New West Midlands Railway franchise urged to give stations a makeover
A rail campaign group has urged new company and franchise owner West Midlands Railway to ‘repaint and deep clean every one of its stations’.
The Stourbridge Line User Group (SLUG) says Stourbridge Line stations are in need a makeover.
The group also says it will put pressure on West Midlands Rail and West Midlands Railway to see the draft timetables as soon as possible to ensure select services are still included.
The group said it had established a good working relationship with the new franchise holder, West Midland Trains, which operates under the brand name West Midlands Railway, as well as policy maker, West Midlands Rail.
SLUG Chairman William Whiting said: “There have been dramatic developments such as West Midlands Railway and West Midlands Rail making a commitment to a passenger rail link from Stourbridge to Brierley Hill.
“Also, Chiltern Railways has introduced weekend services to and from London Marylebone.
“However, as a campaign group, we must not be complacent when so much more is needed for the new generation of passengers.
“Stourbridge Line stations are badly in need of a makeover and we must push for West Midlands Railways’ commitment to repaint and deep clean every one of its stations to be ordered by need.
“We must point out the tiredness of some of ours such as Galton Bridge – and attention to the canopy ends at Stourbridge Junction.”
West Midlands Trains took over from London Midland on December 10.
The franchise is scheduled to run until March 2026.
Mr Whiting added: “We must put pressure on West Midlands Rail and West Midlands Railway to see the draft December 2018 timetable as soon as possible to ensure Sunday trains at Hartlebury are included.
“Hartlebury is another SLUG success story and has had an annual footfall growth averaging 17.8 per cent over the last five years, which is probably the highest of any West Midlands station.
“We highlight the problems with the rail network and sort them out with the authorities. The past year has seen a steady increase in new members.
“It is no coincidence that successful campaigns have influenced recruitment and with growing membership numbers, the Stourbridge Line User Group will be a force to be reckoned with in 2018.”
SLUG has recently received a national award for ‘Best Website’ from the Rail Development Society, now known as Railfuture.
The group exists to promote and protect the Birmingham to Worcester Railway, which runs through Stourbridge and Kidderminster.
Members regularly meet with local government transport authorities and train operators, as well as co-operating with other user groups where there is a common interest.
West Midlands Trains promised major investment of up to £1 billion along the Black Country and Staffordshire rail network when the region’s new operator was launched.
The new franchise has been split into two public-facing brands with West Midlands Railway running services in and around Birmingham, including the Chase Line, and London Northwestern Railway handling routes on the Euston, Birmingham and Liverpool corridor.
Among the ambitious promises made at its launch were £1bn worth of investment in services, 413 new carriages within four years, 1,050 new car parking spaces across the network, free wi-fi on all mainline services by 2021, compensation for 15 minute delays as well as £60m to be invested in improving stations – or even resurrecting old abandoned ones.
