West Midlands Trains

A new community group has been formed to bring a new lease of life to Stourbridge Junction and Stourbridge Town railway stations – and it’s looking for new members. Friends of Stourbridge Stations (FOSS) will be looking to spruce up the two railway stations, by creating colourful new floral displays and running community activities throughout the year.

The first Class 230 D Train has entered passenger service on the Marston Vale line this morning (Tuesday 23 April). Unit 230004 is now in service on the route between Bletchley and Bedford. The train, which has been developed by Vivarail, will provide extra capacity and improved customer experience for passengers on the line.

The search for the excellence in the community rail movement begins today (17 April 2019) as entries open for the Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP) Community Rail Awards. The awards, now in its fifteenth year, celebrates and rewards the innovation and hard work from the unsung stars of the community rail movement.

The rail industry is launching a new interactive map which will make it easy for passengers to find out about accessibility at stations, helping to boost their confidence to travel by train. This is part of the industry’s wider programme of work to improve access to rail and deliver long-term change.

Over £1m of revenue has been recovered from ticketless rail travellers using London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway services over the past 12 months. Revenue protection managers at the train operators recovered a total of £1,284,746 of unpaid fares during the financial year to April 2019.

London Northwestern Railway passengers are being advised to plan ahead if they intend to travel this weekend (from Friday 19 until Monday 22 April). Essential planned improvement work will be taking place at London Euston, Liverpool Lime Street, and on the West Coast Mainline between Rugby and Birmingham International.

A Gold Award for health and safety practices has been presented to West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway. The train operators have been recognised for an ongoing commitment to ensuring that staff, customers and contractors get home safely at the end of every day.

​A report out today (11 April) has revealed that a hidden army of 8,500 ‘community rail’ volunteers give nearly 400,000 hours a year to bring local railway lines and stations back into the heart of their communities – promoting sustainable travel, empowering communities, and benefitting health, wellbeing and social inclusion.

​A report out today (11 April) has revealed that a hidden army of 8,500 ‘community rail’ volunteers give nearly 400,000 hours a year to bring local railway lines and stations back into the heart of their communities – promoting sustainable travel, empowering communities, and benefitting health, wellbeing and social inclusion.

Stechford station in Birmingham is being fitted with new lifts, ramps and a footbridge to make it more accessible for West Midlands Railway passengers. Jess Phillips MP visited the site on Friday 5 April to see the progress on the £3.9m project so far.