West Midlands Route Utilisation Strategy - SRA

The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) has published (July 2005) its proposals for the changes to the local railway network up to 2011.

The new 'Route Utilisation Strategy' (RUS), which aims to make better use of existing tracks and trains in the West Midlands, is designed to improve punctuality and reliability. The proposals have been formulated following detailed discussions with Centro (the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive), Network Rail and key local stakeholders.

The Strategy proposes:

• Improved peak services into Birmingham through better use of rolling stock
• Longer peak time trains, where they are affordable and deliver value for money
• Extension of off-peak services from Birmingham to provide a higher frequency to Kidderminster and Stratford-upon-Avon
• Changes on the Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton-Birmingham corridor to improve performance, including possibly in the future, the operation of a peak time Shrewsbury-London service
• Withdrawal of the Wolverhampton to Walsall service in March 2006 - to be replaced by a coach service.

The Strategy takes account of firm plans for changes to the railway infrastructure, including those underway as part of the West Coast Main Line Strategy.

The proposals also build upon the improvements already introduced in December 2004  and planned for December 2005 on the Coventry to Birmingham corridor.

In addition, the Strategy looks at Network Rail's renewal plans and identifies the opportunities these give for useful incremental change in conjunction with the service growth and change proposed.

In order to deliver the Strategy's benefits there would have to be associated reductions on lightly used routes such as the local services between:

• Stoke-on-Trent and Stafford
• Stafford and Nuneaton
• Walsall and Wolverhampton.

The final Strategy covers the short to medium-term period up to around 2011.

Longer-term issues will be dealt with by the SRA's Regional Planning Assessment for the West Midlands, due to be published later in 2005.

Downloads

To download the SRA's final and consultation documents for the West Midlands Route Utilisation Strategy, click on the PDF icons below:

Final report - In full

Final report - Chapters

  

Consultation stage - In full

Consultation stage - Chapters