BARRUP Rail

Rail Affairs from BARRUP

www.bromsgroverail.org.uk

(Bromsgrove and Redditch Rail User Partnership)

The votes have been counted in the Worcestershire County Council Elections of May 6th, and Bromsgrove has returned seven Conservatives, one Labour and one Liberal to argue for the Town’s best interests in the Council Chamber.

A vital matter, which the Councillors need to pursue in the recovery of the local economy from the effects of the Pandemic, is the improvement of Rail Connectivity at Bromsgrove Station.

Built at a cost of over £24 million pounds five years ago, it could be used to much greater effect to make it easier, cheaper and quicker for residents and business people to travel to the South, South West and South East from the Station, and for Day and Short Stay Visitors to travel to the Town to visit the various attractions that it has to offer.

All that is needed is for the many Nottingham - Cardiff Cross Country (XC) Trains, which thunder through the Station every day, to stop in Bromsgrove - none do so currently!

Then people can board / alight to travel directly to/ from South Wales, with one change at Cheltenham travel onto / from Bristol and the South West and, with one change at Worcester Parkway, travel onto/ from The Cotswolds, Oxford and Paddington.

So we need all nine of our County Councillors, whatever their political affiliations, to be proactive in getting the County Council Cabinet Member for the Economy and Infrastructure (whoever is appointed to that role) to put pressure on XC Trains for the trains to stop in Bromsgrove.

This will require a change of mindset from the County Council. In an email to me in 2018, the response from the previous County Councillor in the role was “to expect XC Trains to stop at Bromsgrove would be asking them to greatly slow their services to all the other stops on the line” and “if Bromsgrove residents were able to join XC services at the Town’s Station, it would place them in a privileged position that must be accommodated before anyone else in the County”.

Since then, the services have been changed due to the opening of Worcestershire Parkway in February 2020, and no doubt will be changed further due to the effect on travelling numbers due to the pandemic.

So there is no good reason now why a change can’t be made for the XC Trains to stop at Bromsgrove.

And Bromsgove residents are not asking to be placed “ in a privileged position”. We have a fit for purpose, but under utilised station - If XC Trains stop at it, there will be significant economic and environmental benefits for everybody in Bromsgrove and North East Worcestershire (and XC Trains will generate more revenue for itself by having more passengers!).

It’s called “ Win Win”! by Nick Taylor