Transport bosses are urging residents, businesses and other organisations in the West Midlands to give their views on an exciting blueprint for the future of the region’s rail network.

Transport authority Centro, on behalf of the Regional Rail Forum, has published the West Midlands region’s draft Rail Development Plan which details the improvements considered necessary to support the growth of the West Midlands rail network.

This builds on the rail priorities identified in the Regional Transport Priorities Action Plan and includes proposals for a wide range of enhancements including new passenger rail lines and stations, longer platforms, more track capacity into Birmingham city centre, new Park & Ride sites and improved accessibility and journey times.

Together these enhancements to the region’s rail network would help to cater for the growing need for additional passenger and freight services in the West Midlands.

They will also play a key role in supporting the region’s wider economic, environmental and social objectives by helping to provide the West Midlands with a world-class integrated transport system that offers a viable alternative to road transport.

The West Midlands region, which has a population of 5.4 million, has seen growth on the rail network of 36 per cent over the last six years to 41 million passengers a year, and transport bosses expect this figure to rise to 55 million people boarding trains every year by 2019.

Nigel Pennington, Director of Rail & Rapid Transit at Centro, said: “The West Midlands rail network is a real success story, seeing year on year growth across the region for both passenger and freight transport.

“It plays an increasingly important role in reducing costly traffic congestion and freeing up our roads by providing fast, efficient and reliable transport, which also improves access to the region making it an increasingly attractive and competitive place for business.

“We now need to make sure that we make all the necessary improvements to increase capacity and enhance the network as soon as possible so that we can continue to build on the benefits to the region that continued growth and success of our rail network will bring.”

Chris Haynes, Chair of the West Midlands Regional Rail Forum added: “The draft Rail Development Plan has seen authorities and organisations across the West Midlands work together on what the region needs from our Rail Network to support our economic growth and development and improve access and connectivity.

“We look forward to sharing these draft proposals over the next few weeks and feeding back all the comments and ideas we receive. This will ensure that the final version of these proposals is truly representative of the whole region’s needs and aspirations.”

Proposed improvements in the Rail Development Plan have sought to take into account plans by Network Rail and train operators, and changing land use and travel patterns.

The document, produced on behalf of Centro and the Regional Rail Forum by leading transport consultants Steer Davies Gleave, summarises a range of potential schemes identified by regional stakeholders including:

• New and longer trains
• Enhanced services on several key routes including the Snow Hill lines and between Nuneaton, Coventry and Leamington
• Improved early morning, evening and Sunday services across the network
• Camp Hill Chord lines into Moor Street station enhancing rail capacity in central Birmingham
• Station access improvements including better integration between other transport modes and new or extended Park & Ride facilities
• Rail station upgrades at Moor Street, Coventry, Kidderminster and Telford
• New stations at Coventry Arena, Bermuda Park, Kenilworth, Stratford Parkway, Bromsgrove, Worcester Parkway, and Shrewsbury Parkway
• Reinstatement of Stourbridge to Walsall freight line
• New or reinstated passenger lines, with new stations where necessary, on:
  • Walsall to Wolverhampton line
  • Camp Hill line
  • Tamworthline
  • SuttonParkline

Centro and the Regional Rail Forum, which represents local authorities, rail companies and other stakeholder organisations across the West Midlands, have put the draft proposals out to consultation and are welcoming any comments on the plans.

They would particularly like people’s views on which schemes should be given top priority and which would be essential to improve the region’s economy, competitiveness and the environment.

The plan can be downloaded at www.centro.org.uk under the consultation heading. The consultation ends on 11 September 2009, and all comments and ideas will be taken into account when the finalised proposals are put together.

Negotiations with partners have already led to a kick-start to the proposals with a number of enhancements listed in the draft Rail Development Plan being confirmed, with over £90m of funding committed from the Department for Transport and Network Rail’s five year funding plan for 2009 to 2014.

These include:

• BirminghamGateway – rebuild of Birmingham New Street station
• Birmingham Moor Streetstation upgrade with additional platforms
• WolverhamptonInterchange
• Resignalling on the Stratford, Water Orton/Camp Hill, Kidderminster, Walsall and Cannock Lines
• Enhancements on the Bromsgrove, Redditch branch, Barnt Green to Westerleigh, and Cotswold lines as well as on the strategic freight network
• New diesel trains to replace Class 150s and electric trains to replace class 321s
• Longer Pendolinos
• More carriages on Cross City and Snow Hill lines
• Reduced journey times on Chiltern Railways services to London

A similar level of funding has also been proposed in the Regional Funding Advice which was submitted to Government at the end of February this year.