THE face of rail travel across Worcestershire will change when Central Trains shuts down and London Midland takes over.

The Department of Transport announced the decision to make Govia the new franchise operator on Thursday and already the company, which will brand the service London Midland to reflect the geographical market, has promised to improve passenger safety, introduce a new fleet of trains and refurbish stations all along the Snow Hill line.

London Midland will take over in Sunday, November 11, and from that date Central Trains will cease trading as a company.

Exact details of Govia's plans to better the service through the country have not yet been revealed, however there will be an £11.5m overall investment in stations, new passenger information systems, CCTV on trains, introduction of a new ticketing system and new gatelines at the five Birmingham station.

Tom Smith, Govia's managing director of rail development said: "The new fleet will completely transform passengers' travelling experience and play a key part in enabling us to meet our targets for continuous improvement in punctuality and reliability.

"We also recognise the need for more car parking across the network: our plans will increase the number of spaces by more than 25 per cent."