West Midlands Trains

West Midlands Trains
	Top/left: Class 730/0 Landmark in WMR livery at Cheddington ; Bottom/right: Class 350/3 in LNR livery at Birmingham International
Overview
Franchises	West Midlands; 1 February 2026 – Present
Main regions	Greater London; West Midlands;
Other regions	East of England; East Midlands; North West; South East;
Fleet	West Midlands Railway Class 139 Parry People Mover; Class 172 Turbostar; Class 196 Civity; Class 730/0 Aventra; London Northwestern Railway Class 150 Sprinter; Class 350 Desiro; Class 730/2 Aventra;
Stations called at	178
Stations operated	146
Parent company	DfT Operator
Headquarters	Birmingham
Reporting mark	LM
Predecessor	West Midlands Trains Limited
Technical
Length	539 mi (867 km)
Other
Website	westmidlandsrailway.co.uk; londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk
Route map
Route map
	West Midlands Railway London Northwestern Railway

WM Trains Limited,^[2] doing business as West Midlands Trains,^{[citation needed]} is a British state-owned train operating company that operates commuter and local services in the West Midlands region and on the West Coast Main Line between London and the Northwest under two trading names: within the West Midlands region as West Midlands Railway (WMR) and outside the region as London Northwestern Railway (LNR). It assumed responsibility for these services on 1 February 2026 at the conclusion of the outsourcing contract previously placed with Transport UK Group and Mitsui & Co.

Services

London Northwestern Railway services

WMT's services along the West Coast Main Line rail corridor are operated under the London Northwestern Railway brand. These services include:^[3]

services out of London Euston;
two minor branch line services in the Southeast;

As of December 2025, the typical off-peak Monday - Saturday London Northwestern Railway service pattern, with frequencies in trains per hour (tph), includes:^[4]

West Coast Main Line
Route	tph	Calling at
London Euston – Tring	2	Harrow & Wealdstone Watford Junction Hemel Hempstead Berkhamsted
London Euston – Milton Keynes Central	2	Harrow & Wealdstone Bushey Watford Junction Kings Langley Apsley Hemel Hempstead Berkhamsted Tring Cheddington, Leighton Buzzard Bletchley
London Euston – Birmingham New Street	2	Watford Junction (1tph) Leighton Buzzard Bletchley Milton Keynes Central Wolverton Northampton Long Buckby Rugby Coventry Canley Tile Hill Berkswell Hampton-in-Arden Birmingham International
London Euston – Crewe	1	Milton Keynes Central Rugby Nuneaton Atherstone Tamworth Lichfield Trent Valley Rugeley Trent Valley Stafford
Stafford – Crewe	1	Stone Stoke-on-Trent Longport Kidsgrove Alsager
Birmingham New Street – Liverpool Lime Street	1	Smethwick Galton Bridge Wolverhampton Penkridge Stafford Crewe Winsford Hartford Acton Bridge Runcorn Liverpool South Parkway
Birmingham New Street – Liverpool Lime Street	1	Coseley Wolverhampton Penkridge Stafford Crewe Runcorn Liverpool South Parkway Mossley Hill
Abbey Line
Route	tph	Calling at
Watford Junction – St Albans Abbey	1	Watford North Garston Bricket Wood How Wood Park Street
Marston Vale Line
Route	tph	Calling at
Bletchley – Bedford	1	Fenny Stratford Bow Brickhill Woburn Sands Aspley Guise Ridgmont Lidlington Millbrook Stewartby Kempston Hardwick Bedford St Johns

West Midlands Railway services

In the West Midlands region, WMT's train services are operated under the West Midlands Railway brand. These services include:^[5]

services through Birmingham;
the Coventry to Leamington and Coventry to Nuneaton branch lines.

Services on the short Stourbridge Town branch line are run by the open access operator Pre Metro Operations, who operate services on behalf of WMT under the West Midlands Railway brand name.

As of December 2025^[update], the typical off-peak Monday–Saturday West Midlands Railway service pattern, with frequencies in trains per hour (tph), includes:^[6]

