West Midlands business organisations have added the voices of more than 35,000 members to a campaign to win a greater say in the future of the region’s railways.

Councillors from transport body Centro-PTA have been lobbying for support at this week’s Labour Party Conference.  They want to remain a full contractual partner in the new rail franchise to start next year and have already attracted hundreds of signatures for a petition to be presented to the Secretary of State Douglas Alexander.

Speaking outside the Manchester conference, Keith Stanley, a director of the Black Country Chamber said his members see rail as playing an important part in an integrated transport system for the West Midlands.

“This is an essential ingredient to the economy of the region and it is vital that if Centro-PTA is to represent the views of businesses they are allowed to participate fully.  We have already written to the Secretary of State to express our views on this and underline the strong benefits to the region,” he said.

Both the Black Country and Birmingham chambers have joined with regional MPs who fear the already limited local accountability will be lost when the Central Trains franchise comes to an end next year.  At the moment Centro-PTA, which represents passengers and regional interests, is a co-signatory to the agreement.  That gives local councillors a say in how the railways are run and powers to monitor the performance of the train company.

“We strongly believe that the Secretary of State should use the powers he has to give us a direct contractual relationship with the region’s new train company,” says Centro-PTA chairman Cllr Gary Clarke.  “We have over 30 years experience in overseeing rail services in the West Midlands and have worked closely with operators to bring about improvements in the past.  We are going to need even greater coordination to deliver the transport network this city region needs for the future.”

A recent report commissioned by Centro-PTA and West Midlands councils forecasts congestion in the region to increase by 22 per cent unless there is massive investment in public transport.  Already one in five Birmingham commuters travels to work by train but capacity for growth is seriously limited at the moment, it is claimed.