Powering the Midlands Engine
Passengers, communities and businesses in the Midlands will benefit from big changes happening on our railway.
Big Changes in 2020
Trains
- On East Midlands Railway a new half-hourly service from St Pancras International-Luton-Corby
- Continued rollout by West Midlands Trains of 180 new train carriages and standing room for an extra 50,000 passengers to and from Birmingham in Metro style carriages
- Faster journeys on CrossCountry routes between the Midlands and North East of England
Stations, tracks, depots
- Station improvements underway at Kettering, Wellingborough, Bedford, Market Harborough, Kidderminster, Warwick and Banbury
- Continued rollout by West Midlands Trains of 180 new train carriages and room for 50,000 extra passengers to and from Birmingham in metro style carriages
- 200 new train crew now on West Midlands Trains
Communities
- East Midlands Railway will manage 30 preapprenticeships for local young people and host 25 employability masterclasses at schools
- Birmingham New Street station now has a dedicated waiting lounge and team to support additional mobility and sensory needs
- Chiltern Railways will be trialling a greener and noisereducing hybrid battery-diesel train
Major upgrade work
- Electrification of the Midland Main Line to Corby will go live in 2020
- New Wolverhampton Interchange Project is on track to open for customers in Summer 2020 as part of a £150 million transport hub
Changes happening now in the Midlands
Below are press releases from rail companies in the Midlands promoting changes and improvements happening in the area.
![STEM centre training facility]()
Network Rail look to inspire young people as ground-breaking STEM learning facility opensNetwork Rail has opened a dedicated STEM learning facility with the aim of inspiring the next generation to pursue careers in...
![Mims Davies MP speaking at event]()
Employment Minister calls for firms to follow in footsteps of GTRBusiness, education and political leaders came together to discuss how to support young people into work and tackle skills...
![West Midlands Train at station]()
West Midlands Trains to invest an additional £20m into rail networkThe additionsl investment has been agreed with the Department for Transport as part of a detailed plan to improve services...
![Control panel with person]()
Multi-billion-pound signalling contracts awarded to help deliver a more reliable railway for passengersBillions of pounds will be invested in railway signalling over the next five years to improve the reliability of systems on...
![Denby Dale station]()
Network Rail begins improvement work at two stations on the Penistone line this weekendNetwork Rail is working with Northern to extend platform one at Denby Dale and platform one at Lockwood station, as part of an...
![Station bridge]()
Historic Peak District railway footbridge to be lovingly restored for passengersWork has begun to carefully restore an historic railway footbridge for passengers at New Mills Newtown station in the...
People across the Midlands support rail companies’ proposals for change
The rail industry recognise the need for big changes, that's why together we submitted proposals for a radical alternative to the current franchising system to the independently-chaired Williams review looking into the future of Britain's railway. We proposed for a more customer focussed, joined-up and accountable railway.
See what’s happening elsewhere in Britain
What big changes do you want?
Rail companies are calling for big changes but what matters to you?