Birmingham – Shrewsbury
Route	tph	Calling at
Birmingham New Street – Shrewsbury	1	Smethwick Galton Bridge Wolverhampton Shifnal Telford Central Wellington
Birmingham New Street – Shrewsbury	1	Tame Bridge Parkway Wolverhampton Bilbrook Codsall Albrighton Cosford Shifnal Telford Central Oakengates Wellington
Malvern Line
Route	tph	Calling at
Birmingham New Street – Hereford	1	University Bromsgrove Droitwich Spa Worcester Foregate Street Malvern Link Great Malvern Colwall Ledbury
Cross-City Line
Route	tph	Calling at
Lichfield Trent Valley – Bromsgrove	2	Lichfield City Shenstone Blake Street Butlers Lane Four Oaks Sutton Coldfield Wylde Green Chester Road Erdington Gravelly Hill, Aston Duddeston Birmingham New Street Five Ways University Selly Oak Bournville Kings Norton Northfield Longbridge Barnt Green (1tph)
Four Oaks – Redditch	2	Sutton Coldfield Wylde Green Chester Road Erdington Gravelly Hill Aston Birmingham New Street Five Ways University Selly Oak Bournville Kings Norton Northfield Longbridge Barnt Green Alvechurch
Chase Line
Route	tph	Calling at
Wolverhampton – Walsall	2	Coseley Tipton Dudley Port Sandwell & Dudley Smethwick Galton Bridge Smethwick Rolfe Street Birmingham New Street Duddeston Aston Witton Perry Barr Hamstead Tame Bridge Parkway Bescot Stadium
Birmingham International – Rugeley Trent Valley	2	Marston Green Lea Hall Stechford Adderley Park (1tph) Birmingham New Street Tame Bridge Parkway Walsall Bloxwich Bloxwich North Landywood Cannock Hednesford Rugeley Town
Snow Hill lines
Route	tph	Calling at
Stratford-upon-Avon – Worcester Foregate Street via Dorridge	1	Stratford-upon-Avon Parkway Lapworth Dorridge Widney Manor Solihull Olton Acocks Green Small Heath Birmingham Moor Street Birmingham Snow Hill Jewellery Quarter The Hawthorns Smethwick Galton Bridge Rowley Regis, Cradley Heath Stourbridge Junction Hagley Blakedown Kidderminster, Droitwich Spa Worcester Shrub Hill
Stratford-upon-Avon – Kidderminster via Whitlocks End	1	Stratford-upon-Avon Parkway Wilmcote, Wootton Wawen Henley-in-Arden Danzey Wood End The Lakes Earlswood Wythall Whitlocks End Shirley Yardley Wood Hall Green Spring Road Tyseley Small Heath Birmingham Moor Street Birmingham Snow Hill Jewellery Quarter The Hawthorns Smethwick Galton Bridge Langley Green Rowley Regis Old Hill Cradley Heath Lye Stourbridge Junction
Whitlocks End – Kidderminster	1	Shirley Yardley Wood Hall Green Spring Road Tyseley Small Heath Birmingham Moor Street, Birmingham Snow Hill Jewellery Quarter The Hawthorns Smethwick Galton Bridge Langley Green Rowley Regis Old Hill Cradley Heath Lye Stourbridge Junction
Dorridge – Worcester Foregate Street	1	Widney Manor Solihull Olton Acocks Green Tyseley Birmingham Moor Street Birmingham Snow Hill Jewellery Quarter The Hawthorns Smethwick Galton Bridge Rowley Regis Cradley Heath Stourbridge Junction Hagley Blakedown Kidderminster Hartlebury, Droitwich Spa
Branch lines
Route	tph	Calling at
Stourbridge Junction – Stourbridge Town	6	Shuttle service
Leamington Spa – Nuneaton	1	Kenilworth Coventry Coventry Arena Bedworth Bermuda Park

Political background

In the lead-up to the 2024 United Kingdom general election, the Labour Party of Keir Starmer committed itself to bring the passenger operations of the British rail network back under state ownership.^[7]^[8] Following its election win, the government introduced the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 that received the royal assent in November 2024.^[9]^[10]

In July 2025, the government announced that DfT Operator would take over responsibility for passenger services from Transport UK Group and Mitsui & Co on 1 February 2026.^[11]^[12]^[13] (Although the process is sometimes described as "nationalisation", this is in contrast to the previous "privatisation" rather than any compulsory acquisition. Formally, the outsourcing contract ("franchise") was merely not renewed when it reached its end-date, and employed staff were transferred to the successor company at their existing terms and conditions in accordance with the TUPE regulations.)

Rolling Stock

Fleet

Family	Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Number	Carriages	Routes operated	Built
Family	Class	Image	Type	mph	km/h	Number	Carriages	Routes operated	Built
Shunting locomotive
	08^[14]		Shunter	15	24	2	N/A	Stock movements	1952–1962
West Midlands Railway
Parry People Mover	139		Railcar	20	32	2	1	Stourbridge Town branch line	2009
Bombardier Turbostar	172		DMU	100	161	8	2	Birmingham–Hereford Snow Hill lines Leamington Spa to Nuneaton	2010
						4			2011
						12
						15	3

CAF Civity	196					12	2	Snow Hill lines Birmingham–Shrewsbury Birmingham–Hereford Leamington Spa to Nuneaton	2019–20
						14	4		2019–20

Bombardier Aventra^[15]	Class 730/0 Landmark^[16]		EMU	90	145	48 (40 in service^[17])	3	Wolverhampton – Walsall via Birmingham New Street^[18] Cross-City Line^[19] Chase Line^[20]	2021–2023
London Northwestern Railway
Sprinter^[21]^[22]	150		DMU	75	121	3	2	Marston Vale line	1985–1986
Siemens Desiro	350		EMU	110	177	50	4	London Northwestern Railway: Abbey Line Birmingham New Street–Northampton Stafford–Crewe London Euston–Tring/Milton Keynes Central London Euston–Northampton London Euston–Crewe via Trent Valley Line London Euston–Birmingham New Street Birmingham New Street–Liverpool Lime Street West Midlands Railway: Chase Line^[23]	2004–2014
Siemens Desiro	350			110	177
Bombardier Aventra^[15]	Class 730/0 Landmark^[16]			90	145	48 (40 in service^[17])	3	London Euston – Tring/Milton Keynes Central London Euston – Northampton	2021–2023
	Class 730/0 Landmark^[16]			90	145
	Class 730/2^[24]			110	177	36	5	London Northwestern Railway:^[25] Birmingham New Street–Northampton Stafford–Crewe London Euston–Tring/Milton Keynes Central London Euston–Northampton London Euston–Crewe via Trent Valley Line London Euston–Birmingham New Street Birmingham New Street–Liverpool Lime Street	2021–2024