MEMBERS of a rail users' group have claimed they are being "left in limbo" over planned restructuring of the Central Trains' franchise.

Commuters who travel from Kidderminster to Birmingham are represented by the Stourbridge Line User Group, which has given its initial response to the operator's restructuring plans, due to take effect in 2007.

Kidderminster is one of the stops along the Worcester to Birmingham route, with two reorganisation options possible for the Stourbridge line, as well as the Dorridge and Stratford-on-Avon lines.

The routes will either form part of a new West Midlands train franchise or an enlarged Chiltern operation.

Nigel Tolley, the user group's chairman, said: "We're rather left in limbo. This is a curious situation that nobody expected - the announcement has been made but we still don't know the shape of our local railway in two years' time.

"The Central franchise should already have been re-let so things seem to be drifting, without decisions being made, which is bad for passengers and bad for the local area's transport."

It had originally been decided to renew the Central Trains' franchise in spring this year before a rethink led to a decision to split it, to reduce the number of franchises to streamline them.

Those objectives had mainly been met but led to a two-year delay in the start of the new franchises, until autumn, 2007.