An estimated two million journeys were made on rail in the West Midlands during the Commonwealth Games, according to West Midlands Trains.
The Games ran from 28 July to 8 August. WMT says records were broken at a number of individual stations close to venues. University station was used by more than 150,000 passengers during the Games, including 31,000 on Monday 1 August alone. The station, which served hockey and squash venues, benefited from wider platforms which were opened for the duration of the Games; the station’s redevelopment, of which this improvement is part, is due to be completed later this year.
Perry Barr, the closest station to the Alexander Stadium which hosted the athletics events and opening and closing ceremonies, recording more than 25,000 passengers passing through during the 12-day event. The station was rebuilt ahead of the Games to increase its capacity and reopened as such in May.
Day tickets to Commonwealth Games events included free travel on public transport in the West Midlands. WMT worked with Network Rail, other operators, Transport for West Midlands and the West Midlands Rail Executive to co-ordinate rail’s plans for the Games.
Meanwhile, NR reports that Birmingham New Street saw some of the busiest days in its history during the Games. Over the 12 days of the Games more than two million people passed through the station. The busiest day during the Games was Saturday 6 August, which in usage terms was only beaten by 29 November 2019, which holds the record as New Street’s busiest ever day.
More than 170 volunteers from WMT were deployed on stations during the Games, with support from train drivers, senior conductors, fleet technicians, cleaning staff and more from across the business.
