The boss of a regional transport watchdog has pledged to keep a close eye on the impact of local rail service cuts due to be introduced today as a knock-on effect of the new West Coast Mainline timetable.

While heralding changes such as faster tilting trains between London, Birmingham and the North, it is feared the new timetable will mean fewer and more overcrowded local services.  Links to the NEC and Birmingham International Airport are particularly badly hit.

“There are some benefits to local services, such as the more regular frequency on the Walsall line – but passengers still face a few years more pain before they start to see any real gains,” comments Cllr Gary Clarke, chairman of the West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority.

“Poor planning by the railway industry has led us to this situation and it seems we now have to wait for the completion of delayed works at Birmingham International before we get the promised better railway,” he adds.

The PTA and Centro called a summit meeting of railway bosses when details of the cuts on the Birmingham-Coventry line emerged earlier this year.