London Midland passengers to benefit from infrastructure improvements

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London Midland customers will see faster journey times with forthcoming improvements to infrastructure on two key commuter routes.

Work to improve the Chase Line, which includes the stations between Walsall, Hednesford, Cannock and Rugeley, will see the line speed increase from 45mph to 75mph.

Originally closed to passengers during the Beeching era, passenger services were restored by Centro, the transport authority for the West Midlands, Staffordshire and Cannock Chase Councils during the 1990s.

It has become an increasingly important commuter service in and out of Birmingham.

At the same time the Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury line which includes stations at Telford and Wellington will undergo improvement works to increase the line speed from 75mph to 90mph.

Both projects are expected to be completed by Spring 2014 at the latest. Funding for both projects was confirmed recently by Network Rail.

London Midland’s Wallace Weatherill said:

“We very much look forward to running faster trains on these routes. Improvements to the lines will mean that journey times will be cut and thousands of our customers will reach their destinations more quickly, this has to be a good thing.”

Cllr Tom Ansell, lead member for rail and Metro at Centro, said:

“This is great news for passengers, especially those who commute in and out of the West Midlands from the surrounding Shire counties.

“We are delighted that Network Rail is making this important investment, which will hopefully act as a catalyst for further improvements such as additional services on both routes and electrification of the Chase line.”

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