Minister pledges New Street won't go off the rails

Jan 15 2007 By Ben Hurst, Birmingham Mail

BRITAIN'S transport minister today promised that drastic changes to rail timetables this year won't force New Street into meltdown.

Fears have been raised that plans to make all CrossCountry services, currently run by Virgin, terminate at Birmingham's main station will cause major problems.

The Birmingham Mail recently revealed that platforms had been shut down 43 times in the previous 12 months because of dangerous overcrowding.

Passenger groups have raised concerns that having more travellers getting off trains and moving through the station to other platforms would lead to an even more crammed New Street.

But rail minister Tom Harris hit out at reports highlighting the concerns, branding them 'scare stories'.

He said: "I am going to nail my flag to the mast on this issue.

"There will be no more congestion of passengers in New Street as a direct result of the new franchise."

The CrossCountry franchise, which runs from the South West to Scotland and has Birmingham as its base, could change hands in November.

Virgin is one of the bidders for the service, and the new franchise will see some changes, including the timetable.

All services which previously have gone through New Street will instead finish there, and anyone wanting to go further will have to change.

Mr Harris said the changes, including longer carriages and a new timetable, would make the service more attractive.

He said: "We want to make sure trains go where people want them to go.

"We are not in the business of transporting fresh air around the country."