Birmingham’s Cross City Line fleet carries more than 12 million passengers in its first year
A West Midlands Railway (WMR) train fleet has carried more than 12 million passengers since completing its rollout on a popular Birmingham route one year ago today.
Passengers on the Cross City Line, which connects Lichfield to Bromsgrove and Redditch via Birmingham, first boarded the new Class 730/0 electric train fleet in March 2024, with the full rollout officially completed on 26 September 2024.
In their first year, the new trains have proven popular with commuters and leisure travellers alike with more than a million journeys made every single month.
WMR reported a 19 per cent rise in customer satisfaction on the route since they entered service, citing their spacious carriages, intelligent air conditioning and modern features as factors behind the uplift.
The rollout of the new fleet was recognised at the National Rail Awards ceremony, where it won for ‘Fleet Achievement of the Year’.
Jonny Wiseman, WMR customer experience director, said: “This new fleet is the flagship for our £1billion investment into new trains and infrastructure.
“We want to provide the best possible passenger experience, and we are so pleased that the Class 730/0s are making such a positive impact on customer satisfaction already.
“The Cross City Line is the busiest commuter route outside of London, so boosting capacity was hugely important to us. The new 3-carriage trains run in pairs, comfortably offering space for over 1,000 people on every Cross City Line service.”
As well as serving Birmingham New Street, the line includes the award-winning University Station, which saw over three million passengers in the first year first year following its multi-million-pound transformation.
As well as the Cross City Line, Class 730 trains run on routes connecting central Birmingham with destinations including Walsall, Wolverhampton, Rugeley and Birmingham International.
