West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin has today welcomed a commitment to boosting rail services across the Midlands through a £123 million investment programme adding extra train services for Malvern.

The Midlands Rail Hub project will improve services across the region adding one extra services each hour service for Malvern and Worcester train stations as well as reducing journey times.

Harriett was briefed on the scheme last summer by Midlands Connect chief executive Maria Machancoses and following the Prime Minister’s decision to abandon the extension of the High Speed 2 project, the Midlands project was approved to move forward.

The rail project will add more stops and more trains at stations across the West Midlands meaning an estimated 14 million more seats for rail passengers.

Over recent months Harriett has urged both the Government and the rail regulator to assess the performance of West Midland Trains, which currently operates the Midlands rail franchise.

Harriett said:

“The Midlands Rail Hub has an ambition to add significant extra train services and I was pleased to see that 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.

“The current franchise holder is not doing a great job for my constituents and needs to train more drivers and I hope that a formal review will form part of this proposal and I’m also keen to seen how this projects links into the ambition to improve stretches of the North Cotswold Line.

“I welcome this significant investment in our local rail provision, which offers a direct benefit from saving money on HS2 and I look forward to seeing the detailed plans as they are published.”

Photo: Harriett Baldwin MP (left) is briefed on the Midlands Rail Hub strategy by Midlands Connect’s chief executive Maria Machancoses in August 2023.