BARRUP Bromsgrove And Redditch Rail User Partnership

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The next meeting will be Monday 20th April 2026 from 14.30 to 16.30.

From 1 February 2026 West Midlands Trains will transfer into public ownership under the government’s Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act.
We hope that bringing the rail operating companies under single ownership will lead to improved timetables and better connections between services. We feel that some of the rail operating companies focus more on their narrow business models rather than considering the wider demands for public transport.
Our main hope is that it will be possible to travel directly between Bromsgrove, Worcestershire Parkway and Cheltenham (and beyond) rather than the current situation where it is necessary to travel via Birmingham. This adds an hour to journey times with additional cost.
We also hope that ticketing will be simplified and that costs will be fairer in the future.

CrossCountry Trains has a franchise until 15th October 2027 to run regular services both north and south through Bromsgrove, but none of them stop at the Station.
In August 2024, the then Secretary of State for Transport, Louise Haigh, criticised the Company’s performance, stating that she had “serious concerns” and threatened to take action if it did not improve.
The people and businesses of Alvechurch, Barnt Green, Bromsgrove and Redditch need a direct rail link South, for economic, environmental and social reasons, to Worcestershire Parkway, Cheltenham Spa, Bristol, Cardiff and beyond, which CrossCountry could and should provide as an alternative to the increasingly congested and polluting M5 and M50 motorways.
CrossCountry has made it quite clear in correspondence with BARRUP that it is not prepared to meet us to discuss the opportunities for increasing the number of passengers using its services by calling at Bromsgrove, and does not intend to do so, stating that it sees its role as an outsourced company acting under the instructions of the Department for Transport (DfT).
BARRUP considers that this is unacceptable and that North East Worcestershire needs the benefits of a direct rail link South - thus we intend to pursue other avenues via Bromsgrove District Council, Redditch Borough Council, Worcestershire County Council, Chris Bloore and Bradley Thomas (the two local MP’s) and the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce, to achieve the benefits which would follow.

Flaking Paint and Rust on Footbridge Steps at Bromsgrove
– remedial work commenced on Monday 8 September 2025. Still rusty in January 2026. There are photos here

The ORR has published footfall estimates to March 2025:

•    Bromsgrove: 696,000
•    Barnt Green: 327,000
•    Alvechurch: 163,000
•    Redditch: 910,000

Footfall graphs are here

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