Civils and stations

Significant investment promised for Sutton Coldfield stations

Stations in the Sutton Coldfield area will receive over a million pounds of investment from Network Rail and London Midland.

At a meeting with Andrew Mitchell, the MP for Sutton Coldfield, Network Rail said that it is investing £1.2m to upgrade platforms and pedestrian routes at Butlers Lane, and £564,000 for the platforms and walkways at Four Oaks as parts of its Railway Upgrade Plan.

Meanwhile, London Midland, which introduced an early Sunday morning service to Birmingham on 11 December, will spend £14,000 to upgrade help information points and install new signs at Butlers Lane, Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield and Wylde Green.

Rob Hornsey, head of Cross City Services at London Midland, said: “Our aim is to make travel as simple and easy as we can for all our passengers. 

“The new earlier Sunday morning services have been planned based on what local people have said is important to them and reflects the changing ways people are using rail travel.”

Martin Ball, area director for Network Rail, added that significant investment is taking place across the rail network to “provide passengers with an improving service and to meet the ever-increasing demands of the number of people who are travelling by train”.

In addition, Transport for the West Midlands said it would install new LED lighting and resurface the park and ride facilities at Sutton Coldfield and Wylde Green.

(Image: Chris Skilton, senior strategic planner at Network Rail, with Andrew Mitchell)

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