An eight-week public and stakeholder consultation has opened on early proposals to overhaul the railway in Birmingham, a scheme intended to transform journeys, support jobs and widen opportunities across the West Midlands.

The consultation focuses on major works between Bordesley and Birmingham Moor Street as part of the Midlands Rail Hub, with residents, businesses and community groups encouraged to share views that will shape the detailed plans.

Billed as the region's largest and most ambitious rail improvement programme, the Midlands Rail Hub aims to deliver faster, more frequent services for local, regional and national passengers, unlock economic growth and regeneration, support new housing, and improve regional access to HS2 at Curzon Street. The plans also seek to better integrate rail with buses and trams to provide smoother journeys across the West Midlands.

Run by the Midlands Rail Hub Alliance, the consultation is gathering feedback on proposals to upgrade infrastructure and reconfigure Birmingham Moor Street station and how it is used by trains running into, out of and through the city.

-- Advertisement --

Key elements include two new rail 'chords' to link the Camp Hill line with the Chiltern Main Line for the first time, widening sections of the Bordesley viaduct through Digbeth into Moor Street, building two new platforms and bringing the existing platform 5 back into use. The scheme would move a number of regional services from Birmingham New Street to Moor Street, easing pressure at New Street — the busiest station outside London — and freeing up capacity for additional local and long-distance services.

If delivered, the proposals would enable three extra trains per hour to towns and cities south-west of Birmingham; reinstate two additional Cross City line trains per hour (taking the total to six per hour); and add four extra trains per hour towards the East Midlands, one of which would also serve the North East.

The consultation runs from Monday 6 July to Friday 28 August 2026 and offers opportunities to learn more about the plans, ask questions and provide feedback. Events include:

- Saturday 11 July 2026, 11am–4pm: The Old Library at Zellig, Gibb Street, Digbeth, Birmingham, B9 4AT

- Monday 13 July 2026, 4pm–8pm: The Saffron Centre, 256 Moseley Road, Birmingham, B12 0BS

- Wednesday 15 July 2026, 12pm–1pm: Online via Microsoft Teams, email [email protected] to register

- Friday 17 July 2026, 12pm–6.30pm: Birmingham Repertory Theatre, 6 Centenary Square, Birmingham, B1 2EP

Following this phase, feedback will inform refined proposals for a second consultation in summer 2027. The Midlands Rail Hub Alliance then expects to submit a Transport and Works Act Order application in early 2028, with a Public Inquiry anticipated in late 2028, a decision in summer 2029, construction from 2030 and opening in the early 2030s.

The wider programme provides a blueprint for faster, better and more frequent services across the Midlands. It could add up to 300 additional trains per day into or out of Birmingham and deliver faster, more frequent or new links for more than 50 places, including Nottingham, Leicester, Bromsgrove, Nuneaton, Worcester, Hereford and Cardiff.