 The line later came under the control of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and later British Rail in 1948.The line's strategic use as a freight and diversionary route led to it being electrified with overhead wires in the 1960s, as an offshoot of the West Coast Main Line electrification, along with the connecting Walsall Line.However the local passenger service was withdrawn in 1965 as part of the Beeching Axe, and the line's remaining intermediate stations at and were closed.