West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway are both operated by Abellio UK as part of West Midlands Trains, which we run as a joint venture with East Japan Railway Company and Mitsui & Co. Across West Midlands Trains and the two franchises, we’re responsible for 1,300 services every day, carrying around 200,000 passengers.

We first began operating West Midlands Trains in 2017, but already we’re making some serious changes. To give passengers a bigger, better and more affordable service, we’re investing £1billion in refurbished trains, improved stations, extra benefits and discounted travel. This includes a concerted effort to create more space (and more seats) for passengers heading to and from Birmingham, as well as the introduction of a new timetable and a huge investment in staff training and valuable new apprenticeships.

All in all, our commitment to transforming the rail network in the West Midlands is clear. Our franchises are set to run until 2025, which gives us plenty of time to make a real difference to commuters and their communities.