The number of people travelling by train in the West Midlands has hit an all-time high of almost 30 million passengers a year.

Figures released this week by Centro, the region’s public transport promotion and development body, are expected to fuel calls for greater Government investment in expanding the network.

Local politicians complain that investment decisions are often biased towards London commuter services, even though passenger growth in the West Midlands outstrips that of the South East.

There were more than 29.3 million passenger train journeys taken in the West Midlands last year, an increase of seven per cent, according to the Annual Statistical Report compiled by Centro.  It is the fifth year on year increase in a row and comes despite the continuing poor performance of local rail services, particularly those operated by Central Trains.  Passenger numbers on local Centro-supported services also grew faster than long-distance services.

“The fact that we are seeing such high levels of growth despite the fall in reliability shows there is massive demand for regional rail services,” comments Cllr Gary Clarke, chairman of the West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority, which sets policy for Centro.

Such major growth in rail last year led to the revelation that public transport had become the dominant mode of travel during the Birmingham rush hour.  For the first time, morning peak passengers on buses, trains and trams out-numbered motorists stuck in traffic jams.

Outside the rush hour, the number of people arriving at Birmingham city centre rail stations has also increased.  More than 71,000 passengers used Centro-supported and Chiltern Railways services on a typical weekday.  The figure will be even higher when long-distance passengers are added in.  Shopping developments such as the Bull Ring are believed to be behind the increase – although evening patronage also increased significantly to its highest level in five years.

These latest statistics reveal that Government-set Local Transport Plan targets for encouraging public transport use have also been met or exceeded in Wolverhampton, West Bromwich and Walsall. 

In Wolverhampton 30.1 per cent of rush hour journeys are now on public transport, compared to a target of 29 per cent.  More than a third of commuters into West Bromwich now travel by bus, train or Midland Metro, where the public transport share of 34.3 per cent is now 1.3 per cent above the target level.  Walsall had already beat its Government target of 31 per cent last year.

“All this shows our plans are on the right track and underlines the growing importance of rail services and other modes of public transport in tackling congestion in the region,” adds Cllr Clarke.

A consultation exercise carried out on behalf of all West Midlands councils recently showed public transport improvements to be the main concern among local people, environmental groups and businesses.  The largest number of responses to independent research listed ‘work towards better rail services’ among their top four priorities.

Centro’s annual statistics also show significant growth in use of the congestion-busting park and ride schemes and in sales of multi-operator bus and rail tickets.  There has been a stemming of the decline in concessionary travel with 102 million trips by pass holders in 2004/05.  Although bus patronage generally has continued to fall in line with national trends, the West Midlands now has the highest level of bus use of any metropolitan area – almost forty percent higher than in Manchester for example.

“The continued decline in bus passenger numbers is a matter of concern nevertheless and we are taking a fresh look at how best to promote growth in this area with local councils and bus companies during the coming year,” comments Cllr Clarke.