Better stations and more trains

Better stations and more trains as investment continues to improve the railway between Barnt Green and Bromsgrove
Work to improve the railway between Barnt Green and Bromsgrove will increase over the coming weeks and months as part of a £100m investment to provide a better railway.

Network Rail and its partners Centro and Worcestershire County Council will be completing a range of improvements, from a new pedestrian footbridge at Barnt Green station to a brand new station in Bromsgrove, over the coming months. The railway in between the two stations will also be electrified and resignalled to help provide an improved and more frequent service to complement the new facilities.

The work represents the biggest investment in transport in the Bromsgrove area since the M42 motorway was built and the result will be a modern railway station with a frequent service to Birmingham and beyond. When complete the new Bromsgrove station will have four longer platforms, step-free access, a 350 space car park and a bus interchange. It is due to open in late 2015.

It will be served by electric Cross-City line trains between Bromsgrove, Birmingham New Street, Sutton Coldfield and Lichfield, with four trains per hour each way on weekdays compared to the current one train per hour service today. Thanks to improvements already made on the line to Redditch, Barnt Green has seen more trains calling at the station from 15 December 2014, with three trains per hour now stopping in each direction. After the Bromsgrove work this will rise to four trains per hour in December 2016.

To deliver the improvements, there will be some short-term disruption as the work takes place but everything will be done to minimise this as much as possible. Road diversions will be in place in the Barnt Green area between January and May 2015 when three road bridges are rebuilt to accommodate an electrified railway underneath. These are:

Hewell Lane closed for vehicles between 10th January and late April 2015. Pedestrian access will be maintained by a temporary footbridge
‘Greens’ occupation bridge (by the M42 on Blackwell Road) closed for vehicles between 6th March and late April, though footpath access will be maintained by a temporary footbridge. Blackwell road will be closed between 30th March and late April
Linthurst Newtown closed for vehicles and pedestrians between 10th January and late March 2015.
Work will also take place at Bromsgrove station from late Christmas Eve until the start of normal service on 27 December as Network Rail makes use of the railway being closed to carry out track work and make excavations ahead of work taking place through 2015.

Work to electrify the railway between Barnt Green and Bromsgrove will take place from February 2015 to spring 2016. People living alongside the railway will be written to in advance to make them aware of the dates and times for this work and any other which may have noise implications.

The new footbridge will be built at Barnt Green station between February and June 2015. The current bridge will remain in place through and be removed once the new one is installed.

Liam Sumpter, area director for Network Rail, said: “This work is part of a £100m investment in the railway in north Worcestershire which will provide a better railway for passengers. It is important that we continue to invest in the rail network to meet the increasing demands being placed on it and provide the best level of service to passengers that we can.

“We have worked closely with our partners to plan and implement the upgrades to cause the least disruption and will do all we can to keep noise and inconvenience to a minimum.”

For further information contact Network Rail’s national helpline on 0845 141 114 or visit www.networkrail.co.uk
(article added 17 December 2014)
Text provided by Network Rail