Worcestershire welcomes Midlands Rail Hub funding

Extra trains to the county are planned as part of £123 million in funding announced by the Government.

The funding, announced last week, will be used to help deliver the Midlands Rail Hub which is a transformational upgrade project to improve transport across the region and beyond, boosting the capacity and frequency of rail services for passengers.

The first phase of the Midlands Rail Hub, made possible by the reallocation of HS2 funding, will mean an additional train every hour in both directions between central Birmingham and Worcester. The hub will see increased frequency for the Redditch Cross City service to three trains per hour, and an increase to four trains per hour between Bromsgrove and Birmingham. There will also be an additional train every hour on the Birmingham to Cardiff service, via Worcestershire Parkway.

Councillor Marc Bayliss, Worcestershire County Council's Cabinet Member for Economy, Infrastructure and Skills, said: "This is fantastic news for our county and will allow the Midlands Rail Hub project to really push forward.

"The project is an important one and will bring benefits to the county, with improved services in Worcester, Bromsgrove and Redditch.

"We recognise the importance of rail travel, and the announcement of this funding is another step towards improving services for our residents, businesses and those visiting our county."

The aim of the Midlands Rail Hub is to improve rail connectivity and boost economic growth across the Midlands and towards the south-west through a series of projects across the region.

The investment is part of the government's Network North Transport Plan, which committed £1.75 billion to deliver the Midlands Rail Hub in full. Subject to future decisions, this first phase of the Rail Hub could be completed by the early 2030s.

Worcestershire County Council has recently introduced a new rail strategy, to transform rail across the county. The plan seeks to deliver better rail improvements and sets the county's medium and long-term proposals to support and build on passenger demand until 2050.

The ambitious plan includes more frequent trains to London, greater country-wide connectivity, introduction of a fast Worcestershire to Bristol service, Worcester Shrub Hill and Redditch masterplans implementation, Worcester area signalling modernisation and ongoing development of station accessibility including parking.