Rail hub to make capacity for hundreds more trains

The Midland Rail Hub aims to ease the bottleneck at Birmingham New Street Station

Major improvements to the railway network in the Midlands could result in hundreds more trains passing through Gloucestershire every week.

Midlands Connect said the £1.75bn Midlands Rail Hub will create capacity for an extra 624,000 seats a year for the county.

The project aims to stop the bottleneck at Birmingham New Street Station by improving connections with the other main stations in the city.

Paul Butters, from Midlands Connect, said the project would "improve rail links between Birmingham and more than 50 locations" including Gloucestershire.

Paul Butters said Gloucestershire could see an extra 260 trains a week

Mr Butters said New Street is "the most congested train station outside of London" and lots of trains end up being delayed because there is "no capacity".

"Unblocking the trains allows us to put in about 200 extra trains in and out of Birmingham every single day to lots of places like Cardiff, but also down to Gloucestershire and through to Swindon", he added.

"Places like Stonehouse, Stroud and Kemble will see extra trains, as will Ashchurch. Around 260 extra trains a week, so it should also help to deal with some of the commuter overcrowding."

The work involves creating two new rail links, or viaducts, one called the West Chord, which will enhance services using the Hereford and Worcester corridors and allow trains to access Moor Street station from the South West and Wales.

Max Wilkinson said the hub would unlock a lot of useful services

The project will also benefit Cheltenham and was welcomed by the town's Liberal Democrat MP, Max Wilkinson.

"Cheltenham train services to London, Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff are often a talking point for local people, because we feel we're underserved for the size of the town we are," he said.

"The Midland Rail Hub has the potential to unlock quite a lot of useful services which could have a really big impact on the ability of people in Cheltenham to get up to Birmingham for work or for leisure."

Mr Wilkinson said it could also bring investment into the town: "People who are visiting Cheltenham and investing in our local economy, spending money at the Literature Festival, going to the races. Improving that access is something I think we will all benefit from in time," he said.

Funding was confirmed in the government's spending review

Councillor Richard Stanley, leader of Tewkesbury Borough Council, said: "Although there's no confirmed increase in train services to Tewkesbury and Gloucestershire as yet, any improvements, particularly at Ashchurch Station, would be very welcome.

"Sustainable travel is one of our key priorities, and better rail links are key to achieving it. We've had early discussions with Network Rail about future opportunities for Ashchurch Station.

"Improved services would help our residents access jobs in cities including Birmingham and Bristol, while easing traffic and supporting greener travel."

Funding for the Rail Hub was confirmed in the government's spending review in June, and work on the infrastructure is expected to start in the next year.