West Midlands Trains (WMT) has become the latest train operating company to be taken back under public control, moving to be under the control of DfT Operator Limited on February 1.
The operation is one of the more complex former franchises, with two distinct divisions providing services branded as London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway.
Operations were previously run as a franchise by a consortium of Abellio, JR East and Mitsui from December 10, 2017, but this was replaced by a direct award from September 10, 2021, after the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic invalidated the original agreement. The contract has continued until the Government takeover, although Abellio sold its interest to Transport UK Group — a management buy-out — on February 28, 2023.
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The franchise requirements were jointly specified by the Department for Transport, the West Midlands Metro Mayor and local authorities, which resulted in a commitment for £1 billion of investment. Of this, £700 million was for new trains and £70 million for depots and station upgrades, including digital customer information screens at 150 stations. New stations were also planned for the Camp Hill line.
If the franchising regime had continued, the planned expiry of the contract this year would have provided an opportunity for the Metro Mayor and local authorities to specify a new round of investment for anticipated growth. The question now is how this will be funded, as there can be no certainty that the Treasury will replace the private sector funding that would have been available to a franchise.
Recent new fleets
London Northwestern Railway provides semi-fast services on the West Coast Main Line from London Euston to Birmingham via Northampton, Euston to Crewe, and Birmingham to Liverpool. It also operates the branch from Watford Junction to St Albans Abbey, and the ‘Marston Vale’ line from Bletchley to Bedford is to become part of East West Rail.
The fleet is all-electric except for the Class 150 DMUs on the Marston Vale route. Recent deliveries have taken place of 48 three-car Aventra Class 730/0 90mph EMUs mainly used by WMR plus 36 five-car 730/2 110mph units for the core LNR services.
Following the introduction of these new vehicles, by the end of 2025, the fleet of 37 four-car Class 350/2 EMUs — built by Siemens and introduced as recently as 2008–09 — will have been moved into storage by owner Porterbrook Leasing.
Other class variants owned by Angel Trains have been retained, as they have 2+2 rather than 2+3 seating, namely 30 Class 350/1 dual-voltage sets that were upgraded to 110mph in 2018; 10 further Class 350/3 AC units ordered in 2014 to cater for growth; and 10 Class 350/4 AC units transferred from TransPennine Express in 2019 after being replaced by new 125mph Class 397 sets.
WMR provides services that radiate from stations in central Birmingham and other population centres, and for non-electrified routes, two- and four-car Class 196 units built by CAF have been introduced to supplement a substantial fleet of Class 172s. Six of the two-car ‘196s’ are to be sub-leased to Chiltern Railways to operate the initial East West Rail service between Oxford and Milton Keynes.
Expansion is planned by enhancing infrastructure and opening new stations as part of a 30-year investment strategy that extends to 2050. This was refreshed in 2022 to reflect changed planning assumptions following the Covid pandemic. There is a shortage of capacity to meet expected levels of future demand, with acute congestion on the Stour Valley line between Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton. This is a legacy of the withdrawal of passenger services on the parallel ex-Great Western Railway route between Snow Hill and Wolverhampton.
Demand and long-term planning
“Demand for rail services will increase from 80 million per annum before Covid to 135 million by 2050.”
Low usage in the early 1970s following electrification of the former LNWR/LMS route saw Snow Hill reopened in stages from 1987 for heavy rail and West Midlands Metro trams.
The West Midlands Rail Executive has a 30-year plan to improve local services. To achieve net zero emissions by 2050, a rolling programme of electrification is proposed. Priorities are the lines serving Stratford-upon-Avon, Leamington Spa, Worcester and Great Malvern, and the route between Nuneaton and Birmingham.
Other proposed routes are infills to enhance the current electrified network, including Bromsgrove to Droitwich Spa, King’s Norton to Barnt Green, and the Camp Hill line.
There is an aspiration to see wiring extend from Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury and to reach London Marylebone. There is also an expectation that routes that serve the busiest container ports, such as Felixstowe, Thames Gateway and Southampton, will be included in a future national electrification programme.
Midlands Rail Hub and future growth
The Midlands Rail Hub is a proposal to transform connections to population centres such as South Wales and the South West. It is a response to the arrival of HS2 at the future Curzon Street station, close to Moor Street, where there is to be a high frequency link.
The cancellation of future phases of HS2 that were intended to reach Crewe, Manchester and Leeds is likely to cause continuing congestion on elements of the national network, and alternative connectivity solutions from the Midlands will be a necessity.
The expectation is that demand for rail services in the West Midlands will increase from the 80 million per annum immediately prior to the Covid pandemic in 2019 to 135 million by 2050. This forecast has been reached by identifying seven key corridors where development proposals are planned.
The routes radiating from Coventry are seen as having the greatest potential, where a current demand of 20 million annual users is forecast to reach 40 million by 2050. Substantial growth is also anticipated at Wolverhampton, where demand is expected to increase from 12.5 million to 20 million by 2050.
Freight, housing and network expansion
A freight objective is included, which can be summarised as taking measures to ensure paths are available to meet commercial requirements at terminals that provide both intermodal and bulk handling. This addresses concern among freight operators that any increase in the frequency of passenger services will not be at the expense of the paths required for freight operations.
Within the next five years it is expected that up to 390,000 new houses will be built in the West Midlands, and there is the potential for up to 30 new stations to be provided as well as new rail corridors such as the Sutton Park line. This is a 12-mile freight-only route between Walsall and Water Orton that provides access to Nuneaton and beyond.
The renewed open access application from the Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway includes the use of this route.
Another significant proposal for reopening is from Stratford-upon-Avon to Honeybourne (on the Cotswold Line), which is partially still in situ to serve Long Marston. This has for a long period been seen as a key component of improving connectivity at Worcester and Oxford, and for providing more convenient journeys to Stratford-upon-Avon.
The original article recently appeared in The Railway Magazine. To subscribe, visit https://www.classicmagazines.co.uk/the-railway-magazine
