“Following my meeting with the Lichfield Rail Promotion Group where I gave the good news regarding extra Avanti trains on the West Coast Mainline, I was asked about services on the Cross City Line from Lichfield” says Michael Fabricant.  See this.

“I wrote to West Midlands Trains reminding them that before Covid there were four trains each hour to and from both Lichfield stations, but the frequency was then reduced to two during the pandemic and has remained so ever since.  I asked when the four an hour service would be resumed.”

Andrew McGill of West Midlands Trains has now replied to Michael and says:  “As you correctly say, during the pandemic the frequency of services on the Cross City Line to and from Lichfield was halved from 4 trains per hour to 2 trains per hour (tph) in response to the drop in passenger numbers.

“With passenger numbers now growing again, it is our intention to restore 4 tph to Lichfield (and 6 tph along the length of the Cross City Line) at some point in the future. At this stage we do not have a confirmed date for this level of service to resume, although the earliest it will be is mid-2025 as we work through a number of operational and financial challenges. To return 4 tph to Lichfield we must demonstrate a compelling business case to the Department for Transport and solve capacity challenges, including those caused by the under-construction Camp Hill Line in south Birmingham.

“In the meantime, I can confirm the rollout of our new Class 730 electric train fleet on the Cross City Line to Lichfield is continuing apace. The entire route will be served by new trains by the autumn, bringing extra capacity and comfort to Lichfield rail passengers as we phase out our existing 30-year-old trains. Looking further ahead, over the next 12-18 months we will be introducing new, longer Class 730 trains at Lichfield Trent Valley on our long-distance London Northwestern Railway routes, as we continue our £1billion investment in new trains and infrastructure.”

Michael adds:  “This is very good news and both the Lichfield Rail Promotion Group and I will return to this if we have not seen plans for extra services in 12 months from now.  Combined with the additional Avanti trains north to south and better connectivity to Birmingham and the West Midlands, Lichfield will see a growth in rail commuters living in the area.  All this is excellent news for our local economy and the desirability of the area.”