Transport Secretary set to mark public ownership of rail provider in visit to Wolverhampton

The Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander will be visiting Wolverhampton Rail Station on Thursday to mark the transfer of West Midlands Trains into public ownership.

The secretary for state will meet with the leader of Wolverhampton Council, Councillor Stephen Simkins, members of Wolverhampton Rail Station, Network Rail and the West Midlands Combined Authority, as well as MPs from Wolverhampton as part of the visit.

West Midlands Trains is set to move into public ownership next week, with services transferring to a new publicly-owned operator from February, 1.

London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway, currently run by West Midlands Trains Limited, will be operated by a new company, WM Trains Limited, as part of a planned transition.

The change is described as a legal and organisational transfer rather than an operational one and rail passengers are not expected to see any immediate changes to services, staffing, or day-to-day operations.

West Midlands Trains has confirmed that the same teams will continue to run the rail services, using the same systems, with no change to how customer or stakeholder data is handled.

The move brings the rail operator under public ownership as part of wider changes to the structure of rail services in England.

West Midlands Trains said it was committed to ensuring a smooth transition to public ownership, with Ian McConnell, managing director of West Midlands Trains, speaking about the record of the provider.

He said: “I am extremely proud of what we have achieved under this franchise, delivering a £1billion investment in two new train fleets and delivering significantly improved performance which has transformed rail travel for millions of customers

“As we transition to a publicly owned railway, our focus remains on delivering an outstanding service for our passengers.”