A public transport watchdog is claiming to have secured a better deal for passengers after putting pressure on the rail industry to improve services on the region’s busiest line.
Councillors on the West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority had expressed concerns about serious overcrowding on trains to and from the National Exhibition Centre.
On Saturdays there will now be one extra Virgin train each hour calling at New Street and Birmingham International – and Central Trains will be adding four extra carriages to double the length of around fifty per cent of its trains. Much of the extra capacity should be in place in time for this weekend’s Clotheshow Live.
“This is certainly not a long-term solution, it is not a complete solution and there is still a downside. But after some difficult discussions with the rail industry, we have achieved some success and this is a welcome move to ease the pressure when there are big events taking place and thousands of passengers heading for Christmas shopping,” comments PTA Chairman Cllr Gary Clarke.
The PTA, which sets policy for Centro, called the rail industry to an urgent summit meeting when it realised the scale of the cuts to local services and especially the inadequate capacity to cope with large events at the NEC on Saturdays.
Centro had been assured that heralded new services as a result of the £7bn West Coast Main Line Upgrade would bring improvements – but instead of this, the postponement of some of the works and late changes to the timetable created big gaps in the service to Birmingham International.
The public transport promoter warned passengers would face seriously overcrowded trains and platforms on what is the region’s busiest rail route. Surveys since the new timetable was introduced in September have shown those fears to be well-founded.
"People used to a high-frequency service to the Airport are now advised to start checking timetables to make sure they can catch their flight. The service is struggling to cope with demand, especially when there are large events on at the NEC. That is why we stepped in to try and broker a deal," says Cllr Clarke.
Passenger data requested by Centro has shown trains overloaded by as much as 75 per cent. In the worst case, during the weekend of the Ski Show, Asian Mega Mela and Horse of the Year Show, more than 200 people were forced to stand on a train packed with families and children.
“It is certainly not a happy situation and we need to keep up the pressure for a long-term solution that restores a high-frequency, turn-up-and-go service to this vital line,” says Cllr Clarke.
In a meeting with the rail industry, called by the PTA, councillors pressed for urgent measures that could be put in place before Christmas.
Train companies, Network Rail and the Strategic Rail Authority identified some diverted Virgin services which could make additional stops at Birmingham New Street and Birmingham International. Another outcome has been the doubling in length of trains between Northampton and Birmingham, which can provide an extra 300 seats per hour. Even with these measures, ad-hoc relief trains may still have to run at times of peak demand.
Although the longer trains will provide much-needed extra capacity for passengers travelling between Birmingham, Coventry, the NEC and Airport, they will not be able to call at some intermediate stations with short platforms. Until a longer-term solution is found, some Saturday services to Tile Hill, Berkswell, Stechford and Adderley Park will be replaced with buses, although there will still be an hourly train service as well.
