Stonebridge Railway

[1] It was a key part of that company's route from the North Midlands and Yorkshire, to connect with the London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) and the South East.

[3] As all the London traffic was now diverted on the former MCR route, the Stonebridge Railway lost all strategic importance and became in effect a minor branch line.

This lasted until 1917, when the passenger service was finally withdrawn as a wartime economy measure, while under government control (but not ownership) during the First World War.

[4] Two of the most famous men in the history of the Midland Railway were associated with this line - Sir James Joseph Allport (who started his career as a traffic agent in Hampden in Arden), and Matthew Kirtley (who was once the locomotive superintendent of the B&DJR).

As of January 2014, the proposal has the support of Bob Ainsworth[6] and Christopher Pincher (Members of Parliament for Coventry North East and Tamworth), Paul Kehoe (chief executive of Birmingham Airport), Geoff Inskip, (chief executive of Centro), Birmingham City Council and Transport Minister Stephen Hammond.