line and most of the stations reopened between 1989 and 1998, as part of a joint initiative between the [[West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive]] (WMPTE) and [[Staffordshire County Council]]. The name ''Chase Line'' was invented as a [[marketing]] name for the restored line, and came into use at this time. The restoration took place in stages, as follows:<ref name="Boynton"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Walsall-Wolverhampton TRAINS|url=http://www.freewebs.com/southstaffsrailway/walsallwolverhampton.htm|publisher=South Staffs Railway|accessdate=12 September 2017|archive-date=10 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180510055857/http://www.freewebs.com/southstaffsrailway/walsallwolverhampton.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

*10 April 1989 — Walsall to Hednesford
*2 June 1997 — Hednesford to Rugeley Town
*25 May 1998 — Rugeley Town to Rugeley Trent Valley and Stafford
*12 December 2008 — Chase Line trains are cut back from Stafford to Rugeley Trent Valley.
*22 May 2018 — Chase Line trains increased to a 30-minute frequency Monday to Saturday, with a 60-minute frequency on Sunday
*19 May 2019 — Electric passenger services begin north of Walsall. In addition to this, services are extended to Birmingham International (2tph).