A RAILWAYS 'devolution' could see train services improved in Worcestershire - with council chiefs agreeing to be part of an emerging new company.

Worcestershire County Council has agreed to team up with 13 other parts of the region in an attempt to reduce over-crowding, improve timetables and speed up investment.

The new company - called 'West Midlands Rail Limited' - is an attempt to eventually secure local devolved control of train services in the same way as Merseyside.

A deal for Liverpool and its surrounding areas to oversee its own railway network has seen better reliability, less crime, fewer delays and a surge in public satisfaction under MerseyRail.

Your Worcester News can reveal how for the last two-and-a-half years council bosses in the West Midlands have been talking, mainly in private, about doing something similar here - and decided to ask Worcestershire if it wanted to be involved in 2014.

The London Midland franchise is up for renewal in 2017 and it is expected to be split into two at that point, with one franchise covering the West Midlands and another serving the West Coast Main Line.

The Department for Transport has indicated it is prepared to eventually offer the region's new company, led by senior councillors, chance to oversee the train network in a new partnership.

A new county council report on it says all 14 authorities, including County Hall, can expect to "contribute to the specification and management" of train services.

It will cover a huge patch including Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Warwickshire, Birmingham and the Black Country, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Northamptonshire, Coventry, Telford and Solihull.

The report also says a "longer term aspiration" is that the railways "might be entirely devolved to local control" like Merseyside.

County Hall's Conservative leadership has formally decided to be part of the company after voting in favour of it during a cabinet meeting.

Councillor Simon Geraghty, the deputy leader and cabinet member for economy, skills and infrastructure, said: "This is a fantastic new development.

"The numbers speak for themselves, we've seen a doubling of rail patronage in the West Midlands in the last few years from 37 million to 74 million (2006 to 2013, passengers per year).

"But that has put pressure on the network, capacity is becoming more of a problem, people do report that.

"Hopefully we're on the way towards a process of overseeing the franchise, this is our chance to influence that."

Councillor Adrian Hardman called it an "important step forward for the West Midlands and Worcestershire".

The move is being viewed positively within the Government and matches Business Secretary Sajid Javid's vision for the region to become what he calls the 'Midlands Engine'.