West Midlands Trains

West Midlands Trains operates services from London Euston to Liverpool and throughout the entire West Midlands region. West Midlands Trains is divided into two brands: West Midlands Railway for train services in and around Birmingham and London Northwestern Railway for train services on the West Coast Main Line to and from London Euston.

As the primary train operator in Birmingham, West Midlands Trains was at the centre of the successful transport operation for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Record-breaking passenger numbers were recorded at several stations across the network as an estimated two million journeys made by rail in the West Midlands during the Games period.

In October 2022, West Midlands Trains successfully introduced the first in a new fleet of 26 diesel trains – the Class 196 – into passenger service onto its route between Birmingham and Shrewsbury. These CAF-built trains will begin running between Birmingham, Worcester and Hereford in 2023. A fleet of 84 electric trains – Class 730s – are also due to begin entering service in 2023. Built by Alstom, these trains will be used on long-distance routes on the West Coast Main Line and on the Cross-City Line in Birmingham. The introduction of both fleets has been delayed by the pandemic.

A milestone of 672 available drivers was reached at West Midlands Trains in autumn 2022. This figure represents important progress as WMT continues to operate a concerted driver training programme to catch up on months of training lost during the pandemic, in turn significantly reducing traincrew-related cancellations.