Campaign for 24 hour trains to keep passengers on board

It is part of an initiative by the Campaign for Rail, which wants services to Birmingham International, which serves Birmingham Airport and the NEC, improved.

The group says the current day-time services are unattractive for workers doing early shifts and for passengers needing to arrive at the airport early.

Currently, the first service from Wolverhampton does not arrive at the airport until 05.40am, providing insufficient time for check in for an early flight, the group says.

Bosses at Stansted Airport, which competes with Birmingham in the European short-haul market, have recently called for the new operator of rail services to operate a 24 hour a day rail service between Stansted and London.

Campaign for Rail has urged for a similar requirement to be put into the new West Midlands rail franchise which is planned to begin in 2017.

The call to increase services comes during a resurgence in rail passenger numbers due to traffic congestion and population.

It contrasts to 50 years ago when Dr Richard Beeching's report 'The Reshaping of British Railways' led to the closure of 2,363 stations and 6,000km of track.

Dudley was one of the biggest communities in the country to be hit when its station at the bottom of Castle Hill was closed in July 1964.

The Campaign for Rail says overnight train services would make the train a more attraction option for people travelling to Birmingham Airport as well as the Resorts World leisure and entertainment complex which opens for business later this year.

Passenger numbers at Birmingham Airport increased 6.4% year between 2013 and 2014 with 9.7 million passengers using the airport in 2014.

Ian Jenkins, from the campaign group, said: "With Stansted pushing for a 24 hour rail service it is important Birmingham is not left behind.

"Meanwhile the various projects coming to completion around the Airport and NEC site mean it is vital to have good rail links.

"The NEC and Resorts World have a unique competitive advantage, being connected to a major regional airport and the national rail network. "

Campaign for Rail has discussed its proposals with Birmingham Airport, the regional transport authority Centro, Virgin Trains, London Midland and Network Rail.

A Network Rail spokesman said the overnight services could pose difficulties to its work.

He said: "While we would always look to support the idea of new and more frequent rail services, the explosion in rail use – a doubling of passengers in the last 20 years to 1.65bn per year – means that the demands being made on the railway infrastructure is ever growing.

"Our engineers have to have 'train-free-time' to undertake essential maintenance and renewal work to keep the tracks safe and reliable and the obvious time to do this is when fewer people travel, which is why we do the vast majority of this essential work, overnight."