WEST MIDLANDS of the chief beneficiaries at that timetable change, with a regular hourly Sunday service planned for the Birmingham to Shrewsbury line, taking over from the current stopping service operated by Arriva Trains Wales. ROLLING STOCK With the dramatic complete replacement of the rolling stock fleet on the Anglia franchise, observers wait with interest to see what the bidders put forward for the West Midlands one. With money so cheap, new trains are likely to feature strongly: the DfT is expecting some extra capacity to be provided, but existing fleets will also be closely examined. The Class 323s used on the busy CrossCity line will come into focus. Bidders have been asked to suggest alternative seating arrangements to the current '3+2' layout; THE MIDLANDS ENGINE IS GATHERING SPEED, REPORTS JAMES ABBOTT narrow door widths are a more intractable „roblem. London Midland currently Class 323 workhorse: this member of the class is at University, aheavily-used station rains in the West Midlands are soon The Invitation to Tender (p10, October Stoke but from December 2018 operates 26 units; another 17 are used on on the CrossCity route close to further education and medical facilities that is proposed to appear in a purple and orange issue) promises some exciting service will be routed direct down the West Coast the south side of Manchester and are due for remodelling to assist with crowd control. JO~iW~TE80USE Tlivery, marking out a new identity improvements, including two direct peak main line from Stafford to Crewe. to come off lease in 2018, when owner for the area. It is all part of an assertive Walsall to London trains. These will come ■ Improvement of evening services-after 19.00. Porterbrook has made clear its aspiration to Rail have a duty to ensure the condition of of the Chase line from Walsall to Rugeley strategy on the part of the region, keen as part of major improvements in the concentrate the fleet in the West Midlands. stations does not deteriorate,'nobody looks is in-fill electrification of the sort seen in to make the'Midlands Engine' as high area in December 2018. The timetable Other developments due over the next An influx of EMUS would permit frequency at their strategic value to the community' the 1980s: not only will it allow upgrading profile as the Northern Powerhouse. change then is planned to include: couple of years include electrification improvements on the newly-electrified says Malcolm Holmes, West Midlands Rail's of the local service, it will also give another This is the first time the Department for ■ A doubling in the off-peak frequency to Bromsgrove and on the Chase line Chase line, although whether the bidders will Acting Programme Director.'Our proposal electrified alternative route for occasions Transport has mandated the use of a brand: on the Birmingham to Shrewsbury line, between Walsall and Rugeley, along with retain an opening for the more.than 20-year is to establish station alliances between when the West Coast main line is blocked by the West Midlands Railway branding will be from one to two services per hour. opening of Kenilworth station as part of old '323s', which would need modification WMR,the operator and NR -and private engineering work. A further bonus is that applied to local services in the new franchise ■ An extension of one of the two Birmingham - the NUCKLE project(see page 58). to keep to the new mobility rules due in sector third parties where appropriate. The gauge enhancement undertaken as part set to take over from the current London Wolverhampton stopping services each hour Further improvements are due to come 2020, remains to be seen. One factor in partners could then co-operate on promoting of the electrification work enhances the Midland operation in October 2017, for which to Crewe via Stoke-onTrent. This will fill a gap in subsequent timetable changes, with their favour is their fleetness of foot: the their usefulness as community hubs.' prospects for possible freight services to the Abellio (with East Japan Railway Co and left by diversion of London Midland's Euston substantial alterations pencilled in for rapid acceleration of the units is legendary A pioneering case will be Wolverhampton, Pentalver container terminal at Cannock. Mitsui) and incumbent Govia are competing. to Crewe semi-fasts, which currently run via December 2021. Sunday services will be one (recently-built units cannot keep up), where responsibility for the station is to The Chase line finish date is notionally making the Hunslet-built trains a favourite move from long distance operator Virgin December 2017, although bidders for the • for the demanding CrossCity schedules. West Coast to the West Midlands franchisee. West