New machines just the ticket for train stations

Birmingham International and Birmingham New Street are also beneficiaries of the investment, as they will receive new ticket machines, new ticket gates and 39 jobs will be created.

The new ticket vending machines, which are to benefit Wolverhampton, Stafford and Birmingham, will be the main change from Virgin's investment as they look to meet the increasing demand from customers who prefer to buy their tickets this way.

Councillor Peter Bilson, Cabinet Member for City Assets, said: "This will help improve the passenger experience at Wolverhampton, which is one of the busiest train stations in the country.

"Looking at the bigger picture, the council and its partners have laid down plans to invest millions of pounds in a new railway station and extension of the existing car park as part of the Wolverhampton Interchange project."

Automatic ticket gates (ATGs) are going to be installed in eight stations but not in Wolverhampton or Stafford.

The ATGs are an attempt to crack down on fare dodgers who are travelling on services throughout the West Coast without valid tickets – or a ticket at all.

They are already installed in numerous stations across the country including London Euston and Bristol Temple Meads.

As revealed in the Express and Star two sets of these have already been installed at Birmingham New Street station, and are set to go live when refurbishment work is completed later this month.

Steve Tennant, the executive director of customer service for Virgin Trains, said: ""These improvements are driven by our customers. We seek out comprehensive feedback and we have incorporated this information into our plans.

"As a business it is important we continue to listen to our passengers. We also feel really positive about creating new jobs through our 'Welcome Host' team who will be there to meet and greet customers, acting as ambassadors for their towns and cities. They can't wait to get started."

The 100+ new jobs which are set to be created in Birmingham along with other places along the West Coast main line including Crewe will be 'welcome hosts'.

These are newly assigned roles and their job is to deliver improved customer service to people visiting the stations.

The enhancement work at Crewe and Preston has already started with work at the remaining stations expected to start within the next few months.