From Sunday, 11th December, there will be substantial changes to train services operated by West Midlands Railway.
The changes are because of the national twice-yearly timetable change which will affect the departure times and frequencies on some of the railway's routes.
Services on the following routes will be significantly retimed to provide a more robust service:
- Birmingham to Shrewsbury;
- Walsall to Wolverhampton via Birmingham;
- Nuneaton to Leamington Spa.
Between Birmingham New Street, Northampton and London Euston there will be a new half-hourly service operated by West Midlands Railway's sister company, London Northwestern Railway.
Between Birmingham New Street, Walsall, and Tame Bridge Parkway there will be a new ‘clock-face' timetable with departures from every 15 minutes.
There will be increased connections between Rugeley Trent Valley and Birmingham International.
Anyone intending to travel by West Midlands Railway after 11th December should check their journey times before they travel. Full details of the timetable changes are available online at www.wmr.uk/december.
Train services on West Midlands Railway in the first week following the timetable change are also likely to be disrupted because of industrial action. Details of the impact are available online at www.wmr.uk/industrialaction.
Jonny Wiseman, WMR customer experience director, said “These changes have been carefully planned to provide a more reliable, robust timetable for our customers.
“On some routes the new timetable will mean departure times have changed significantly so I am urging our customers to check their journeys carefully to avoid being left behind.”
Using the Birmingham to Shrewsbury line in November I found the service level very good. I hope this isn’t a nice way of saying that they have mucked it up.