AN INCREASE in rail services for Worcester and Malvern is on the horizon after the government greenlit £123million of funding which will go towards a Midlands Rail Hub.
The first phase of the hub will mean an additional train every hour in both directions on the line from Birmingham to Worcester, which also stops in Malvern.
There is also set to be an additional train every hour on the Birmingham to Cardiff service, via Worcestershire Parkway.
The project’s first phase will be made possible using cash originally allocated for the scrapped HS2 extension plans.
The Midlands Rail Hub aims to improve rail connectivity and boost economic growth across the region and towards the south-west through a series of projects.
The investment is part of the government’s Network North Transport Plan, which committed £1.75billion to deliver the Midlands Rail Hub in full.
Subject to future decisions, this first phase of the Rail Hub could be completed by the early 2030s.
Worcestershire County Council recently introduced a new rail strategy, which includes plans to deliver more frequent trains to London, greater country-wide connectivity and a new fast Worcestershire to Bristol service.
The authority’s cabinet member for Economy, Infrastructure and Skills, Coun Marc Bayliss, said: “This is fantastic news for our county and will allow the Midlands Rail Hub project to really push forward.
“The project is an important one and will bring benefits to the county, with improved services in Worcester, Bromsgrove and Redditch.”
Malvern MP Harriett Baldwin also welcomed the news.
She added: “The Midlands Rail Hub has an ambition to add significant extra train services and I was pleased to see the project will add at least one extra train service an hour to Malvern.
“We all want to see faster, more reliable and more frequent train services and I hope that this will unlock significant extra capacity for local rail users.”
Visit http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/wris for more information.