Midlands franchise have been warned ~/e5t Concentrating small fleets in one depot This reflects the part the station will play that it might not be completed until A A:.JI......J.. makes a lot of sense from a maintenance as part of a developing local transport May 2019. At any rate, local planners have point of view: another type suggested for multi-modal hub, where WMR believes that not reckoned on frequency improvements this treatment is Class 172. Again, the bulk the close proximity of the bus station and until the May 2018 timetable, when a of the fleet is already in the Midlands, with the coming extension of the Midland Metro possible influx of EMUS into the region 27 units operating out of Tyseley. London tram network to the rail station make it from Manchester could take place Overground has eight for the Gospel Oak to an opportunity too good to be missed. when Northern's 17 Class 323s come Barking route: these are due to be replaced off lease. Cascaded Class 321s or 319s by EMUS next year after wiring of the route. ELECTRIfTCATION are other possibilities for the Chase Chiltern has four, but they have an operating A new station opened at Bromsgrove on line - or indeed new trains altogether. • constraint on this franchise: the design of 12 July 2016. This will form the southern The aim is to double off-peak frequency the bogie precludes the fitting of tripcocks, terminus of the CrossCity Jine when from hourly to twice hourly, with so they are barred from the Amersham line electrification is extended here from superior acceleration resulting in shorter and restricted to Gerrards Cross services. Barnt Green over the notorious Lickey journey times. Introduction of EMUS on The Class 350 electric units are another incline, which is due to be completed by the Chase line will free up four DMUs casein point. London Midland has the lion's December 2017. Provided this schedule for use elsewhere in the franchise. share of the fleet(77 units), but the is kept, the May 2018 timetable change Further electrification in the region 10 units of sub-class 350/4 are operated by will see three CrossCity trains per hour depends on progress elsewhere in the TransPennine Express on the Manchester to extended from Longbridge to terminate country. Notionally, Derby -Birmingham - Scotland route. With these set to be replaced in a dedicated platform at Bromsgrove. Bristol would have been next in the by new trains, all the Class 350s might be The other three out of the six hourly queue after the Midland main line and j concentrated in the West Midlands franchise. CrossCity trains terminate at Redditch. the trans-Pennine route, but with wires One definite change is that London Service was stepped up here in north of Kettering now being called into Midland's fleet of 3x2-car Class 150 DMUs December 2014 following redoubling of part doubt, the cross-country electrification is set to move to Northern under plans for of the Redditch branch around Alvechurch. seems once again to be receding over the that franchise. In the short term at least, At the northern end of the route, two trains horizon. One vaunted Midlands Engine these will be replaced by six single-car an hour turn round at Four Oaks, two at aim is to improve links between the East Class 153s from Great Western Railway. Lichfield City and two at Lichfield Trent Valley. and West Midlands -improving on the While masts are going up on the southern pedestrian 1hr 15min timings between STATIONS edge of the conurbation to serve Bromsgrove, Birmingham and Nottingham for example - Stations will bean area of focus in the new another electrification project is proceeding but it seems it would be unwise to count on franchise. While train operators and Network on the opposite side of Birmingham. Wiring electrification to help make that happen. ~nnnnni mnrlorn-rail~niavc ~nm flArPmhAr~ni~ MATT'AT7DETT~I7aVC 4Q WEST MIDLANDS FQ CUS Rnr~looi~"• +tio !'~mn Nill rhnrrlc wro dri link tha fnrmo~ ~~~.~i~..a onihuav rni ifo nn thA hinh loyal in Midland Railway 'Camp Hill' line from King's Norton to Water Orton crosses over the top of the ex-Great Western London to Moor Street main line, is the key to unlocking the potential of several routes in the West Midlands. Bordesley station would be closed (or relocated) to free y ' up the required space for the chord. o , Not only would there be the opportunity o f to introduce local services from poorly o f served parts of Birmingham's south v v c~i ~ western quadrant (a proposal which on its own does not quite justify major investment on the scale of Midlands Rail Hub), there would also be the chance to increase capacity on inter-regional routes. Services from Nottingham, Leicester, Worcester and Hereford could ~'.