NEW TIMETABLE changes being introduced by West Midlands Railway will mean there will now be three trains-an-hour between Bromsgrove and Birmingham now on a Sunday.
The move has been welcomed by the Bromsgrove Rail User Group (BRUG) which has campaigned for better services for the district’s commuters and led the successful campaign for a new station.
Tony Woodward, vice-chairman of BRUG, told The Standard: “It’s fantastic news that we have three trains-an-hour on a Sunday, as well as four in the week.
“It is a step towards a seven-days-a-week railway but we still need the manpower and the new rolling stock which is not due until 2021.”
Rail passengers are being urged to check the new timetable which comes into force this Sunday, May 19 and affects passengers across Worcestershire, Herefordshire and South Staffordshire.
Rail bosses say they will benefit people whether they are travelling for work or leisure.
Events have been held at stations and on trains across the network to give passengers a chance to speak to senior managers about the alterations.
Similar events are also scheduled for the coming weeks, to help gather feedback on the new timetable.
Some of the improvements being introduced across Worcestershire, Herefordshire and South Staffordshire include:
Richard Brooks, customer experience director for West Midlands Railway, said: “The timetable improvements being introduced this weekend will bring a range of benefits to passengers, with more direct services to destinations across our network and improved capacity on some of our busiest services.
“To accommodate these enhancements, there will be alterations to train times, carriage formations and the platforming of some services at busier stations. Therefore, we are advising all passengers to plan ahead for next week and to check the details of their journey.
“This is particularly important for those who travel regularly and are used to relying on a particular service everyday.”
Visit westmidlandsrailway.co.uk for more information.
West Midlands Railway will introduce a further major timetable change in two years time when the operator’s new trains make it onto the network, increasing capacity by a quarter.
