£1.75bn Midlands Rail Hub plans 'benefit Lichfield’

Dave Robertson, MP for Lichfield met with representatives from Midlands Connect to discuss the benefits of the Midlands Rail Hub for his constituency.

As part of the plans for the project the Cross City North will benefit as a result of Midlands Rail Hub. As a part of the upgrade the scheme will deliver a 6 trains per hour service through the core of the Cross City Line, with 4 train per hour starting at Lichfield Trent Valley and 2 trains per hour starting at Four Oaks.

Currently, Lichfield currently has a 2 trains per hour service and these plans would upgrade the regularity of rail services from Lichfield.  New analysis from Midlands Connect also highlights than an upgraded Cross City Line will deliver 5 million extra seats every year.

The project will also deliver a jobs boost as over the course of the project, more than 12,750 roles are expected to result from the Midlands Rail Hub programme.

Last year, the previous Government committed to ‘full’ delivery of the Midlands Rail Hub, and in February this year, an additional £123m was allocated towards the project, to progress the detailed engineering designs.

Dave Robertson, MP for Lichfield said:

“I support the Midlands Rail Hub and will be working with Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, and West Midlands Trains to deliver more services between Lichfield and Birmingham.

“From speaking to constituents, I know the Cross City Line is incredibly busy. This line had a four trains per hour service before the pandemic, but now there are just two per hour.

“This makes it more difficult for people in Lichfield, Burntwood and the villages to travel to Birmingham and means trains can be overcrowded and uncomfortable at peak times.

“In order to get more people on the network we need to provide a better service for them and that’s what I’m pushing for.”

Paul Butters, Director of Stakeholder Engagement & Communications at Midlands Connect added:

“It was great to meet with Dave and speak to him about our work and our flagship project the Midlands Rail Hub. We outlined to Dave how the scheme could benefit Lichfield and improve local services for residents and commuters.

“We are delighted that he is supporting the Midlands Rail Hub and hearing how 5 million extra seats on the Cross City Line could deliver better and more frequent services.”