Work on Midlands Rail Hub set to begin

The Midlands Rail Hub project is set to cost £1.75 billion and will upgrade a series of rail lines and stations around Birmingham and nearby towns and cities

Design work on the Midlands Rail Hub is set to begin, the government has said.

An additional £123m has been allocated towards the project, which the government says will increase capacity at Birmingham Moor Street station and reduce congestion on routes around the city.

Transport secretary Mark Harper said the Midlands Rail Hub project will bring “huge benefits” to passengers in the region.

The government added that the first phase of the proposals would mean an extra train every hour in both directions between central Birmingham and places including Cardiff, Bristol, Cheltenham and Worcester.

The plans were made possible because of funding reallocated from HS2, according to the government.

West Midlands mayor Andy Street said: “Midlands Rail Hub will provide an opportunity for us to open more new stations and lines across our network as well as deliver faster journey times into central Birmingham from the new Camp Hill line stations that are currently under construction at Moseley Village, Kings Heath and Pineapple Road.

“This investment will not only better connect communities to convenient and rapid public transport services but also attract further investment into our region, delivering jobs, growth and greater prosperity.”

A regular passenger at Kings Norton station (pictured), Andrew Burling, said change was needed

Maria Machancoses, Chief Executive of Midlands Connect, said the announcement marks a major milestone in the “nationally-significant” project.

“The Midlands Rail Hub programme is the result of years of collaboration and determination by cross-party leaders from all corners of the Midlands,” she said.

"Today's £123m announcement is a clear sign of Government’s trust in our partnership - getting us closer to finally delivering much-needed east-west connectivity across the region."

When it is delivered in full, services on most routes will increase by between 50% and 100%, the government has pledged.

It said the first phase could be completed by the early 2030s, subject to future decisions.

Mr Harper said: "The Network North plan (to improve transport) is fully funded as we said when we cancelled the second phase of HS2.

"Every single penny of the savings was going to be invested in transport in the regions where it was going to be spent, [including] £9.6bn in the Midlands, so that money is available for transport in this part of the world."

Platforms two and three at Kings Norton station have been out of use for as long as passenger Andrew Burling can remember. As a regular of the station, he is keen for change.

"It is needed. The world's heating up... . We need to share transport much more, use trains - obviously it's needed," he said.

"It's a no brainer to me."