AN MP has added her voice to concerns about carriage congestion on commuter trains between Worcestershire and Birmingham.

Harriett Baldwin, MP for West Worcestershire, is urging rail operator West Midland Railways to ease carriage congestion after complaints from travellers about overcrowding on the line.

The complaints come after a timetable shake-up which saw carriages serving parts of the network locally diverted to other, busier areas.

West Midland Railways has already promised to spend over £1 billion on more trains as part of its franchise-winning pledge - but these may not be seen until at least 2020.

Mrs Baldwin said: “West Midland Railways won the new franchise on the back of a billion-pound cash injection, extra service promises and added capacity on the busier train services.

“However, anyone who regularly uses these services will know that often these trains are standing room only and the feedback that I have had from rail users is anything but positive.

“The franchisee is carrying out a series of reviews into capacity and I strongly urge them to add capacity as quickly as possible. Commuters and shoppers making the journey to Birmingham often have no choice but to use the train and I hope that West Midland Railway will be delivering on its franchise promises for enhanced capacity and service levels soon.”

One commuter, Tim Jones, said: “There are so many standing passengers that it is not possible to get through to use the toilets, and it is difficult to reach the doors to disembark. Why is West Midland Trains treating its loyal fare-paying, annual season-ticket holding, daily commuting passengers so badly, while increasing fares?”

Richard Brooks of West Midlands Railway said: “We are continuing to take on board all passenger feedback around capacity, particularly in light of our new timetable introduced last month. We are aware of some of the concerns raised by passengers and we are seriously considering what options we have to strengthen some of the busiest services between Worcester and Birmingham while we await the arrival of our new trains.

“The new trains will increase capacity across our network by 25 per cent, as part of our £1 billion investment into rail services over the course of our franchise.”