Agenda item

A notice of motion had been submitted by Councillor Bill Hartnett calling for enhancements to be made to the rail service serving Redditch.  This motion was seconded by Councillor Juliet Brunner.

In proposing the motion Councillor Hartnett explained that he had been working for over 18 months to investigate the potential to introduce an express train serving Redditch.  During this time he had met with representatives of a range of organisations in the West Midlands.  This had included discussing the possibility of making adjustments to the timetable to introduce an express train between Redditch and Birmingham New Street that would stop at University Station only.  This would help to reduce the journey time by approximately 20 minutes.

The introduction of an express train would have economic benefits for the Borough and would help the Council to deliver on the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP’s) Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) and the West Midlands Combined Authority’s (WMCA’s) SEP.

The introduction of an express service would also provide an opportunity to review the fares charged for travelling on the service.  Councillor Hartnett explained that he was keen to achieve ‘fare equalisation’ whereby the fare paid by passengers travelling from Redditch to Birmingham was comparable to the fare paid by residents travelling from other parts of the region to the city centre.

In seconding the proposal Councillor Brunner explained that she was keen to take action that would enhance economic development in the Borough.  Connectivity was key to enhancing the Borough’s appeal to businesses.  It was important for the Council to work with partner organisations, such as Worcestershire County Council, to achieve these objectives.

A number of Members subsequently spoke in support of the Motion.  In so doing the costs of travelling from Redditch to Birmingham New Street, compared to travel costs in other parts of the region, were raised as an area of concern.  A suggestion was made that a late night express train service might also be helpful.

A smartcard, the region’s equivalent to London’s Oyster card, was in the process of being piloted in the Borough and it was hoped that this would ease travel arrangements for Redditch residents moving forward.  However, Councillor Hartnett explained that further improvements could always be made and an express train service would help to achieve this.

RESOLVED that

the motion be agreed in the following terms:

One of, if not the most important, priorities for this Council is Economic Development and Regeneration as part of our strategic purpose “Help me run a successful business”. Key to this is our relationship with Birmingham and in particular our connectivity (particularly rail) into and out of the conurbation.  This is key, not only to our businesses, but also our residents who often travel in and out of Birmingham.

However there are two main issues that impact on this connectivity which are fare parity (people tend to pay less for using the rail service within the Transport for West Midlands (formerly Centro) area than they do to travel from Birmingham to Redditch and the time take to travel into and out of the conurbation.  If these issues were to be addressed then there would be a significant benefit to the Redditch economy:

“Redditch Council therefore calls upon Transport for West Midlands and Worcestershire County Council to work with Redditch Borough Council to urgently investigate and produce a sound business case on enhancements to the current rail service to and from Redditch namely :

1)        The introduction of an express train in the morning and in the evening which would only stop at university and new street ( both directions)

2)        To seek the equalisation of rail fares to and from Redditch to the same level of fare as the WMCA metropolitan council areas.