Train services across Birmingham were severely disrupted on Tuesday after an unexploded wartime mortar was discovered near a railway line. The device was found at Duddeston Mill Trading Estate on Duddeston Mill Road, Washwood Heath, at around 9.45am, prompting an immediate emergency response.
Lines between Birmingham New Street and Duddeston were closed while bomb disposal teams attended the scene, forcing major delays and cancellations on routes to Tamworth, Derby and Sheffield. A 100-metre exclusion zone was established around the site as specialists assessed the ordnance.
Network Rail said it was assisting West Midlands Police and warned that services would remain disrupted until the incident was made safe. A spokesperson said: “We are currently supporting West Midlands Police as they deal with an incident in Duddeston. As a result, some train services are currently disrupted.”
Later on Tuesday, West Midlands Police confirmed that the EOD bomb disposal team had attended and made the mortar safe. The exclusion zone was lifted and the nearby railway line reopened. National Rail said all lines had reopened, although trains running to, from or through Birmingham New Street could still be cancelled, delayed by up to 50 minutes, revised or diverted.
The incident is the latest example of unexploded wartime ordnance being uncovered in the UK. Thousands of Second World War bombs are found each year, with around 8,000 dealt with by the private sector and the military assisting in larger operations. In 2024, a 500kg Nazi bomb found in Plymouth forced one of the country’s largest evacuations since the war before being detonated at sea.
